Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom

There are at least ten companies with real funding and a credible shot at putting thousands of satellites into orbit every year. Every one of those satellites needs a thruster. The entire electric propulsion industry has roughly twenty-seven producers, and as far as Orbital Arc can tell, only SpaceX has ever built more than two hundred in a single year.Jonathan Huffman is the Founder & CEO of Orbital Arc, a Techstars-backed company building ion propulsion on a microchip. Smaller, lighter, more power dense, and produced through semiconductor fabrication, which means the scaling problem that constrains everyone else is already solved. He is a principal investigator at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the first chips came back working on the first try.He walks Richard through the technical bet, the market he is building toward, and why the reliability-at-any-cost philosophy that governed satellite design for thirty years no longer applies. Five years out, he wants to be shipping twelve thousand thrusters a year.Also in this one: what a JPL propulsion expert told him about his first pitch, why venture firms keep saying the model looks great but they can't check the math, and the difference between building a great product and building a business.

Rama Afullo pitched in-orbit compute to two of the most ambitious companies on the planet. Google passed. SpaceX passed. So he left and built it himself.Satlyt installs software on satellites already in orbit — no launch, no hardware, no waiting on Starship. Rama walks Richard through the trade study that killed his original plan for physical orbital data centers, why up to 90% of downlinked satellite data is lost or worthless, and what happens when you run a small language model in orbit to find and fix faults on its own.He also makes the case most space founders won't: chase revenue from day one. The companies that wait for a defense contract to validate them tend not to make it.Software-defined networking, an Android-style open ecosystem for space, and a domain name bought nine years before there was a company.

James Kim is President and Co-Founder of PKU Industries, a Houston engineering firm he started last year — and he's competing against companies a hundred times his size. His strategy comes from asymmetric warfare: don't match the big players deliverable for deliverable, because you'll lose 99% of the time. Stay lean, build a coalition of boutique specialists who stay in their lanes, and let AI do the coordinating. He and Richard get into why projects fail on unanticipated risk rather than engineering, why the "gotcha" contract model belongs to a world that no longer exists, why PKU walked away from commercial LLMs to build a small language model with a proprietary IP vault, and how a raised tax credit plus Texas permitting quietly rewrote the economics of carbon capture.

Everyone's racing to point AI at their customers. Dr. R. Sukumar has a problem with that. A former marketing professor turned founder of OSG, he's spent his career on a deceptively simple question: what do customers actually want — not what the historical data says they wanted. In this episode, he and Richard get into why most AI runs on shallow, backward-looking data, why the "law of averages" quietly kills good products, and why the companies winning the next decade will be the ones that own data their competitors don't have.

Most episodes of Above the Clouds, Richard Byrd is the one asking the questions. This time, he's in the hot seat.The Best Kept Secret: What Technical Companies Keep Getting Wrong About Growth is out, and BlueByrd's own Cindi Boudreaux and Shannon Carlson flip the script — putting Richard on the other side of the mic to talk about the book, what drove him to write it, and why the same commercial mistakes keep showing up across industries, company sizes, and decades.They get into the Innovation Blind Spot that quietly kills growth at technically excellent companies, the Seven Deadly Sins of marketing that most leaders commit without realizing it, and why the gap between where a company is and where it could be is almost always smaller than it thinks.Richard also makes the case for why fixing your commercial engine doesn't require becoming a salesperson — it just requires applying the same rigor you already put into your engineering and operations.If you've ever told your sales team to sell harder, swapped out a marketing director, or sponsored a golf tournament and wondered why the revenue didn't follow, this one's for you.

Asit Goel, VP of Marketing at UniFirst, joins Richard Byrd to make the case for marketing as a strategic function — not a cost center. Asit picks the raven as his company's spirit bird: intelligent, adaptive, and working quietly in the background of every industry, from food processing to semiconductors to oil and gas.The conversation digs into the challenge most B2B marketers never say out loud: defining marketing's value and getting the rest of the organization to believe it. Asit and Richard cover why customers use price as a crutch when they don't understand value, why the decision-maker is always a human driven by emotion, and why marketing — not just sales — owns the job of articulating differentiation. Along the way: building in-house teams versus leaning on agencies, where pricing belongs, the limits of attribution, the surprising power of direct mail, and the one piece of advice Asit gives anyone starting out — stay curious, and form hypotheses, not opinions.

