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Manifest Density: Sponsored by Microshare

74 Episodes

17 minutes | May 19, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 62 - James Matthews - What to do when air is ’bad’
What to do when air is 'bad' James Matthews of Carbon Intelligence on getting indoor air quality right. James is an Associate Director responsible for implementing Carbon Intelligence’s Health and Wellbeing service. A qualified WELL Accredited Professional (AP) and Fitwel Ambassador, able to advise how best to implement health and wellbeing strategies to workplaces. James provides consultancy services for landlords, developers and occupiers around sustainability and wellness in the built environment; from integrating sustainability and wellbeing into property management activities to full certification services. He has advised a large organisation to deliver the WELL Building Standard to a 110,000 sq. ft. office refurbishment in Canary Wharf. James has also worked with a developer to deliver the WELL Building Standard for a 95,000 sq. ft. grade A office development in Scotland. Matthews works with Carbon Intelligence’s clients to identify opportunities to improve the sustainability performance of managed properties.   Episode transcript: The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. While Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Micheal Moran [00:00:00] This is manifest density. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this edition of Manifest Density. Your host, Michael Moran, here to explore the intersection of COVID 19 global business and society. Manifest density is brought to you by the Global Smart Building and ESG data company Microshare unleashed the data today. I'm speaking with James MATTHEWS, who is an associate director at Carbon Intelligence, one of our partners in the UK. And James is an expert in indoor air quality and he has done a lot of work from his days at the University of Exeter. James, give us a little background on yourself. Yeah.    James Matthews [00:00:40] So I'm James MATTHEWS. I working for Carbon Intelligence. I've been prior to that with a young for 6 to 7 years looking at building standards and looking at how that can be implemented into buildings built kind of from a land developer point city into the base build and also from fit out project level work. So it's really interesting space and I'm very kind of keen to talk about it.    Micheal Moran [00:01:07] Well, we are living at a time with change expectations about all sorts of things. One of those things is the wellness and safety of the indoor spaces that they're going to spend a good deal of their time in a workplace is a great example. Obviously, commercial real estate in the office sector especially are eager to see people flowing back in. So are the people who run cities who worry about tax revenue and street level commerce. So we now know that air quality is part of the demand or expectation that some people have if they're going to go back into these offices. What are you seeing in the marketplace in that regard?    James Matthews [00:01:48] So I think my observations would be prior to COVID and the kind of lockdowns that everyone saw around the world, the well being narrative was all around productivity. And with regards to sort of indoor air quality, it was looking at reducing vaccines and the impacts that that can have on people's health. Volatile organic compounds, I should say, but also carbon dioxide levels. So there's been some really interesting research that suggests that proves that if you have CO2 levels that go over 1200 parts per million can have a real impact on your cognitive ability. So anecdotally, that's the equivalent of maybe going out for lunch and having a couple of points. So I've been taught and it's that kind of slowing down of your mental ability and it's it's all around that productivity piece. If you imagine you're in the boardroom and you've got the most important people in your company thrashing out a big deal and they've been in there for hours. The indoor air quality that's going to be poor. Can you be set? Decision making at the end of the meeting are the best decisions they're able to do. That was where wellness was prior to the shift I've seen kind of in the market is is about reassuring people that the space they now choose to operate in is healthy. It is a place that isn't going to do us any harm.    Micheal Moran [00:04:16] Sure. And it could be a doctor's office where they're making decisions that are relevant to your life and death. So obviously, these are not small issues. So I have to ask, as you're in the world and you're seeing the demand for this certainly is there among people who now feel compelled to go back into the office, they kind of want to know. But what what about the purchaser of this kind of a capability, air quality monitoring? Who is that?    James Matthews [00:04:43] So, yeah, I think you can look at this from a landlord developer point of view. If you're developing your next asset wellbeing, it's very much about sort of 10 to 15 years ago where sustainability was. Sustainability used to be a nice to have. Now it's a must have without. Your asset is already going to be behind the curve against its competition. The indoor air quality and wellbeing is very much on the up and is being used as a as a USP. So I have experience with a couple of projects in Glasgow, in Scotland, and there was a project there that we were working on and they specifically targeted the well building standards because a building opposite going up in a similar sort of time that was also targeting the well building standards. So it's very much about kind of creating a premium product in the market.    Micheal Moran [00:05:34] And of course, well, building is going to ultimately have greater value when it's sold and it's probably going to attract a higher rent.    James Matthews [00:05:44] Absolutely. Yeah. There's been there's been some interesting figures coming from from the US that would suggest assets with wellbeing certificates can come on a high premium bit for rent.    Micheal Moran [00:05:56] Hold that thought. We're going to take a quick break to hear from our sponsor.    Sponsor [00:06:01] Manifest density is brought to you by Microshare, a world leader in the technologies they're helping the world return to work safely. Our ever smart suite of smart facility solutions, including indoor air quality monitoring, predictive cleaning and room occupancy solutions, bring safety, wellness, sustainability and operational cost savings to indoor spaces. Learn more at microshare. I. O.    Micheal Moran [00:06:30] Okay. I'm back with James MATTHEWS. Carbon Intelligence. James, as you confer with clients and advise them on things to do. What is the intersection of these various building certifications? Brim and Well and lead and things like air quality? Do they get credit for doing this.    James Matthews [00:06:49] From lead in the in the UK isn't so much of a big thing. The main driver over here is is Brim, which is fairly similar. There is a cross crossover between well and Brim I think for about 33% if memory serves. So if you do some credits within Breeam, you'll achieve them and well and vice versa. So that certainly leads to some efficiencies. It is definitely becoming more and more demand for in the market and we are talking to clients more regularly about implementing such certificates.    Micheal Moran [00:07:25] And so if you let's say you implement indoor air quality monitoring, is it in and of itself useful to know or are there a series of actionable data points you're going to get that take you down a journey to improve air quality?    James Matthews [00:07:42] There are certain metrics because one of them say volatile organic compounds, and that's generally found from paint or off gassing, from new furniture or plastics, things like glues. That's definitely something you can see generally as a spike in new projects where things new new kit and new furniture is brought into a space. You would potentially clear the office of people for potentially up to two weeks, leave it with the air conditioning units and the fan crews running to extract as much of that gas out. And then you would then bring people back into the office. CO2 wise, you can increase the fan speeds, obviously circulate more and more out of the building and that too will improve the interactions.    