ITA Reveals Judges List for 16th Annual ITA CityLIGHTS Awards

ITA Reveals Judges List for 16th Annual ITA CityLIGHTS Awards

06/16/15

​FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Industry Leaders and Innovators to determine Finalists

CHICAGO, IL – June 16, 2015 – The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) has revealed today the elite group of innovators and technology leaders who will serve as the judges for the 16th Annual ITA CityLIGHTS Awards.

“We are excited and honored to work with this year’s judging panel. We have curated a diverse group of experienced leaders and new innovators to help select this year’s ITA CityLIGHTS winners,” said ITA CEO, Fred Hoch. “We rely on our judges’ in-depth knowledge and breadth of experience to help ensure our winners showcase the very best that Chicago technology has to offer.”

Nominations for the ITA CityLIGHTS Awards close on Friday, June 26 at itacitylights.com. The finalists for the eight awards will be announced on August 10 when public voting will open. The winners are determined by a combination of the judges scores and public voting, which will be revealed at the ITA CityLIGHTS Awards event on September 17 at Morgan Manufacturing in Chicago.

The judges will begin review of this year’s nominations in mid-July. All of the submissions are divided among the judges so that each nomination is reviewed by at least three people. If a judge or judge’s company is nominated, they will not be allowed to review their own nomination. The judges will provide their scores in August and the average for each submission will determine the finalists. That score is later used to determine the winners, in addition to the public vote count.

The 2015 ITA CityLIGHTS Awards Judges are:

• Mark Achler, Managing Director, MATH Venture Partners
• Michael Arndt, Editor, Crain’s Chicago Business
• Brenna Berman, Chief Information Officer, City of Chicago
• Dick Burke, CEO, VISANOW
• Linda Darragh, Executive Director, Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice, Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management
• Justin Dearborn, Chief Executive Officer, Merge Healthcare
• Scott Epskamp, President & Co-Founder, LeapFrog
• Tim Fagan, COO, G/O Digital
• Elise Fleischaker, Vice President, Marketing, Trading Technologies
• Stuart Frankel, Chief Executive Officer, Narrative Science
• Jim Gagnard, Chairman, Illinois Technology Association (ITA)
• Andrew Goldstein, Partner, Freeborn & Peters, LLP
• Tim Grace, VP, Ecommerce, TieBar
• Brian Grady, CEO, Gorilla Group
• Kayne Grau, CEO/Co-Founder, CarCo Technologies
• Ian Greenblatt, VP, Strategy & Business Development, ARRIS
• Devin Gross, Chief Executive Officer, Emmi Solutions
• Brian Hand, Co-Founder, FireStarter Fund
• Mark Harris, President and CEO, Illinois Science & Technology Coalition
• Adam Hecktman, Director, Technology & Civic Innovation for Chicago, Microsoft Corporation
• Troy Henikoff, Managing Director, TechStars Chicago
• Justyn Howard, Co-founder, CEO, Sprout Social
• Joe Jablonski, Chief Executive Officer, Endstor
• Brandon Jung, Head Google Cloud Partners, Americas, Google
• Sebastiaan Koeling, Managing Director - Optiver US, Optiver
• Melinda Kramer, Chief Executive Officer, KloudVentures
• Amanda Lannert, CEO, Jellyvision
• Brian Littleton, President & CEO, ShareASale
• Robert Lowe, CEO, Wellspring
• Pat Maher, Managing Director, nAblement
• Joey Mak, Director of Innovation & Economic Development, University of Illinois
• James Malackowski, Chairman & CEO, Ocean Tomo, LLC
• Jeff Malehorn, President & CEO, World Business Chicago
• Matt Maloney, CEO, Grubhub
• Christopher Morgan, Founding Partner, Lantern Partners
• John Morris, President & CEO, Cleversafe
• Jon Morris, Chief Executive Officer, Rise Interactive, Inc.
• Thomas Parkinson, SVP & CTO, Peapod
• Chris Pautsch, Co-Founder & CEO, KeyLimeTie
• Molly Rudberg, Chief Alchemist & Leadership Innovator, Molly Rudberg, LLC
• Greg Rudin, VP/General Manager, GrouponLive, Groupon
• Mike Sands, President & CEO, Signal
• Irv Shapiro, CEO, DialogTech
• Jai Shekhawat, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Fieldglass, Inc.
• Michael Small, President & CEO, Gogo
• Emerson Spartz, Chief Executive Officer, Spartz
• Brad Spirrison, Managing Editor, Appolicious
• Kevin Steel, VP, Technology, Cars.com
• Nancy Sullivan, CEO & Senior Managing Director, IllinoisVentures
• Marc Talluto, Chief Executive Officer, Fruition Partners
• Jed Taylor, Director of Operations, Tech Entrepreneur Center, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Mark Treschl, President & CTO, OpinionLab
• Glenn Trout, Chief Executive Officer, MSDSonline
• Howard A. Tullman, CEO, 1871
• Doug Waggoner, Chief Executive Officer, Echo Global Logistics
• Eric Wasowicz, Investor & Advisor, Channel Clarity
• Ira Weiss, Professor, University of Chicago
• Karl Zimmerman, Founder & CEO, Steadfast

