BOOM! Southeastern Commerce

As the fourth wave of COVID surges, businesses are left, once again, wondering what to expect in regards to their staff, clients, office space, and more. In Season 2, Episode 5, Adams and Reese’s Managing Partner, Gif Thornton, and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Tim Volpe, join host, Chris Kane, to recount their experiences as leaders navigating the pandemic, how they overcame challenges, and discuss what may be on the horizon as COVID-19 continues to shape the future of business operations.

From supply chains to the boardroom, cybersecurity is impacting our economy. It’s no longer a question of ‘if’ your company will be targeted, but “when” will it happen. In Episode 4, Barry Hensley, Chief Threat Intelligence Officer at Secureworks and Souwei Ford, Atlantic/SE Cyber Team Leader at Willis Towers Watson talk to Roy Hadley and Chris Kane about cyber crimes, how it’s become an invisible economic threat, the questions businesses should be asking, and the actions that need to happen now.

Season 2, Episode 3 - The City of Mobile has always played an important role in the U.S. shipbuilding industry. Most recently, the U.S. Navy commissioned its newest combat ship, U.S.S. Mobile, in the city it was built, Mobile. Bradley Byrne, former U.S. Representative for Alabama's 1st Congressional District, joins Chris Kane for a discussion on the U.S.S. Mobile, the economic incentives it brought to the Gulf South region, and what’s next for the shipbuilding industry in the United States.

Season 2, Episode 2 - New Orleans will play host again to the Final Four (2022) and then the Super Bowl (2025). Cities that bid on major sporting events not only boost the tourism sector, but also provide a substantial economic injection for the city and region. Jay Cicero, President/CEO, Jeff Rossi, SVP of Events, and Phillip Sherman, Chairman, of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation join host Chris Kane for a discussion on how these major sporting events come about, stimulate jobs, reinvigorate the host city’s image, and generate business revenue while still recovering from COVID.

In Season 2, Episode 1, internationally known Chef and Restaurateur John Folse and Stan Harris, President and CEO of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, joins Chris Kane for a discussion about how the restaurant industry is looking beyond COVID and how the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund will play a role in their recovery efforts.

In Episode 13, we take a look back at 2020 and ahead to commerce-related developments for Q4 and 2021 in our final episode of Season 1 of Boom! Chris Kane joins Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., and Todd Murphy, President of the Jefferson Parish Chamber of Commerce, for a recap of the past year, looking at the bright side as well as challenges we overcame. From the opening of New Orleans’ new airport to the ways COVID-19 changed our lives beginning this spring, to the impact on schools, music, and sports, we revisit topics that shaped the business world throughout the past year. As the pandemic threatens to hang around for a bit longer, we talk with our guests about what’s on their wish lists for the next set of COVID-19-related legislation, and whether the technology boom is here to stay. 

In Episode 12, award-winning record producers and engineers Chuck Ainlay and Jeff Balding talk with Chris Kane about how COVID-19 has impacted the recording and live music industries. After decades of transformative change in these industries, learn how technology is shaping music recording and production and live music events in the midst of the pandemic. Chuck and Jeff share how artists are approaching recording new music safely in Nashville studios and explain the challenges of streaming events to promote new music and generate revenue in this new, uncertain climate.

In Episode 11 of BOOM! The Southeastern Commerce Podcast, Nashville’s Brent Dougherty, co-host of 3HL on 104.5 The Zone, and Larry Holder, New Orleans sports columnist for The Athletic, talk to Brad Lampley and Chris Kane about the challenges of the return of fall sports across the Southeast as professional, college and high school leagues are starting their seasons, as well as what the fan experience might be like.

In Episode 10, Chresal Threadgill, Superintendent of the Mobile County Public Schools System, talks to Chris Kane and Suntrease Williams-Maynard about the challenges that students and administrators face as we approach a new school year in the “new normal.”

In Episode 9 of BOOM! The Southeastern Commerce Podcast, Logan Fahey, CEO for Robin Autopilots, talks with Chris Kane and Andrew McBride for a discussion on social enterprise, the innovation behind Robin Autopilot and how the market is shaping during the COVID-19 crisis.

In Episode 8 of BOOM! The Southeastern Commerce Podcast, Senator Becky Massey, Chair of the Tennessee Senate Transportation and Safety Committee, joins Brad Lampley and Chris Kane as we learn more about the infrastructure challenges and solutions in the state of Tennessee.

Mark Bordziski, USDA’s Acting Administrator for Rural Business-Cooperative Service, joins Michael Berson and Chris Kane of Adams and Reese for a discussion about the USDA’s Business & Industry (B&I) Cares Act Program and how it’s helping rural businesses have access to capital during the COVID-19 crisis.

In Episode 6 of BOOM! The Southeastern Commerce Podcast, Gary Brantley, Chief Information Officer for the City of Atlanta, joins Roy Hadley and Chris Kane of Adams and Reese talk about the role that technology has in helping cities and governments respond to the COVID-19 crisis as well as the role technology will have in shaping cities of the future. Both Gary and Roy helped the City of Atlanta in its response and recovery efforts from the City’s 2018 ransomware attack and are helping to lead the City into the future.

We also put Gary on the “BOOM” Rapid Fire hot seat as we learn more about his book, The Art of Organizational Transformation, his passion for public service, and why he chose the path of technology instead of aeronautics.

In Episode 5 of BOOM! The Southeastern Commerce Podcast, Mayor Steve Benjamin joins LaJoia Broughton and Chris Kane of Adams and Reese for a discussion about lessons learned from the City of Columbia during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as what’s next for the booming City of Columbia in regards to social and economic development projects. We also put Mayor Benjamin on the hot seat as we learn more about him, the three I’s of city life (Infrastructure, Innovation and Inclusion), his time as Former President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and what’s next for him.

In Episode 4 of BOOM! The Southeastern Commerce Podcast, city and chamber of commerce representatives from Nashville Tennessee, Jefferson Parish Louisiana and Columbia South Carolina speak with Adams and Reese attorney Chris Kane about what the next few months may look like from a perspective of balancing a return to work and public health.