Micheal Moran [00:08:31] So I would imagine as you take someone through the process of improving the wellness of these indoor spaces, air quality is just one thing. There's a number of different metrics that you might want to correlate, right? See, you know how densely occupied spaces what what the cleaning regimen is. You know, there's all sorts of interesting questions about decibels and lumens. How much of that do you get into and.    James Matthews [00:09:00] Carbon intelligence. We are predominantly focused on indoor air quality, although clients do want to look at implementing the standard, we will walk them through everything that is required of them and the wellbeing standards are quite flexible. So you can pick and choose certain metrics to to it to benefit your, your particular fit out of your building. And that's the benefit of it. It is flexible so you can choose what's kind of interesting to you and then we will walk them through all the different the ten different requirements as a part of the standard.    Micheal Moran [00:09:39] James, hold your thought. I'm going to take a quick break for our sponsor.    Sponsor [00:09:45] Michael sure is proud to support Manifest Density, the podcast that examines the intersection of COVID 19 business and society. Each week we bring you conversation with global leaders and visionary enterprise nurse who are helping the world adapt and apply the tragic lessons of the pandemic so the planet can build back better. Subscribe to Manifest Density on our website microshare. I o or download it on Apple, iTunes, Google Play, iHeartRadio,
25 minutes | May 5, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 61 - Tracy Brower - ’Not your father’s workplace’
'Not your father's workplace' Steelcase workplace expert and author Tracy Brower on the importance for the workers to know about their work environment. Dr. Tracy Brower, PhD, MM, MCRW is a sociologist studying work life fulfillment and happiness. She is the author of two books. The Secrets to Happiness at Work provides insights for joyful work and life and how to choose and create purpose fulfillment. Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work provides new perspectives and alternative ways to consider and achieve work-life “balance” (hint: it’s not about balance, it’s more than that). Tracy is also a contributor for Forbes.com and Fast Company, and a Vice President of Workplace Insights with Steelcase. Tracy has over 25 years of experience working with global clients to achieve business results. She is the recipient of various speaking awards as well as the Innovative Practices award from the University of Houston Stanford Alexander Center for Excellence in Real Estate and the Constellation Award for top global executives achieving business results. Previously, Tracy was the Global Vice President of Workplace Vitality for M&M Mars (Mars Drinks) as well as the Director of Human Dynamics + Work for Herman Miller and the Director of Performance Environments and Living Office Placemaking for Herman Miller. Over her career, Tracy has had the opportunity to engage with many of the Fortune 500. She has also taught college and university courses and was previously a member of the selection committee for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research. CONNECT & FOLLOW: You can find Tracy on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads or here on tracybrower.com. In addition, her amateur photography is available on Unsplash. Or to reach out to Tracy, this contact form is available. Sponsored by Microshare. Listen to our other podcasts on the Manifest Density portal. - Subscribe to DataStream: the Microshare Newsletter - View our LinkedIn page -  Contact Us They can also access the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, PlayerFM, Listen Notes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Tune In, Podcast Addict, Himalaya, Deezer, and on Podbean.   Podcast transcription The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. While Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Michael Moran [00:00:00] This is manifest density. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this latest edition of Manifest Density. Your host, Michael Moran, here to explore the intersection of COVID 19 global business and society. Manifest density is brought to you by the Global Smart Building and ESG data company Microshare unleashed the data. Well, today I speak with Dr. Tracy Brower, Ph.D.. MB M.S.. RW I got to say, I don't know what that is, is a sociologist, and she is studying work life fulfillment and happiness. She's the author of two books, The Secrets to Happiness at Work, which provides new perspectives and alternative ways to consider and achieve work life balance. Hint, she says in her bio, It's not about balance. It's more than that. Tracy is also a contributor to Forbes.com and Fast Company and a vice president of Workplace Insights at Steelcase. Well, Tracy, welcome to the podcast. Tracy Brower [00:01:01] Thank you. I appreciate it. Looking forward to our conversation. Michael Moran [00:01:05] Well, I wanted to start by asking, you know, what is it that you saw in this discipline, workplace fulfillment, workplace, you know, safety that they drew you and how did you get into this career? Tracy Brower [00:01:22] Yeah, that's a great question, right. It's fun to look back at how we got into it and the interesting path. So I have always been interested in organizational culture and kind of people and the sociology of work. How we affect our work, how it affects us back in place ends up being the stage where so much of that plays out. You know, our work experience, our work environment, the workplace brings people together. So that's really been the thing that's interested me is that it's it's a place where we can really, really understand the dynamics of people, understand the dynamics of leadership, understand dynamics of, you know, some of our fundamental human needs like trust and psychological safety. So I think it's just a really, really interesting lens for all of those aspects that are interesting to me. Michael Moran [00:02:10] So one of the things that happened as a result of the pandemic to our company is that we went from a company that largely interacted with I.T. departments and facilities management teams to installed smart building technology. They were the buyers, so to speak, to now a world where the h.r. Director, the wellness chief wellness and safety officers, as well as other c-suite figures are incredibly interested in the physical safety of the spaces that the workers and employees and customers and tenants are in. Did that did your approach to to your discipline also evolve with them? Tracy Brower [00:03:00] Yeah. So interesting to hear you say that. Yeah, we are absolutely seeing this really interesting connection. And there's actually an organization called Connect, which has been talking about the super nucleus. And this is the intersection of real estate and facilities with i.t. And with h.r. And I think the pandemic has just magnified that that overlap in the middle of the three circles of the Venn diagram of this super nucleus speak to the greater concern for so many departments, kind of figuring out the best way to create a work experience. And so we are definitely seeing more h.r. People at the table h.r. Taking a greater role in the decision making and having a greater influence. Definitely that expanded concern about safety, security, the experience that people are having and how we meet all kinds of needs from that experience, not just engaging and inspiring, which are utterly critical, but how do we help people that feel safe and secure so that they can be comfortable in the space, so they can be part of the culture, so they can be in person to build relationships and perform brilliantly. It's just really interesting the way many of our roles have shifted based on some of those shifting expectations of employees. Michael Moran [00:04:21] Yeah, we've