The IBJ Podcast with Mason King

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A weekly take on business news in central Indiana from the Indianapolis Business Journal. The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

  1. Indiana Black Expo’s CEO on Circle City Classic’s gridiron shift and creating hoops invitational

    4 HRS AGO

    Indiana Black Expo’s CEO on Circle City Classic’s gridiron shift and creating hoops invitational

    Now in its 55th year, Indiana Black Expo has broad brand recognition in central Indiana as a summertime celebration of Black culture, an education conference, a youth leadership summit, a health forum and a music festival. But the umbrella not-for-profit organization of the same name operates 365 days a year, acting as a voice and vehicle for the social and economic advancement of Black youths and families. The other high-profile annual event hosted by IBE is the Circle City Classic, which typically features a football game between two historically black colleges or universities, along with a downtown parade and events focused on education, careers and culture.   Last week, IBE announced a change at the heart of the Classic, as well as the addition of a new event that would bring basketball teams from HBCUs to Indianapolis. CEO Alice Watson is our guest this week to explain in detail the economic reasons behind the switch from college football programs to Indianapolis-based high school teams, as well as the creation of a basketball invitational in 2027. She also takes a deep dive into all of the educational programming and scholarships IBE offers throughout the year without nearly as much fanfare.

    1hr 1min
  2. Why do some big companies fail at meaningful innovation?

    4 MAY

    Why do some big companies fail at meaningful innovation?

    Virtually every large or medium-sized company today says it’s dedicated to innovation, especially in light of the generational disruption in business created by artificial intelligence. But “innovative” is a broad and squishy term. One company’s so-called “cutting-edge development” might look to another like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Elliott Parker of Indianapolis-based startup builder Alloy Partners has seen many examples of what he calls “the illusion of innovation” – meaning corporate attempts at change that are either mostly for show or that don’t go nearly far enough to make a real impact. Indeed, Parker says, large companies often are unable to innovate their business models because they’re designed and incentivized to keep doing the thing they’re successful at doing. For the owners, executives and managers who are truly interested in making big bets on innovation and challenging dogma within their businesses, what will work? Parker is our guest this week to talk about his book, titled “The Illusion of Innovation,” and how companies can evade the traps. He also discusses how the recent explosion in AI is altering the innovation ecosystem and how companies are built and run. Parker says he’s optimistic, although “things are going to get very, very weird very quickly.”

    54 min

  3. 27 APR

    Final Four co-chairs debrief on Post Malone, Fan Fest, coach swag and what it all meant

    Earlier this month, Indianapolis wrapped up its ninth Final Four since 1980 — a Herculean hosting gig that requires thousands of volunteers and flawless coordination between the NCAA, the city of Indianapolis, hospitality officials, transportation services, public safety workers, a bunch of colleges and an untold number of vendors. Near the top of the organizational chart were the co-chairs of the local organizing committee — Judith Thomas and Nate Feltman. The world saw the basketball action online and on TV, and many in Indianapolis experienced big attractions staged in concert with the Final Four, including a three-day music festival witnessed by tens of thousands of fans. In this edition of the podcast, Thomas and Feltman take us behind the scenes of the three-year planning process and then the week of the event as plans played out in sometimes unexpected or poignant ways. For example, Feltman became a wingman of sorts for superstar Post Malone. Thomas, who attended Indy’s first Final Four in 1980, clearly saw her career arc from that experience to the convention industry, her role as deputy mayor, CEO of the Indy Arts Council and committee co-chair. Feltman, owner and CEO of IBJ Media, also experienced a change of heart on the city's lead role in financing the 800-room Signia by Hilton hotel, now nearing completion.

    53 min
  4. Indianapolis criminal defense attorney Jim Voyles Jr. on representing Mike Tyson, the Indianapolis 500 and his new book

    20 APR

    Indianapolis criminal defense attorney Jim Voyles Jr. on representing Mike Tyson, the Indianapolis 500 and his new book

    Indianapolis attorney Jim Voyles gives each of his clients a card that reads, “Stop talking.” And Voyles is hardly what you’d consider a chatty guy in public, due in large part to the sensitive nature of his cases as one of the Midwest’s premier criminal defense attorneys. His clients sometimes are accustomed to having public platforms, so prescribing silence might be a challenge. Voyles has represented members of the Indianapolis Colts, including Pat McAfee, and members of the Indiana Pacers, including a participant in the infamous Malice in the Palace incident. He also served as local counsel for Mike Tyson during the boxer’s sexual assault trial in Indianapolis. After more than five decades practicing law, Voyles has co-authored a legal memoir titled "All Rise: My Life in Trials with the Famous, Infamous and the Misunderstood.” He recently made himself available for an interview with reporter Maura Johnson of IBJ sib The Indiana Lawyer for the publication’s eponymous podcast. We’re sharing it with IBJ Podcast listeners this week to provide a rare, first-hand account of Voyle’s career, his devotion to the Sixth Amendment and his lifelong passion for motorsports.