For more information about the ITA CityLIGHTS Awards, visit itacitylights.com. Sponsorship inquiries should be sent to Kelly Faso at kelly@illinoistech.org.

Thank you to our 2015 ITA CityLIGHTS Awards Platinum Sponsors, Gogo and Trustwave, as well as Event Sponsors, Authentify, Coresite, Lantern Partners, Southpoint and SurePayroll.

1871 hosts INC. 5000 Celebration for Illinois Winners

CITYLIGHTS AWARDS - CONGRATS TO RAJ AND ZERO PERCENT

Inc. and DCEO Celebrate Illinois’ 2014 Inc. 5000 Winners

Inc. and DCEO Celebrate Illinois’ 2014 Inc. 5000 Winners

Please join Inc. President and Editor-in-Chief Eric Schurenberg, 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and Illinois Technology Association on October 6, 2014 from 6:00-9:00 pm for drinks and networking honoring Chicagoland's 2014 Inc. 5000 winners. 

The Inc. 5000 is Inc. magazine's annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.

Founders and co-founders are welcome and can RSVP at inc5000illinoisdceo.eventbrite.com.

Companies may feel free to bring some promotional literature or materials that will be made available to guests. 

How to turn more startups into growth companies

How to turn more startups into growth companies
By John Pletz

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130924/BLOGS11/130929895

Want to know what it takes for Chicago's startups to take it the next level?

I'll be sitting down Oct. 2 with some of Chicago's best-known entrepreneurs and ringleaders from the tech community to find out.

My guests include Fred Hoch, CEO of the Illinois Technology Association; Seth Kravitz, co-founder of Technori and Bow Truss Coffee; Jeff Malehorn, CEO of World Business Chicago; Jim O'Connor Jr., co-founder of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center and managing director of investment firm MVC Capital; and Howard Tullman, founder of Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy and managing partner of venture fund G2T3V LLC. It's part of Crain's Small Business Week.

It's a lively group of smart folks who I know aren't afraid to call 'em as they see 'em. Join us for what promises to be an entertaining conversation at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 2 at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, 225 W. Wacker Drive.

Chicago's startup scene continues to grow, but the big challenge ahead is transforming small companies into high-growth businesses with big budgets and payrolls. In his own blog post this week, Mr. Hoch contends Chicago has one of the nation's deepest pools of high-growth companies with revenue between $2 million and $250 million.

“These organizations make money, drive revenue and increase business," he wrote. "They are not always 'sexy' — or the next big thing — but they are the backbone of Chicago tech. . . .As these companies take on more talent and capital, they are beginning to shape Chicago's national identity.”