been saying, you know, basically that the pandemic kind of shined a light on the previously taken for granted. Environment in which we sit in the, you know, the what we thought of as just space and air. In fact, it contains, you know, multitudes of things that can be either harmful or or beneficial. You know, things like CO2 and things like, you know, volatile organic, organic compounds, which are really just that the odd gases and smells that come off of things like new carpets and furniture or cleaning materials, all of these things suddenly are in the minds of employees. And what's really interesting is that the tight, tight labor market, which is not just about COVID, I think people mistake that. It's also about demographics. You know, we're the baby boom is no longer booming. And we've got smaller workforces, we've got older workforces and many people retiring so that the labor market has tightened and now employees suddenly have much more leverage and much more ability to demand certain things at a workplace. Is that true? Tracy Brower [00:05:34] Yes. Oh, my gosh. It's so true. I've been listening to so many economists lately and demographers and you're so right. They are saying this talent revolution isn't going anywhere. Anytime soon we're going to be struggling. The statistics the statistics I'm hearing is we're going to be struggling with this talent revolution for probably a good five years or so. And it's about supply and demand, right? Like when there aren't enough workers, workers can demand so much more. And I really think it's such an interesting moment. Right. Like all the things we took for granted are now absolutely explicit and they are thresholds to entry. So, I mean, honestly, I never thought about I know I was a germaphobe before. It was cool to be a germophobe, but I also never thought very much about the cleanliness of my work environment. Of course it was clean, you know. And now I think we've got employees who are looking for a level of security through cleanliness and air quality, like whoever the average employee wasn't thinking about air quality three years ago. Right. And now it's such a fundamental concern, not just in terms of the reality of our cleanliness and security, but our perception of it. So like we're hearing customers saying, you know, instead of the cleaning happening on third shift anymore in the office, it's happening more during the day because we want to you know, we want to see that cleaning happening or we want to walk into a building and feel like it smells clean in a in an appropriate safe kind of, you know, not a heavy scented way, but more in a cleaner kind of scent. And I think that, like, if we look at our Steelcase data about employee expectations, people want a greater level of belonging. They want productivity, they want comfort, they want control, and they want safety. And that is things like psychological safety, but it's also just basic safety that has to do with what we talked about and even, you know, like circulation patterns and density of the environment and the extent to which we have more private spaces where we can kind of be together in a safe way if we feel less safe in an open environment. So all of those expectations are shifting the way we think about the work experience pretty fundamentally. Michael Moran [00:07:51] Tracy I have a colleague here who I will not name, but he listens to the podcast who said I wouldn't buy air quality, who cares? Who cares? And I said, I know you wouldn't buy it, neither would a brontosaurus, but you're a boomer and you don't understand the modern market. I know that in my attempts to hire
28 minutes | Apr 6, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 60 - Terri Patterson - Workplace violence and COVID
Workplace Violence and Covid A silver lining of the pandemic was the significant decline of workplace and school violence in 2020. Sadly, it is roaring back. Former FBI agent Terri Patterson discusses this sad reality. Control Risks | Global Risk Consultancy Crisis and Security Consulting practice, based in the Washington, DC office. She focuses on the impact of mental health issues in the corporate environment, specializing in threat assessment and case management. Terri has over two decades of experience leading law enforcement operations, strategic programs and critical incident preparedness. She is a recognized expert in behavioral assessment and risk mitigation, with a specialization in global security solutions to combat criminal and national security threat actors. Serving in a variety of influential roles during her FBI tenure, Terri has designed and delivered training globally to investigators, intelligence professionals, mental health experts and executives in the identification and mitigation of criminal, national security and insider threats. This bio work constitutes a fair-use of any copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US copyright law. View original source here. [[hyperlink: Terri Patterson Sponsored by Microshare. Listen to our other podcasts on the Manifest Density portal. - Subscribe to DataStream: the Microshare Newsletter - View our LinkedIn page -  Contact Us   Episode transcript: The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. While Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Michael Moran [00:00:01] This is manifest density. Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Manifest City, your host Michael Moran, here to explore the intersection of COVID 19 global business and society. And if density is brought to you by the global smart building and ESG data company Microshare, unleash the data well today. Really, really interesting conversation. I suggest we're going to have here with Terry Patterson, who had a long career in the FBI and is now a crisis consulting expert at control risks. You are definitely an interesting person. What an interesting, you know, focus area you have workplace school and other shootings. How to prevent them, how to how to mitigate the risk and respond. Welcome to the podcast.   Terri Patterson [00:00:54] Thanks so much, Michael, I'm happy to be here.   Michael Moran [00:00:57] So what is it that got you into? First, the FBI and then in into this line of work at control risks.   Terri Patterson [00:01:07] Well, thank you for asking that I often don't talk about my career before the FBI, but I started my career as a psychologist engaged in threat assessments primarily in the community. And then I spent 23 years, as you have already mentioned, as an agent with the FBI. Much of that time was spent at the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico, Virginia, where I worked on a variety of issues, starting with the beginning with violent crime matters and then transitioning over to as much of the FBI did over to terrorism and violent extremism. And so after retiring from the FBI for 23 years, I have joined control risk and I have been here now for almost two years and I have continued to really try to bring a full circle. The behavioral aspects of mental health and violence. And so certainly I talk quite a bit about mental health in the workplace and how it is that we should always strive for resilience and and positive mental wellness in the workplace. But then sadly, a lot of my work is also spent, of course, on those threats that can emerge when we see this complex combination of factors that can lead to violence in the workplace or in other commercial establishments. And then sadly, I think most tragically in our schools, as you've already mentioned.   Michael Moran [00:02:43] Well, Terry, obviously your time at control risks now has overlapped almost perfectly with COVID 19, something that obviously has been a tragic development for humanity. It's done all sorts of damage, and we've talked at length on this podcast about the economic, social and political impacts of of COVID 19. But one of the silver linings that have been pointed out is when people left the workplace to remotely work and when people actually even were kept out of religious venues for a while and schools. Of course, these tragic events really took a dove. There weren't many school shootings in 2020. There weren't many workplace violence issues that popped up, at least into the news media. How has that developed now that we're hopefully in the late stages of the pandemic and people are going back to their places of work and worship and school?   