Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!

On this episode of Austin Tech Connect we talk to Linda Ginac, CEO and Founder of TalentGuard. Linda has been active in the Austin Technology Community for thirty years, and believes that growing connections and community are the key for all business leaders (of both home grown companies and those who have relocated to Austin). Hear her story of success and her advice on how to be more engaged in the local community. About TalentGuard: TalentGuard's Workforce Skills Management solution brings together data, software, and ecosystem to unlock complete visibility of skills, intelligent data insights to make informed decisions and help companies develop the highest potential in their workforce. About Linda Ginac: Linda is the Founder and CEO of TalentGuard. Before TalentGuard, she founded a successful career development franchise, The Ginac Group, serving clients across the U.S. and Canada since 1999. Prior to this, Linda was Vice President of Product Strategy at Cofiniti, where she was instrumental in pioneering Cofiniti's global entry into collaborative financial planning using cloud-based technology and helping to prepare the company for a successful exit. Linda also served as marketing executive at pcOrder collaborating with the team that led the company from an start-up to a NASDAQ-listed public corporation. In prior leadership roles, Linda served as Vice President of Marketing at EPSIAA, where she led global expansion of the brand through acquisition by Fiserv, Vice President of Business Development at Computer People and numerous leadership roles at Digital Equipment Corporation. Linda sits on the Board of the Austin Technology Council and several other community organizations. Linda holds a Master's Degree in Career Development from John F. Kennedy University, and a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts from Norwich University.

On the first episode of the Austin Tech Connect, our host and CEO Thom Singer sits down with the Presidnet of NetSpend, one of the most successful FinTech companies in Austin. Kelley Knutson serves as the president of Netspend. Previously, Knutson served as Executive Vice President of TSYS and President of International Issuer Solutions, based in London since 2003. He was responsible for TSYS' strategic execution, global sales, business development, relationship management, local product partnerships and new growth initiatives outside North America (United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America). Prior to TSYS, Knutson served as CEO and acting chairman of Clear Money Ltd. (Clear), a provider of Electronic Bill Management Services to UK billers and financial institutions; SVP of GE Capital's Global Consumer Finance (GCF) cards business, where he was responsible for developing and executing GCF's cards strategy and driving card-based consumer finance initiatives in more than 15 markets around the world. Prior to GE Capital, he was SVP at Visa International, where he was responsible for developing/marketing Visa's debit products and introducing e-commerce solutions (security, chip and remote banking) throughout Europe.

This podcast is hosted by the CEO of the Austin Technology Council. It sits down with leaders in Austin, Texas who are pushing technology forward.