WINNERS' CIRCLE

Why the Fastest Megawatt Is the One You Don't Use: Encycle's 21-Year Data Advantage | Ana-Paula Issa

Encycle CEO AP Issa joins Russ Fordyce to talk about the energy crunch almost nobody is pricing in yet. She explains why utilities missed the data center wave while preparing for EVs, how 21 years of rooftop HVAC data became Encycle's moat, and why the equipment building owners already have is the only lever they can pull this quarter. Encycle won a 2026 Sustainability Leadership Award from Business Intelligence Group for AI-driven HVAC optimization that requires no new hardware.

No-Code RCS: How True Dialog Put Rich Messaging in Marketers' Hands Without a Developer | Amanda McGuckin Hager

Amanda McGuckin Hager is helping brands use business texting as a high-value, high-trust marketing and customer engagement channel. At True Dialog, Amanda works with colleges, universities, retailers, financial services companies, and brands across many industries to connect with people through SMS, RCS, CRM integrations, APIs, and emerging AI-driven messaging tools. True Dialog recently won a SAMI Award for its work in SMS and business messaging. In this episode, Russ and Amanda discuss why SMS has become such a powerful channel. Unlike email, text messaging lives next to messages from family, friends, and the people consumers trust most. That makes the channel incredibly valuable, but only when brands respect the opt-in, keep lists clean, and send messages people actually want. The conversation explores RCS, or Rich Communication Services, and how it is turning messaging into a more interactive, branded, visual experience. Amanda explains how True Dialog built a no-code RCS visual composer so marketing and growth teams can create rich messages without relying on developers or API work. Russ and Amanda also discuss lessons from analyzing more than a billion brand text messages, why customers who opt in usually want to hear from brands, how True Opt Out uses AI-powered sentiment detection to catch non-standard opt-out requests, and why list hygiene is both a compliance issue and a customer experience issue. The episode also covers MCPs, AI agents, TrueConnect, verified sender, first-party data, RCS engagement, publisher sponsorship opportunities, compliance, global opt-out expectations, and why now is the time for marketers to start building their owned messaging lists.

Pay First, Collect Later: Rewiring the Electronics Trade-In | Roger Brown

Most trade-in programs ask you to mail your phone into a black box and just wait. Roger Brown and the team at Allstate Protection Plans decided to do the opposite with Staples Canada, paying customers up front and letting the device follow. It won them a 2026 Sustainability Award, and the reason it works has almost nothing to do with recycling.

Chris Shyrock on Atlantic.Net, Support Transformation, and Cloud Customer Trust

In this episode, Chris Shyrock, Director of Support Services at Atlantic.Net, discusses the company's transformation of its customer support operations amid a significant data center migration. He shares insights on enhancing communication skills among technical support teams, managing high-stakes customer environments, and building trust through exceptional service. Chris emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement and team empowerment in delivering reliable cloud infrastructure support.

The Real AI Infrastructure Bottleneck Isn't Chips, It's Electricity | Selva Murali

Everybody's talking about GPU shortages, but according to one of our own award judges, that's not really the story anymore. He builds the chips going into AI factories at AMD, and he told us plainly what's actually running out first. Spoiler, it's not silicon.

Selva Murali on AMD, AI Chips, and the Future of Semiconductor Design

In this episode, Russ interviews Selva Murali, a staff engineer at AMD, who shares insights into the cutting-edge semiconductor technology that powers AI and modern devices. They discuss the challenges of designing faster and more efficient chips, the critical role of machine learning in circuit design, and the importance of addressing power and cooling constraints in data centers. Selva also highlights the need for new engineers in the semiconductor field and reflects on his experiences as a judge in innovation competitions.

Why "Not If, But When" Is an Excuse: Building Identity-First, Proactive Cyber Defense | Chris Schueler

Chris Schueler is helping large, complex organizations rethink cybersecurity for an AI-accelerated threat environment. At Cyderes, Chris leads a pure-play cybersecurity company focused on managed security, transformation, operations, identity, non-human identity, and proactive threat defense. Cyderes recently won a Fortress Cybersecurity Award, with Chris recognized as an executive leadership winner. In this episode, Russ and Chris discuss how his early military experience building one of the first Army security operations centers still shapes how he builds security teams today, why the old mindset of "not if, but when" can become an excuse, and how Cyderes' Meridian platform stitches together cyber threat data with identity and non-human identity signals so organizations can prevent threats before they spread.

Why Non-Human Identity Security Is Cybersecurity's New Front Line | Keith Hollender

Fortress Cybersecurity Award winner Keith Hollender, CEO of Arcova, joins The Winners' Circle to unpack how AI is speeding up both attackers and defenders. He also explains why non-human identity security has quietly become the most urgent conversation in enterprise cybersecurity today.

How Napier Uses Generative Engine Optimization to Get B2B Brands Cited by AI | Mike Maynard

Mike Maynard, chairman of Napier and one of our longtime Business Intelligence Group judges, ran over a thousand prompts through four different AI engines to see what actually gets a B2B brand cited. Turns out the old SEO playbook is only half the story now. He walked Russ Fordyce through what Napier found, and honestly, some of it will surprise you.

Mike Maynard on Napier, GEO, AI, and the Future of B2B Marketing

In this episode, Russ interviews Mike Maynard, Managing Director of Napier, about the evolving landscape of B2B marketing in the age of AI. They discuss the importance of human expertise alongside AI in content creation, the shift from traditional SEO to generative engine optimization, and the challenges of data overload in marketing strategies. Mike shares insights from his career and emphasizes the need for marketers to adapt their approaches to leverage AI effectively.