Terri Patterson [00:03:39] Well, I think you're pointing out, watch it. What is too many people really counterintuitive, right? And I'll just add some numbers to what you have already thrown out. I was reading recently a recent study that really tracks these violent mass attacks, and what was revealed was that since the data has been captured. The last five years has resulted in 20 percent of all of those mass attacks as mass shootings, 20 percent have taken place in the last five years. And when you lay on top of that recent data showing that 20 20 saw more victims of mass shootings than any other year since the data has been compiled, it really is quite compelling. It's alarming. And I'll just add to that for anyone who monitors, reads the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. The Crime Report for 2020, which is the most recent report we have. It was released in twenty twenty one early twenty twenty one. This report revealed that crimes across the board were down. Right. And so this is no surprise to many people when you consider, as you've already pointed out, that we were in the midst of a of a massive national health emergency. People were at home in response to the global pandemic. Most of the population were working from home. But what is surprising is this while the overall crime report indicated that crime was down. The exception to that trend was in two areas aggravated assaults and homicides. And in these two crime areas, we actually saw an increase in the numbers. And so what I'm suggesting here is that when everyone was home, we saw an increase in the number of aggravated assaults and homicides. Probably many of those interpersonal violence individuals who knew one another, engaging in violent acts against one another. Now we're seeing people going back to the workplace, going back out into those areas of commerce. And again, we have the same stressors that have been at play on the population since the beginning of the pandemic. But now we're seeing all of that violence spill out again into our workplace schools and places of commerce. So certainly, it's a concern. We always have to keep our eye on the vulnerability of the population in general as a result of stressors again, that we've seen all talk quite a bit about stressors during our conversation today. And as all of those employees who have been home are now navigating this transition, that's often difficult transition back into the workplace. We have been working with clients to really be prepared for that influx and trying to keep those employees safe and really trying to again shore up the resilience and making sure that that we have what we can in place to to keep everyone safe.   Michael Moran [00:06:39] Terry, hold that thought. We're going to take a break to hear from our sponsor. OK, I'm back with Terry Patterson, former FBI agent and security and crisis consultant at Control Risks. We're talking about what COVID did to the really sad rate of workplace and its place of worship violence in the U.S. in particular. I'm Terry. Can you take us through what it's like to engage with a client? You know, whether that is a house of worship or, you know, a big company or a school system and try to get them ready to prevent these things and to spot the potential problem before it happens.   Terri Patterson [00:07:23] Sure, Michael, I think so. First, I think just to I'll I'll start with what is, you know, what I see as routine policies and procedures that I think every client should have in place, right? And that revolves around workplace violence prevention and ensuring that you have that. All of our clients have a solid and robust workplace violence prevention plan. And so what we have been spending a lot of time doing is going in reviewing those plans right now, especially again, as I mentioned before, as clients are finding that they're bringing people back, they're bring their employees back into the workplace after having been away for many months. They're finding that this is a good time to really review their policies, review their procedures and make the appropriate updates that they need. And so we're certainly helping with that as a result of that. Again, we have been advising on policies and procedures. We have been putting together guide books or playbooks so that each member of that crisis management team knows what their role is when it comes to workplace violence prevention, and they're able to engage appropriately and really early on in the process. Most of that revolves around identifying behaviors of concern, having a process in place to escalate those concerns. And then again, having at the corporate level, those executives who are responsible for managing and implementing that program. We've been providing a lot of training training to frontline supervisors in particular and human resource professionals really helping them again to recognize and understand the trends related to workplace violence and concerning behaviors, helping them to understand and to implement a good process by which problems and concerns can be escalated, either through the front line manager or anonymously, as has the employee might wish. And then again, to be able to address those concerns early and often. A lot of that training has been dealing also with just de-esc
19 minutes | Mar 30, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 59 - Menno Lammers - PropTech for Good
PropTech for Good The pure benefits of better understanding the'"Built World.' Menno is the founder of the PropTech for Good alliance. The PropTech for Good alliance connects CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and sustainability leaders from around the world to initiate meaningful collaborations, exchange knowledge and build thought leadership to create responsible, resilient, and regenerative environments. Menno is a mentor at REACH UK, executive sparring partner, and keynote speaker. As a strategic advisor, Menno worked for companies like Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Nemetschek Group, Heimstaden Nederland, Savills, Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance, Rijksvastgoedbedrijf (part of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations). This bio work constitutes a fair-use of any copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US copyright law. View original source here: About | MennoLammers.com Sponsored by Microshare. Listen to our other podcasts on the Manifest Density portal. - Subscribe to DataStream: the Microshare Newsletter - View our LinkedIn page -  Contact Us   Episode transcript: The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. While Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Michael Moran [00:00:01] This is manifest density. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this latest edition of Manifest Density, your host Michael Moran here from Denver, Colorado, to explore the intersection of COVID 19 global business and society. Manifest density, of course, is brought to you by the global smart building and ESG data company Microshare. Unleash the data. Well, today I speak with Menno Lammers, did I get that right Menno ?   Menno Lammers [00:00:30] Yes, you do, Menno Lammers from the Netherlands.   Michael Moran [00:00:34] Iceland, and you are in the Netherlands. You are the founder of Prop Tech for Good, which is a really interesting initiative, a social enterprise in the Netherlands. And I thought maybe we'd start today with just a little bit about you and how you came to prop tech for good.   Menno Lammers [00:00:53] Yes. