Debbie Madden, Founder and Chair, Stride Consulting

Debbie Madden is a serial tech entrepreneur. In 30 years, she’s scaled six tech companies and is a two-time Inc 500 CEO. She is the founder and chair of Stride Consulting. Stride is a national generative artificial intelligence (AI) and software delivery company helping top brands like SeatGeek, Spotify, and Casper deliver high-quality products to market while upskilling tech teams. Stride Conductor is the only multiagent codegen product specifically designed to eradicate tech debt. Madden is an advisor at Docker, author of “Hire Women,” and host of the podcast of “Scaling Tech.”

In our survey, we found that 99% of respondents are already using AI in their business – and they expect to grow their adoption over the next 12 months. Tell us about the work you are doing in generative AI.

Today, more than $300 billion is spent annually in the tech industry on fixing low-quality software. With the advent of AI tools, this spend will likely increase in the near term. When it comes to creating software, many AI tools enable a software engineer to write code faster. This means lines of code will be written at a much faster speed than ever before.

Some of this code will be high quality, but some of it will be poor, for various reasons. That’s where the work our team does at Stride Conductor comes in – we are doing the dirty work, cleaning up all types of untidy code, whether that be new AI-generated code or old, outdated legacy code.

Stride Conductor is a proprietary combination of generative AI agents that work seamlessly in the background to clean up poorly written code, freeing up precious time and money to enable humans to focus on innovative, creative work.

What’s the secret sauce in building high-performing teams?

I’ve been scaling tech teams for almost 30 years and have been part of many teams. There is no one silver bullet when it comes to building high-performing teams, but there is a recipe. The most important ingredients for a high-performing team are:

• Collaboration
• A culture that allows every individual to believe they have a safe space to be heard
• Visible work
• Tight feedback loops
• The ability to either disagree and commit or align on a path forward even with partial information
• T-shaped individuals who have deep expertise in one area and yet can wear multiple hats when needed

In addition, it’s important to embrace the fact that all teams go through the four phases of team growth: forming, storming, norming, and then performing. And if one single person gets added or removed from the team, the whole team goes back to the forming stage and that’s OK.

Andrea Patisteas, Senior Executive Vice President, Primo Medical Group

With 35 years of experience in the medical device design and manufacturing field, Andrea Patisteas is no stranger to innovation. Primo Medical Group, where she is a senior executive vice president, offers comprehensive outsourcing solutions to the medical device market.

The medical device industry seems to be growing at a rapid pace, making innovation important to growth. Tell us about how you approach this.

In the medical device field, advancements in technology and materials can drastically change the landscape of treatment options available to patients. As a contract manufacturer, Primo aims for close collaboration with our customers on their research and development projects.

Sharing our experiences and contributing to the design of new devices that address emerging challenges in the medical field not only benefits the medical teams and their patients, but also positions us a leader in the field, recognized for our reputation as a highly desired original equipment manufacturing (OEM) partner. By gaining the trust of our customers, we enrich the innovation team and expand the opportunity for innovation.

In an era where precision and quality in medical devices can mean the difference between life and death, Primo has taken a significant step forward by expanding one of its development and manufacturing centers by 28,000 square feet. This strategic expansion is not merely about increasing physical space; it reflects a commitment to meeting the rising demand for high-quality development and manufacturing services that are critical for generating new ideas.

We believe innovation is easier when there is a commitment to achieving it. We do that by investing in the company and nurturing relationships with our customers to earn their trust. We never operate in the shadows – our customers have complete access to the processes we perform on their products. That level of trust leads to better collaboration, and better collaboration sparks innovation.

How has your approach to leadership evolved over the years?

My approach to leadership is ever changing, even on a daily basis. I believe that to effectively lead individuals, you’re required to acknowledge that they have individual needs. This doesn’t change the goal; it means one should consider how to approach different personalities to achieve the best results. Over the years I have learned the importance of guiding people to come to their own conclusions, personalizing my message to them to assist them in viewing things from a different perspective.

I’ve learned the importance of consistency in addressing problems head on. Guiding people to confront issues they encounter can be difficult. It’s hard to convince people that delaying communication with their co-workers or managers just makes things worse.

Many people want to avoid conflict; it’s a natural urge. I try to assure them that they are empowered to immediately speak up when an issue arises. I believe it is the key to a positive work experience when the message is delivered in a way that demonstrates how this helps everyone, instead of in an accusatory way.

I’ve learned to accept that not everyone is necessarily a good fit for us. When we hire someone, we want them to work out; we’ve invested in them! But you can’t let your judgment be clouded when you identify a problem that is likely not going away.

I encourage our managers not to keep investing precious time in someone who makes no effort to work with us the way we need them to. Bottom line: Open and frequent communication between everyone in an organization is the key to success.

Karla Trotman, President and CEO, Electro Soft

Karla Trotman has run her own business with a global and celebrity clientele, reported segments on the news, consulted for businesses, and ultimately left corporate America to run her family’s company as CEO of Electro Soft, a premier electronics contract manufacturing firm.

In 2024, she also added author to her resume, with the release of “Dark, Dirty, Dangerous: Building the Vibrant Future of Manufacturing.” The book not only discusses how to create a resilient manufacturing company for the near future, but it also covers issues surrounding the Black wealth gap and how entrepreneurship is the best way to create generational wealth.

When asked about their top three challenges in our recent survey, private business owners identified economic instability and inflation, the rise of AI, and the political environment in the U.S. As a leader, how are you helping your company navigate these changes and disruptions?

Our business approach has been simple: Keep more cash on hand, ensure our strong credit position, and don’t allow accounts receivable to get out of hand. I am part of a strong group of CEOs across multiple industries who meet monthly to discuss such issues. Annually, we hear from an economist who gives us economic projections based on the world’s significant issues at that time. It makes it easier to lean into the curves when you know what may be coming.

You recently released “Dark, Dirty, Dangerous: Building the Vibrant Future of Manufacturing.” What do you hope people take away from the book?

When asked to write a thought leadership book about manufacturing, I knew I couldn’t jump into the topic without giving context. I also knew I didn’t want to write a boring manufacturing book that wouldn’t get read.

Ultimately, I decided to tell the story of how a Black family accidentally wound up in electronics manufacturing and how the current “manufacturing renaissance” will cause companies to flex in ways that may be contrary to the status quo.

It is a story about family business, tough decisions, transitions, systemic barriers, and a changing world. Our manufacturing business happens to be the backdrop.

In the book, I’ve left some breadcrumbs for others looking to create a legacy for their families. I recognize that most entrepreneurial endeavors in the U.S. are under-resourced, small, family-owned businesses, so I wanted to share relatable and tangible steps to create generational wealth that comes from entrepreneurship.