Rhonda Taylor, Managing Director at DSG Global, has seen the full cycle: high-volume staffing, enterprise executive search, market booms, market busts, and now a front-row seat to the AI-driven transformation reshaping how companies find (and keep) the leaders they need. In this episode, Rhonda and Richard Byrd dig into why getting a leadership hire wrong costs you far more than the search fee, how sales and marketing finally ended their long Cold War, and why the firms — and professionals — who will win over the next decade are the ones building relationships before they need them. Whether you're scaling a team, growing a business, or just trying to figure out why your pipeline feels stuck, this one's for you.

What does it take to lead marketing for a global brand that spans industries, regions, and constant change?In this episode of Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd sits down with Patrick Corcoran, Global Head of Marketing and External Relations at Hitachi Digital Services, to unpack the realities of modern B2B marketing at scale.Patrick shares how Hitachi Digital Services approaches global growth with precision and focus, why aligning marketing with sales is non-negotiable, and how today’s marketers must balance deep expertise with broad capability to stay relevant.They also dive into the evolving role of AI, the challenge of breaking through digital noise, and why the future of marketing isn’t about replacing people, but reshaping how they work.From nearshore beginnings to leading a global team, Patrick’s story is a masterclass in adaptability, relationship-building, and staying one step ahead in a rapidly changing landscape

Marketing in a technical, global industry is not about pushing content. It is about understanding complexity and turning it into clarity.In this episode of Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd sits down with Shelly Linkerhof, Head of Marketing Communications, Americas at Clariant, to break down what it takes to lead marketing across multiple industries, regions, and stakeholders.Shelly shares how her team navigates long sales cycles, highly technical products, and global dynamics, all while staying focused on what matters most: the customer.They unpack:How to translate complex science into clear, compelling marketingWhy curiosity is the most important skill in technical marketingHow to influence stakeholders without formal authorityThe shift from brochures to data-driven, multi-channel strategyHow AI is changing the way marketing teams workWhy customer understanding should always come before channel selection

Leadership is not about having all the answers. It is about asking the right questions.In this episode of Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd sits down with Ken Proctor, Founder of The Grey Pointe Group, to talk about the lessons that come from decades of leadership, career pivots, and helping executives think more clearly about the challenges they face.Ken reflects on his journey from a long career in the shoe industry to building and selling his own company, and how those experiences shaped the work he does today guiding leaders through peer groups and executive coaching.The conversation explores why curiosity is one of the most underrated leadership skills, how strong peer networks create accountability, and why the quality of your questions often determines the quality of your decisions.

AI in healthcare is not a quick fix. It is a test of leadership, culture, and trust.In this episode of Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd talks with Jacobia Solomon, Founder and CEO of Ignivis, about aligning digital transformation with measurable outcomes, workforce well-being, and equitable access.From burnout and margin pressure to responsible AI adoption, Jacobia shares why technology must stay human-centered to create real impact.

In this episode of Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd sits down with Jaclyn Townsend, Vice President of Marketing at TGS, to talk about what it really takes to lead marketing in a highly technical, global industry.Jaclyn shares how her career was shaped by being thrown into the deep end early, why marketing teams need to think like internal agencies, and how alignment with business objectives drives real impact. The conversation covers breaking through noise in technical markets, the resurgence of events, balancing process with agility, and how AI is reshaping marketing without replacing human judgment.If you work in B2B, energy, or any complex industry where credibility and clarity matter, this episode offers practical insight from a leader who has helped marketing earn its seat at the table.

In this episode of Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd sits down with Emily Canon, Demand Generation Marketing Director at Management Controls Inc. (MCI), to break down what it takes to build pipeline in a niche, enterprise B2B market.They talk ICP clarity, sales + marketing alignment, why events are working again, and how old-school tactics like direct mail are making a comeback. Plus, Emily shares how MyTrack helps companies digitize contractor compliance and reduce overbilling with real-time visibility.

More data doesn’t always mean better healthcare—unless you know how to use it. Richard Byrd talks with Chris Turner, CEO of HealthBook+, about how his team built “Paige,” an AI-driven platform that turns medical records, wearable data, and genetics into smarter, more personal care. A conversation about technology, trust, and how AI can make healthcare truly human.