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity. And thank you for having me. Um yeah. What's my journey? You know, since 2005, I was involved in innovation in real estate and and I have a keen interest in digital developments as societal trends. And in 2015, I worked as an independent strategy and innovation consultant on the behalf of our leading international property management organization. And they asked me the question You know, how? How can we organize property management ten times faster, cheaper and better, like the moonshot thinking? And we worked on that, and at a certain moment that customer asked me, Hey, man, how can you research something for us in the in the UK because our headquarters is there and we have to find a way to land that moonshot? And then I dived into my international network and I found the word proptech. So it's a combination of property and technology. And no, no one in the Netherlands was. I had claimed it, but there were already some startups because I was I was also working for the government on a special special project, so I decided to just start with the product and sell it formally. It does not exist anymore because everything goes now to product for good. So I probably should. Also the first article in the Netherlands and at a certain moment, I am a bit of struggling because there is proptech is very pushed from a technology push, and I was always asking myself Why you know why? Why aren't we doing this? And so I decided where on on April two to start with the product for good movement. So I planted the seed. It was Earth Day and also the day of the birthday of my mother. So that was really something, you know, you plant the seed for the future and the products for goods is a global movement of people who are used to business as a force for good. And the alliance is built by real estate and technology. Businesses know the deficient areas in the business mills and the pioneers in that way and those who will actively drive dialog and action and change to reshape the built environment and those who use technology as a leopard to make a positive impact on societal challenges. So what we do is, you know, bringing tech and real estate together, but we we always start with a societal challenge, for example, health and wellbeing. So how the a healthy environment in offices or affordable housing or climate action? So that's always the starting point. And then we translate that. What how can real estate make that impact and how can technology being that lever for real estate to build environments to contribute to make that positive impact? So that's that's a bit of my journey. Always curious, you know, and and humble like and also like like Steve Jobs always said, you know, stay hungry. Stay foolish. That's what I like to do.   Michael Moran [00:04:16] Steve Jobs also said, make sure you change plugs in the cords every time you have a new models. You never said that publicly, of course. But anyway, so we are quite familiar with PropTech being one ourselves. Mm. And not only that, because we do installations for ESG data purposes. We're quite familiar with the potential value of data that didn't exist before for companies to understand their performance in terms of environmental, social and governance and all sorts of things like climate footprint for the well-being of people inside their buildings. What is from your standpoint, what is the benefit of prop tech that that can make it a societal good?   Menno Lammers [00:05:04] Yeah, you know what, what we did in in the last century's decades is being degenerative in that way. And now we have the tools and the technology to make a massive progression in that way, how we design, how we build, how we manage, how we operate, how we do the maintenance part. And that's that's a big challenge because it's still going about operation excellence. But we also have the opportunity to approach things on a different way to reduce, for example, carbon emissions because we can do a better logistics. And that's. Will be. So we connect those societal challenges, which with the technology, so it will be more integration and that will be the transition period to a more responsible, resilient and regenerative environment. And what that is, you know, we have to figure that out. First things first, but you will see that the regenerative movement will be a buzzword for the next years. But but the benefits from technology now is that we can measure we can really see what's the impact because we have to start somewhere. And when we get these signs, you know, we can we can optimize or we can rethink the processes we will see probably that we, you know, we're always proud. When we create something, we build something a great asset, you, our big tower or a skyscraper or something like that. But then we can see also what is our footprint when it's when we are running, that's that assets, but also when the embodied carbon, for example, you know what's what's in the lifecycle. So from digging into the ground, get your your towels or your route and how, yeah, what's the footprint also when it's end of life? So these kind of things we can measure, but we can also measure, you know, what's the what's the healthy environment in the building? And if people get less sick, you know, that's that's good for for everyone, for the employee, for the employer, but also for the environment as a whole, we can also see if people are happy, yes or no, you know, we can. You can answer the building, for example. Have some sort of. Yeah, it's a PR challenge, of course. But for example, if people are not that happy when they come in and when they smile, when they walk out, you know they have, they probably have a great day. You know, so there are a lot of opportunities. Also, some dark sites, of course, and we have to be aware of that. But I think we can make a massive progression in next year to do something for good.   Michael Moran [00:08:18] We do a lot of this work already, and it's it's very interesting to see how it maps to the reporting requirements. The commercial real estate has the various certification programs. All of this stuff is kind of incentive for the building operators and owners and tenants to take advantage of these kind of data streams that didn't exist before. Mm-Hmm. You are someone who is helping channel technology into these demand areas, right? What do you do in terms of your conversations with people? How do you get them to understand the value of these things that you're proposing that they install?   Menno Lammers [00:09:09] It's a good question, and first of all, you know, we have to create awareness that it's already there, that it exists. And you and you have to create an environment where they can, where people come together and share what they are working on or what the issues are. And it's very important also and currently also working on on an on an interview blog. And I was thinking, you know, it's so important to. Tough to figure out what the real problem is, because what what you see now, what's happening is that. Real estate companies or the people working there reach out to me and say, Man, are we? We need a solution to reduce energy. And of course, there are many, many of these kind of solutions or we want to have insights about our footprint or we want to to create the governance structure for it to to to to achieve our our net zero pledge or something like that. And it sounds easy now because you can just bring in some solutions. And there are so many and it's growing every day. But really understand why they need it. And maybe you figure out that they they need more than only that solution. And probably they will, because what you see is happening is that most of the time it's a one figure one person thing. So one person has something on his plate. They reach out. They bring a solution in
34 minutes | Mar 23, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 58 - Andy Dengel - The science of indoor air quality