The Next Generation of Chicago Growth Companies Panel

A how-to blog for Chicago business

Go to There: The Next Generation of Chicago Growth Companies Panel

By David Wolinsky

|  Tuesday, Sep 3, 2013  |  Updated 9:45 AM CDT

Lyrids

The Illinois Technology Association and Crain’s Small Business are teaming up for a panel focused firmly on the future. Namely, the next generation of growth businesses in Chicago. 

Panelists like Fred Hoch (president and CEO of ITA), Seth Kravitz (co-founder and CEO of Technori), Howard Tullman (chairman of Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy) and others will be discussing resources available to help companies to successfully transition and the overall importance of such companies in boosting our economy. 

It all takes place Wednesday, Oct. 2 from 8:30 a.m. ’tip 10:30 a.m. at Edwards Wildman Palmer, 225 W. Wacker Dr. If you’d like to register, check it out here.

ITA 2013 CITYLIGHTS GALA

ITA Spotlight: Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy

ITA Spotlight: Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy

December 10, 2012 / Submitted by sthomas

With Howard A. Tullman, President & CEO

Company name:

Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy

Company url:

http://www.tfa.edu

What is your company’s Twitter handle?

 

@TribecaChicago @tullman

Who are the founders of your company? What are your company roots?

 

Our founding team, including myself, Paula Froehle, Mario Christopher, Barbara Pollack and others, are a team of veteran educators, artists, and entrepreneurs who are determined to modernize higher education for an evolving workplace and the new global digital economy. We created the college we know today as Tribeca Flashpoint Academy to disrupt, dismantle, and de-stigmatize career-focused education in the arts.

In 25 words or less, what are you all about?

 

We’re about helping smart, creative people put their passion to work in careers they love. We do this by providing high-end, career-focused digital arts education.

What problem do you solve?

 

We solve three problems. The first is that the tenured (and tired) faculty at virtually every other college and university in the country hasn’t and isn’t interested in keeping up with and learning to teach the new technologies of today and tomorrow. They’re happy to call their courses “digital”, but they have no idea of the real changes in tools and technologies taking place in the marketplace and across the globe. The second problem is a scarcity of highly skilled digital media arts professionals in Chicago and across the country. Businesses, governments, educators, and everyday individuals need more and better ways to connect with people and information as they migrate their businesses from the analog world to the totally digital tomorrow. It is the job of the digital media artist to find and create these critical connections between consumers and companies. Our team-based and highly collaborative focus also helps solve a third problem, which is that students who excel at art and technology are often treated like second-class citizens in higher education. We provide a high-end, career training environment tailored to this type of student, giving them the tools, training, people skills and the support they need to succeed—even in a challenging economy.

How did you get started?

 

We got started because we got tired of hearing from hundreds of parents telling us about their kids who couldn’t find a college that could make them successful and also of hearing from hundreds of employers who said that they couldn’t find digitally-aware, next-generation employees with the work ethic, technical training and passion to succeed in the marketplaces of tomorrow. So we decided to do something about it and fix the problem. And we have.

What makes your company special? How is your product differentiated in the eyes of the consumer?

 

I think anyone who walks into Tribeca Flashpoint Academy will immediately understand that our school is a special place. There’s energy and passion here. There’s close collaboration and constant action as well. Our students, staff and faculty are busy not just learning things, but creating things. It’s really powerful to see people—especially young people—so engaged in their learning and so excited about the opportunities and challenges ahead of them. And this is something I hear over and over again from parents: that we’re the first school their kid has gone to that has really gotten him or her excited to learn. You can’t put a price on that.

How do you make money? Who are your primary customers and why do they choose you?

 

We are a traditional tuition-based college. We make money the old-fashioned way: we earn it by training and graduating the best employees any business could hope to hire—and that’s exactly what they do. So our customers are our students, their parents, their future employers, and the many businesses and other industry organizations and technology providers that we work with to constantly create and meet the new demands and requirements of the industries we serve.

Work Hard/Play Hard or The Early Bird Gets The Worm or something else?

 

You Get What You Work for, Not What You Wish for. Hard Work Conquers All.

What’s the #1 thing on your To-Do list?

 

Sleep less – work more.

What are your dreams for your company?

