Silicon Street Michael Cutler and James Barham

Dr. John Behrens is the Director of the Technology and Digital Studies Program as well as the Idzik Computing and Digital Technologies Program at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to joining Notre Dame, Dr. Behrens spent 20 years in industry where he held several executive positions at large tech firms like Cisco and Pearson, where he was most recently the Vice President of AI Product Development. Before working at these firms, John was a tenured professor at Arizona State where he taught educational data science. Dr. Behren now focuses on preparing current and future leaders to successfully transition through the technology, AI, and data revolutions. In this podcast, we discuss the ethical implications of the AI revolution and anticipated impacts of AI on society, as well as some suggestions for prompt engineering.

Henry Kittle is the COO and Co-Founder of Tiger Tracks, a digital advertising agency focused on helping companies build effective and tailored marketing strategies centered around the top ad platforms. Prior to founding Tiger Tracks, Henry spent over 8 years at Google as a shopping lead, helping companies strategize and deploy their digital marketing budgets. In this episode, we discuss Henry’s career path and some of the lessons he has learned along the way, specifically focusing on how to make the most of opportunities that present themselves to you. Next, we dive into the digital advertising industry and Henry’s motivation for starting his own agency. Finally, Henry offers insights into the role of an entrepreneur and designing the proper organizational structure for a firm.

Michelle Seitz is the Founder and CEO of MeydenVest Partners, an investment and strategic advisory firm that partners with businesses within the technology, healthcare, and financial services sectors who are aiming to solve important problems. Prior to founding MeydenVest, Michelle was the Chair and CEO of Russell Investments and CEO of William Blair Investment Management. First, we explore the mission and strategy of MeydenVest by looking at how Michelle aims to create value and impact in her investments. Next, we dive deeper into the role that investment firms should play in providing a social impact through their investments. After this, Michelle shares some of the advice that she gives to CEOs as a CEO mentor and explains some of the skills and qualities that make not only a good investor but also a good leader and manager. Finally, Michelle provides guidance to young professionals on balancing career success with making an impact through your work and prioritizing personal values, such as family and community involvement.

Mike Mauzé is a Founder and Partner at VMG Partners, a leading investment firm that backs visionary consumer products and technologies. First, we discuss some of the most important considerations before starting your own private equity fund and explore the sacrifices and benefits involved. Next, Mike elaborates on the art and science of consumer investing, offering insights for aspiring investors to master both aspects. Following this, he outlines the consumer trends VMG is monitoring and how the firm aims to capitalize on these opportunities. Lastly, Mike shares his perspective on the qualities of an ideal private equity professional and offers advice to students and young professionals embarking on a career in this field.

Mary Miller is the Head of Business Development within Growth Equity Investing at Norwest Venture Partners. Prior to joining Norwest in 2023, Mary was a Director at SoftBank’s Vision Fund and has held a number of other positions focused on investments in consumer technology companies. First, we explore some of the administrative and investing roles that Mary has worked in as she explains how she ended up in her current role. Next, we talk about some of the advantages and opportunities that working for SoftBank’s Vision Fund gave Mary as well as some of the lessons learned while working at such a large fund during the downturn of the market in 2022. After that, Mary explains a case study of the company Fanatics and explains the tremendous growth and evolution of the company over the past few years, focusing on her role in creating value for the company. Then, Mary breaks down what consumer technology is and how the industry has evolved over the recent past. Finally, we open the floor to members of the Notre Dame Venture Capital club (students who are actively trying to or already have broken into venture capital careers) to ask their insightful questions.

Professor Raymond Mooney is the Director of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Having written his first paper on AI as a 17 year-old and spending his entire academic and professional career as an AI researcher, Prof. Mooney has become one of the most respected and distinguished thought leaders in the world on artificial intelligence and natural language processing. First, we talk about what the blanket term “artificial intelligence” really encompasses and dig into some of the groundbreaking research that Prof. Mooney has conducted in the recent past. Next, we take a look into how AI has evolved over the past 70 years and point out some important historical landmarks for the technology. We then take a look into how AI differs in academia and enterprise and end off the episode with a discussion of some of the potential negative ethical implications that AI can bring about as well as some of the tremendous upsides that the technology can have in the near future.