The science of indoor air quality UK air quality expert Dr. Andy Dengel on an invisible threat Andy is currently Director of Environment in the Building Technology Group at BRE. He gained a PhD and postdoctoral research experience in chemistry at Imperial College London, publishing extensively on the structures, properties and catalytic oxidising abilities of transition metal complexes. Andy then spent the next 16 years of his career working in and managing contract analytical laboratories. Starting with drinking water analysis, this took in food and consumer product analysis at a Public Analyst laboratory and latterly the operational/site management of a growing suite of contaminated land/water laboratories for ALcontrol. Since joining BRE in 2006 Andy has led the IAQ and Chemical Assessment teams, and in 2008 also assumed overall responsibility for the other BRE environmental engineering and consultancy teams (HVAC, Air Pollution, Lighting and Environmental Noise) and in 2013 he became Deputy to the Director of BRE’s 70-strong Building Technology Group. This bio work constitutes a fair-use of any copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US copyright law. View original source here: Andy Dengel   Episode transcript: The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. While Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Michael Moran [00:00:11] This is manifest density. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this edition of Manifest Entity, your host Michael Moran here, and we are here to explore the intersection of COVID 19 global business and society. And unfortunately, war, which has now entered the picture in Ukraine. Manifest density is brought to you by the global smart building in ESG data company Microshare. Unleash the data and today I speak with. I'm pleased to have with me, Dr. Andy Dingell, who is the director of the environment team at Barry, which is the kind of leading building research establishment in in the UK and has global reach and influence. Andy, welcome to the podcast.   Andy Dengel [00:01:13] Hello, Mike.   Michael Moran [00:01:17]  So, Andy, tell us a little about yourself and your work on indoor environments at spirit.   Andy Dengel [00:01:29] Yeah, sure. So I started off as a chemist, so my doctorate was in chemistry and then I went on to do a lot of analytical chemistry. In the last 15 years, I've been at body building research establishment and I've headed up what we loosely call prairie environment, but really, really concerns the indoor environments that we find ourselves living and working in learning in. So it's everything from indoor air quality through to ventilation and H-back and also lighting noise and other other parameters that can affect us when we're in the buildings. And in that we we do various types of work. We do a lot of research, both collaborative research but also commercial research. And there's R&D for people with products in this area. And we also do advisory work and sometimes to street testing of other products or materials to do the indoor air quality.   Michael Moran [00:02:25] So we were talking before the podcast began about the, you know, really new impetus that air quality has gained throughout the pandemic. Obviously, a virus travels through an airborne virus. It's going to be something that alarms you a bit about. The space you're in makes you wonder about what you might have considered a fairly neutral space. But air quality goes back well before the pandemic. Air quality as a as a capability, as a concern in indoor spaces. Can you give us a little background on where the science has come from?   Andy Dengel [00:03:06] Yes, absolutely. I mean, we've been involved here before and before I joined even the last twenty five years when he was some of the the IQ issues that come about and of course, traditionally equality came to the consciousness in terms of external air quality, air pollution and those sort of things. But then gradually over the last maybe 10, 15 years, people start to think, Well, we actually spend more time indoors. Some people spend all of their time indoors. And often they are. The indoor air quality indoors has a great, great potential to affect the health and well-being. So I say the last 15, 20 years, we've seen a gradual increase in awareness, I'd say, of indoor air quality. And of course, the internet and social media really take that to another level in a lot of people start to know, you know, listen to podcasts like they say they they can read things, they can access things and it's getting more on the agenda. And I think before the COVID pandemic, we were starting to see a lot of organizations, whether it be schools, medical corporate offices, whatever. So into place a bit more emphasis on the health and well-being of occupants. Because after all, if your employee isn't happy in their indoor environment, they won't perform as well. They may become ill and they may become absent. So we were starting to see that before the for the pandemic, but I think the pandemic has really thrust it even more into the spotlight.   Michael Moran [00:04:36] I want to look state state pre-pandemic for just a moment and talk about some of the research and some of the case studies that were were floating around before anybody really had it focused on COVID 19. I mean, a lot of these things had to do with preventing absenteeism, preventing the the ill effects of CO2 buildup, which which make people drowsy and toward the end of the day, for instance, could really hit productivity in a workforce. And then there was, you know, the pure health care or the health issues which which had to do with things like the humidity and temperature mix, which can affect the spread of disease. What are some of the factors that go into the pure? Air quality concerns that predated the pandemic.   Andy Dengel [00:05:31] Yeah, so I think a lot of what we used to do used to be reactive in a way which is a pity where people would contact us when they were experiencing problems enough in an office or a school or hospital. And normally that would be one or two or more people experiencing irritation or discomfort or ill health. Then, of course, you have this sort of psychosomatic factors in the so-called sick building syndrome where, you know, open plan always if three or four people become uncomfortable and attribute that to the indoor environment that can start to to spread. So we were starting to do that sort of work and we were developing protocols ready to go in and assess indoor air quality in indoor environments. And we often call it Iizuka, you know, taking everything into account. But there weren't many standards or guidelines for people to hang their hats on as such. There were a lot of schemes, so voluntary schemes such as Brianna, where you can raise a building for a whole load of factors, one of which is air quality ventilation, but very little proactive stuff. But we had, you know, started to look at ways of, yeah, for a reasonable amount of money to be able to go in and assess what's important. And that, first and foremost, would be things, as you said, the CO2 levels, the level of ventilation and also the effects that can come from, you know, too much ventilation or too little things like dampness or on the other hand, dryness of air is too dry and then particular sources of indoor pollutants bosses, for instance, which can make those effects, you know, two out of nine out of 10 people, but one person could be sensitive and have problems. So we were starting to look at that, but really don't know. So it was one to one basis, but I think we had the advent of more technology is going to thrust us all towards a point where there's more measurement going on.   Michael Moran [00:07:30] And you hold that thought we're going to take a break to hear from our sponsor. There will be a little dead air here, and I'll come back. OK, I'm back with Dr. Andy DeAngelo of the British I'm sorry, the building research establishment in the UK. Doctor, is there a. Kind of secret weapon for indoor air quality. We've now seen, as you were mentioning before, we took the break. Technology has really evolved. We've had a pandemic which certainly raised the awareness of the concerns that might be extended in indoor air. But I know iOttie, of course, allows for a certain amount of collection of data. But what's it seems like? There's a real challenge in connecting all the various elements that can affect indoor air quality into a responsive single unit. Is that about is that right?   Andy Dengel [00:08:33] Yes, because it can be quite complex, you know, on the level of CO2, that's reasonably straightforward. I mean, but even then, you know, there can be other factors. But you know, there are so many factors. So it really all comes down to something it a balance between. Energy efficiency, I'd say, in ventilation, because more and more we're seeing very airtight buildings relying on mechanical ventilation. And if that doesn't work properly or isn't designed properly, you can have problems. Of course, some places don't have that luxury and they'll still be problems because there's not the opportunity for the cross ventilation, etc. So to the whole thing really makes it quite difficult to know which premises you should look at. And there are certainly some important markers, but I think where is the the iottie and the ability to share data and collate data and do things with data is really going forward. The technology to have really robust and reliable sensors to do continuous monitoring is a little bit behind when it comes to economies, you know, in terms of financial economy, because really the more you spend, obviously the better you you'll be. But you know, some of the sensors do have limitations, and I think those limitations need to be at least understood before data is collected.   Michael Moran [00:09:59] You know, we had we've had several