How do you balance global consistency with local relevance in brand marketing? In this episode, Tom Millas joins Richard Byrd to unpack how Schneider Electric approaches regional brand leadership, the evolution of energy marketing, and what it takes to stay adaptable in a fast-moving industry.Discover insights on:The energy trilemma and why no one-size-fits-all solution existsMaking B2B brand experiences feel more human and B2C-likeWhy adaptability and curiosity are the marketer’s greatest tools today

This week on Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd sits down with Dustin Williamson, Managing Director at vcfo and former CFO of companies like Whole Foods, to discuss how finance leaders can become true strategic partners to the business. From building financial models that actually help drive decision-making to knowing when to hire in-house vs. outsource, Dustin shares hard-earned insights from the world of growth-stage companies and PE-backed environments.Discover insights on: How to build a finance function that enables—not limits—growthThe importance of clean data and strong forecasting in fast-moving businesses How to assess financial maturity and what to invest in next What makes a CFO an invaluable business partner, not just a scorekeeper

In this episode of Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd sits down with Diana Smith to explore how B2B media can shape market dynamics and drive industry engagement. With decades of experience in niche publishing and business media, Diana shares what it takes to stay relevant in rapidly evolving markets—from building trust with audiences to navigating the delicate balance between editorial integrity and brand strategy.Discover insights on:What great media partnerships look like in B2BHow to create content that both informs and convertsThe evolving role of trade media in industry storytellingLessons on leadership, collaboration, and staying curious

In this episode of Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd sits down with Ryan Chapman, Director of Sales Campaigns at Honeywell, to explore the power of aligning sales, marketing, and product teams—especially in large, complex organizations. From selling lemonade as a kid to managing global sales campaigns, Ryan shares his journey and lessons on how intent-based marketing, thoughtful campaign design, and cross-functional collaboration can move the needle. Packed with wit, insight, and plenty of “I’ve been there” moments, this is a must-listen for modern B2B leaders.

This week on Above the Clouds: Stories from the Boardroom, Richard Byrd sits down with Chris Barnhill, Director of Marketing at Skyven Technologies, to unpack how lean marketing teams can still drive major impact in highly technical industries. With a background in industrial products and a passion for smart, customer-centered communication, Chris shares how Skyven markets its energy-as-a-service model to industrial manufacturers—no upfront capex required.Discover insights on: • Navigating long sales cycles and building internal champions • Aligning messaging across technical, finance, and ops teams • Turning complex innovation into compelling, actionable marketingWhether you're managing a small team or trying to cut through the noise in a competitive space, Chris’s approach to strategy, storytelling, and stakeholder alignment will leave you inspired and ready to refine your message.

Join us as we sit down with Robin Swanger, Head of Brand Marketing at Baker Hughes, to explore the intersection of energy transition, brand marketing, and leadership in the energy sector.Discover Insights On:  How Baker Hughes is approaching the energy transition with a focus on hydrogen and cleaner tech.  Robin’s unique career path: from aspiring lawyer to Head of Brand Marketing.  The challenges and lessons learned during company mergers, and the power of aligning brand strategy.  The intrinsic link between effective brand storytelling and advocating for the customer in a rapidly evolving global energy landscape.  With a career spanning years in the energy tech industry, Robin shares how Baker Hughes tackles the complexity of transitioning to a cleaner future while maintaining efficiency and staying customer-focused.

How can businesses with long sales cycles effectively market their products and engage potential customers? This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Claire Burtin, Head of Strategy and Planning at John Cockerill Hydrogen North America. Claire shares her insights from the intersection of business strategy and content marketing, particularly in industries fueled by innovation and technical expertise.Discover insights on:  Why understanding your audience is the foundation for effective marketing.  The role of content marketing in long sales cycles and how it supports sales teams.  Practical ways to use storytelling, case studies, and webinars to add value during the buyer’s decision-making process.  How businesses can overcome challenges such as small target audiences and tough competition in niche markets.Claire and Richard deliver actionable strategies for using marketing as a tool to educate, engage, and convert prospects over extended sales cycles. Whether you’re navigating a niche industry or simply want to maximize the impact of your content, this episode is full of takeaways to refine your approach.

In our inaugural episode of Above the Cloud, we sat down with Adam Morgan, the Director of Global Communications & Marketing at Bristow Group. Adam shares his incredible career path—from serving in the military to leading marketing for aviation and energy industries—and how a public speaking class in college sparked his passion for communications.  Discover insights on:  Building marketing strategies in complex industries like aviation and oil & gas  Transitioning from B2B to B2G marketing  The value of diverse experiences in shaping a career path  How Bristow's safety culture and global operations set the standard in aviation  Packed with engaging stories (including a few about bald eagles and helicopters!), this episode highlights the blend of human connection and strategy that drives effective corporate marketing.