    37 min
  5. Indians CEO on putting butts in seats at Victory Field, grinding it out

    13 APR

    Indians CEO on putting butts in seats at Victory Field, grinding it out

    Here are a few tidbits the Indianapolis Indians want you to know this season. When it comes to professional sports in Indianapolis, the minor league baseball team is older than the Indianapolis 500 and has lapped both the Pacers and the Colts at least once. Likewise, Victory Field, which remains one of the great jewels in minor league baseball, is now older than Market Square Arena and the Hoosier/RCA Dome when they met their ends. And there’s no reason to fear for Victory Field’s fate: The Indians have been profitable every year for many decades, with the sole exception of 2020, and are always at the top or near the top of the minor league for attendance.   Team operations had been under the control of the Schumacher family for many decades before 2024, when longtime executive Randy Lewandowski took over as president and CEO. The primary mission, as he puts it, is to put butts in seats while making sure those seats and the rest of the ballpark are pristine. Great players come and go, so the marketing pitch needs to focus on the Indians as an experience. Lewandowski is our guest this week to talk about the team’s revenue streams and the challenge of losing your most marketable players just as their hitting their strides. He also discusses his career in college baseball, how he found a position with the Indians organization in 1994 and then cut his teeth as director of operations at the brand-new Victory Field just a few years later.

    58 min

  6. 6 APR

    Pete the Planner on the chances for recession, plus petrodollars, mortgage rates and TACO trades

    The U.S. economy has been sending troubling signals for months now in the form of high energy prices, rising inflation, modest hiring and slowing growth of gross domestic product. The United States began attacks on Iran in late February. Stalled tanker traffic at the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the global oil market, and stock investors have yo-yoed along with mixed signals from Washington, D.C., about America’s goals for the war.    IBJ personal finance columnist Pete the Planner sees signs that point toward recession in the U.S., as well as a humanitarian crisis in Asia. In this week’s podcast, Pete parses a passel of new challenges and layers on the potential impact of tariff refunds and rising mortgage rates. He also is concerned about the Trump administration’s apparent attempts at influencing investor sentiment with statements about America’s intentions in Iran.

    45 min
  7. Mitch Daniels on bringing Purdue biz programs to downtown Indy; plus AI, Social Security

    30 MAR

    Mitch Daniels on bringing Purdue biz programs to downtown Indy; plus AI, Social Security

    This week's guest is Mitch Daniels, former governor of the state of Indiana and president emeritus of Purdue University. Barely a month after Daniels’ departure from Purdue's top job in 2023, the university named its business school after its former president, creating the Mitch Daniels School of Business and embarking on changes in its curriculum to emphasize technology and elements of a classical education. Daniels maintains some involvement in the business school’s evolution and is particularly interested in the growth of its programs in downtown Indianapolis, following the split of IUPUI that he championed late in his presidency. In this week’s podcast, Daniels and host Mason King cover those developments and their potential benefits for Indianapolis. They then take a deeper dive into the ways artificial intelligence is threatening to disrupt the market for white-collar jobs, and particularly entry-level positions. They also explore one of the biggest political, academic and economic debates of the last decade: What is the value of a college degree? Then, just for good measure, Daniels runs through his ideas for fixing Social Security.

    33 min
  8. Downtown barbershop owner anticipating Final Four, new hotels, 'big boom ahead'

    23 MAR

    Downtown barbershop owner anticipating Final Four, new hotels, 'big boom ahead'

    Although it looks like a time capsule from the 1930s, Red’s Classic Barber Shop in downtown Indianapolis was founded in 2007 by Alexandra Ridgway, Michael Ridgway and Roy Stevenson. They wanted to transport customers back to the era of traditional gentlemen’s barbering, populating it with antique furniture, equipment and supplies. In 2022, Red’s was purchased by William Hogg, a barber who has been managing the shop since its early days. He sometimes can be seen cutting the hair of prominent Indiana politicians, and his client list has included our four most recent governors. For this week's podcast, Hogg took a break between appointments to discuss how Red’s benefits from downtown’s big tourism events (including the upcomning Final Four), as well as the recent surges in residential and hotel development. He also digs into the value of the shop’s location at the literal crossroads of the Midwest as Red’s claws its way back from the pandemic years. And he shares his street-level perspective on the growth of downtown over nearly two decades and whether it’s as dangerous as some have persistently portrayed it.

    38 min
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About

A weekly take on business news in central Indiana from the Indianapolis Business Journal. The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.

Information

  • Channel
    IBJ Media Podcast Network
  • Creator
    IBJ Media
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    400
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All Rights Reserved

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