37 minutes | Mar 14, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 57 - Stacey Higgenbothom - IoT and the COVID-19 moment
IoT and the COVID-19 moment Tech journalist and IoT trend-setter Stacey Higgenbothom on IoT's COVID relevance Stacey Higginbotham is a freelance writer who has spent the last 15 years covering technology and finance for publications such as Fortune, Gigaom, The Deal, The Bond Buyer and BusinessWeek. Stacey covers the Internet of things, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence. Check out Stacey on IoT Stacey on IoT | Internet of Things news and analysis     Episode transcript: The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. While Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Michael Moran [00:00:00] This is manifest density. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this edition of Manifest Density, your host Michael Moran here, and we are going to explore the intersection of COVID 19, global business society and technology today. Manifest density is brought to you by the global smart building and ESG data company Microshare. Unleash the data. Today, we're going to talk technology. In fact, we're going to talk about the Internet of Things, and I'm very, very pleased to have today. Stacy Higginbotham, who is the curator and writer of Stacy on IoT really, really well circulated newsletter. So it's a real pleasure to welcome you to manifest density.  Stacey Higgenbothom [00:00:43] Thank you for having me. I'm really excited.  Michael Moran [00:00:46] Stacy, we follow you here. Microshare fairly religiously. I get your newsletter, forwarded it to me all the time. And so it's it's overdue that I reached out. Had you on the program,  Stacey Higgenbothom [00:00:58] you could sign up for it directly.  Michael Moran [00:01:01] Yeah, I know I do. Actually, I get it. But you know what that's like? I get about 350 emails a day. It's overwhelming. How does one become a journalist who covers the Internet of Things? What was your journey?  Stacey Higgenbothom [00:01:13] Oh, it was meant to say time consuming because I've been a tech journalist for probably about 20 years, a little over that now. And I started out covering semiconductors because I was was actually a reporter for a local Austin paper, and semiconductors was a big business. So I did that and then I went into networking and then I went into wireless and cloud computing and databases. And around 2012, all of those things started to come together in what we were calling the Internet of Things. And we were really excited about it. And I had. Basically, all the technical elements, so it was kind of fun for me because all of a sudden I went from this person who babbled on about spectrum policy and like new wireless standards at parties to somebody who could talk about really cool gadgets. And so like, my stock went up tremendously, and that is basically how I started covering the Internet of Things. So for the sake  Michael Moran [00:02:12] of those who listen to this podcast and don't always dove into the technology, give us a quick definition from you from apart from on high, I should say, of what the Internet of Things is and how it's kind of evolved over the last 12 years or so.  Stacey Higgenbothom [00:02:31] Yes. And before before I got into it, it was called M to M. So I'm not going to say that it was like the Internet of Things has always been here in some ways, or as as long as there's been wireless connectivity and computing. So basically, my definition of the IoT is when cheap computing, ubiquitous wireless and cheap sensors all came together in a way around it. It started out around smartphones was the renaissance of this. But all of that comes together and it makes the invisible visible. And I am so excited about this opportunity because we can do so much with the information if we can just figure out how to grab it cheaply, how to behave ethically with it, and how to deliver insights that can really help us. I look at it is helping us fix the climate. I think it's really important to helping people live better, maybe more fulfilling lives. I don't want to go that far and really just help us be the best versions of ourselves. So that sounds really super optimistic, but it's also very concrete.  Michael Moran [00:03:45] Yeah, I mean, so I mean, I try really hard, except for the sponsorship slots to keep microshare out of this podcast. If you listen, you know that. But this is so directly relevant to what we do because in effect, what we've tried to do is take the complexity out of iOttie and make. My CEO Ron ROCs likes to say our customers don't even know how to spell iOttie. So ultimately, the idea is that you have a an outcome rather than a technology product. Do you have data that's telling you whether the air quality is sufficient or data that's telling you how many people are in a room or whether the water temperature is is being calibrated properly so that you don't get Legionnaires disease or, you know, those types of data feeds that never existed before, you know, and in the world that we operate in. You know, I like to say, you know, we take these what we're once inert brick and mortar assets and we create vital signs we create. We show you that actually, this is a living breathing entity. This this building, it's got air, it's got a circulatory system, it's got a plumbing system, so it's got a digestive system. So ultimately, we can kind of track the condition and the operations and the wellness of the environment. And that's huge and think. And it also has that, as you referred to this incredible sustainability application in terms of knowing how you're treating the people in your space or knowing how much energy you're using and whether it's used efficiently, things like that. I mean, is this something that was it? It is. Those are the kind of things that were imagined in the beginning or has this kind of evolved with things like the pandemic and recessions and.  Stacey Higgenbothom [00:05:31] Things have definitely evolved with the pandemic. I think in the beginning, I mean, if we look all the way back, I actually just had someone on my podcast who created the term IoT all the way back in 1985. So his name was Peter Lewis, and he was the one of the founders of Cellular one. And basically, he he back in 1985, was like, Hey, we've got this thing called the ARPANET. I've got mobile phone connectivity now. It's like, Let's let's sign up traffic lights and air conditioning and building and power grids, all to the cellular network so they can give their status. This is his vision 37 years ago. And I think we've always needed something like this, but it has been so hard again because sensors were expensive, wireless connectivity was expensive. The computing for the analytics was expensive, so I think we've always needed more information because that's what we do as people, right? We just didn't have a way to get it economically and feasibly. So you could only monitor super important things.  