 

We want to get as big as we can before we get bad. It’s not easy to do but it’s possible if you really care about what you’re doing and if you really understand who you are doing it for.

It’s our kind of town too… but what are the advantages of being a Chicago-based technology company?

 

Chicago is a great city for technology because we have such a strong and active community here. Everyone in Chicago wants to see their city thrive just as much as they want to see their own business succeed. Because of this attitude, there’s a strong network of support for people who want to get a project off the ground.

What trends do you see heading into 2013 that are relevant to your industry and company?

 

Digital begets Mobile begets Social, and we are all over all 3.

Video will be all things to all people and storytelling will be the main way that everyone learns anything and these are our sweetest spots.

What’s your #1 need going forward… other than funding and customers, anyway?

 

More students.

What are the biggest challenges you are facing in scaling your business up?

 

Maintaining the quality and intensity of our instruction and the enthusiasm and commitment of our team members.

This one is all you… Anything else you want to tell us?

 

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

TRIBECA FLASHPOINT ACADEMY CEO HOWARD A. TULLMAN PRESENTS CITYLIGHTS AWARD TO DAN LYNE

ITA ANNOUNCES CITYLIGHTS AWARDS JUDGES

Illinois Technology Association Announces CityLIGHTS Awards Judges for 13th Annual CityLIGHTS Awards Gala

Judges Represent Leaders of Illinois Business, Civic, Educational and Government Organizations

 

CHICAGO, IL, Mar 27, 2012 

ITA is proud to announce the 2012 CityLIGHTS Awards judges, representing thought leaders from business, civic, educational, and government organizations.

"ITA is thrilled to announce the judging panel for 2012," said Fred Hoch, President, ITA. "The strength of the technology industry continues to lead the recovery of the local economy, and CityLIGHTS is the annual celebration to recognize some of these great companies. This panel of judges has unique insight and experience and we thank them for their invaluable insights."

Judges will review all nominations and determine finalists, to be announced April 11, 2012. Public voting runs from April 11 - 25, 2012. Winners will be determined by composite score (50 percent judges; 50 percent community voting) in all categories and will be announced at the gala May 10, 2012.

The 2012 judges include:

        
        --  Matt Summy, Illinois Science and Technology Coalition
        --  Mike Evans, GrubHub
        --  Dan Lyne, World Business Chicago
        --  Howard Tullman, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy
        --  Dennis Roberson, Illinois Institute of Technology
        --  Don DeLoach, Infobright
        --  Linda Darragh, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
        --  Lance Pressl, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
        --  Troy Henikoff, Excelerate
        --  Adam Hecktman, Microsoft
        --  Ari Kaplan, Chicago Cubs
        --  Jason DeHaan, City of Chicago
        --  Leslie Vickery, ClearEdge Marketing
        
        

ITA CityLIGHTS will be held on May 10, 2012 in the Great Hall at Chicago Union Station. The event is attended by more than 700 executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and technology champions from the breadth and depth of Illinois business. To purchase a table or tickets to the event, visit www.itacitylights.org . The Awards Gala is an opportunity for the industry to connect, socialize, and celebrate the continued success of the technology industry in Illinois and the growing importance of this economic sector.

About the Illinois Technology Association The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) is a driving force behind the growth of Illinois' vibrant technology industry. We are relentless in championing the development and application of technology, from start-up companies to industry leaders, leveraging the transformative nature of technology to revolutionize industries. ITA uniquely capitalizes peer-to-peer collaboration, networking, and access to experts across the breadth of business to cultivate the Illinois technology industry. The unique and powerful integration of these valuable and experienced resources differentiates the ITA as a source of accelerated growth for the technology industry of Illinois. For more information about ITA, please visit www.illinoistech.org .

Contact the ITA at headquarters@illinoistech.org, follow the discussion on Twitter at @itabuzz, and visit www.illinoistech.org to find out more about how ITA supports the growth of the local industry.

TRIBECA FLASHPOINT ACADEMY FEATURED IN NEW ITA SPOTLIGHT