Michael Moran [00:06:43] OK, Stacey, we're going to take a break, perhaps a superfluous break since I've already talked about that sponsor. But to hear from our sponsor? OK, I am back with Stacey Higginbotham, who covers the Internet of Things from I o to T. Stacey, we're talking about how it's evolved over the years and the ubiquity of it potentially to create data in all sorts of places and spaces. But of course, that also means it's a big ubiquity, makes it an enormous target for cybercrime and hacking and all sorts of mischief. The IoT, it strikes me, had a pretty bad reputation in its early years because people were just hooking it up to their corporate networks. There's this famous story about the the fish feeder in a tank in some kind of an aquarium.  Stacey Higgenbothom [00:07:34] I call this the fish. The fish tank that was heard around the world.  Michael Moran [00:07:39] Oh yeah. Tell us that story. It's funny.  Stacey Higgenbothom [00:07:42] So this is this is probably I want to say it was from a Verizon security report, either in 2008, I think it was 2013, and a casino in Vegas had a fish tank monitor and that was on there. We'll just call it an OT network because it was just a sensor. Don't work, but it somehow connected to their I.T. network. So hackers were able to get in through the fish tank and then get into the rest of the casino network. A similar example that people always talk about is target. Their big data breach, and I don't. It was a while ago, probably same timeframe. Those hackers came in through the H-back system and then ended up in their point of sale system. So yes, we used to stick all kinds of things. We're like, Oh, I just put it on the internet, or let's just buy a network DVR and things. I mean, it sounds so ridiculous. But even as far back as 2013, when we were writing about this, we had to tell people to stop using hard coded passwords in their, you know, routing equipment, which now I would look at somebody like why? That's the craziest thing ever. So we've gotten a lot more sophisticated on the security side. I think what we're realizing, though, is as we try to lock this down, that we don't have the right security models in place. So we're starting to see them evolve like zero trust security and and that'll be really important going forward. But also equally important is getting rid of all that other stuff. We can't actually leave that on the network. It's yeah.  Michael Moran [00:09:17] So I had just moved this weekend to a new place and had to set up my Wi-Fi. And lo and behold, the password was password and the username was user. And the only thing they could have done to make that less secure was perhaps translate that into Russian. Make it easier. I mean, it's astounding. But so we've taken this approach to IoT security, which is very common now, which is you don't expect anybody to use their internal network. Of course, you don't want to your treasury anywhere near an IoT device. What you do is you create a LoRaWAN or Zigbee or some kind of internal, you know, low way, low
23 minutes | Mar 3, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 56 - Robert Baldock - Innovation during a global pandemic
Innovation during a global pandemic Robert Baldock, Founder and MD of the Clustre Innovation Network, on a bright side of COVID-19. Robert has 45 years of experience of conceiving innovative solutions, as well as selling and delivering them to major institutions. Most of his career was spent at Accenture where he became one of the firm’s youngest-ever partners. Prior to leaving, he was Global Managing Partner responsible for the growth and success of Accenture’s Customer Relationship Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, and e-Commerce businesses within the financial services industry, where he achieved a global revenue target of £900m. Upon leaving Accenture, Robert was the Global Leader of the Financial Services Industry practice within EDS where he grew an already large $3.4bn, 15,000 person outsourcing and consulting business. He was a top 40 leader within EDS. Today he is the Managing Director of Clustre - the innovation brokers. He now helps major companies solve their most complex problems with certainty and speed by connecting these problem owners with companies with a proven track record of solving these problems, time and time again. hyperlink to his linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertbaldock/ Sponsored by Microshare. Listen to our other podcasts on the Manifest Density portal. - Subscribe to DataStream: the Microshare Newsletter - View our LinkedIn page -  Contact Us   Episode transcript: The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. While Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Michael Moran [00:00:17] This is manifest density. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the latest edition of Manifest Density, your host Michael Moran here to explore the intersection of COVID 19 global business and society benefits. Density is brought to you by the global smart building and ESG data company Microshare. Unleash the data. Well, today I'm unleashing Robert Bolduc, who is the managing director of Cluster the Innovation Network. Robert, welcome.   Robert Baldock [00:00:53] Welcome to you. Thank you, Michael, for having me.   Michael Moran [00:00:56] Well, Robert, you're based in London, of course, and your mission and the mission of cluster is quite an innovative one. Why don't you give us just start out by giving us a sense of what it is that cluster does and how you got involved in this?   Robert Baldock [00:01:13] So I should describe myself first as someone who's have a lifelong passion for innovation. I'm an out of the box thinker, and I always try to see if there's a smart, clever way of solving a problem rather than the standard way. Notwithstanding that, I spent the first 23 three years of my professional life with this large firm called Accenture, whose proud boasts at the time 20 client with the problem was We can solve every problem there is. We're a mile wide in capability. And for a long time that that was sufficient to be a mile wide and capability. But as the world got more more complicated and technology more and more sophisticated, it started to show us and in particular that if you're going to solve a complex problem you need to have at your disposal people who have solved that problem. Time and time again, so switch forward to 10 years ago when I'd left these big companies behind me. I started to think that the the way in which big companies should be solving their most complex problems was not by turning to the large companies like Accenture and IBM and Capgemini, but actually to try to put their faith of trust in some of these smaller niche companies that were popping up left, right and center who would apply very innovative thinking and solutions to these very complex problems. That said, if you buy into that argument, who would you turn to if you're a large corporation? Which of these thousands of companies offering to to solve your every problem quickly? Would you turn to if you've never come across before, never knew that existed and indeed was slightly nervous about whether they could actually do what they promised? And so we 10 years ago conceived this business cluster as a business that words, on one hand, listen to a client who felt that they had a problem. They were willing to be seen sold by one of these niche firms and would trust us enough to introduce them to just that firm. And so in life, we play a dual role. We help large companies meet small, niche players who are very well placed to help those large companies solve that particular complex problem, in our words, with certainty and speed.   Michael Moran [00:03:40] So you are kind of a human crowdsource.   Robert Baldock [00:03:45] Well, it's less about the crowd. Some people describe as laughing is the business version of Tinder is that we make companies get together rather than individuals.   Michael Moran [00:03:57] And so you essentially there was a very innovative firm here that's now must be 15 to 20 years old. Angie's List. I'm sure you're familiar with yes, of course, which is a service that essentially acted as a reputation broker for tradesmen. Yeah. And and was very successful, and I haven't really followed them lately, but I imagine they've branched out into other things. How do you how do you identify the smaller companies that that make the grade?   Robert Baldock [00:04:33] So I'd love to say that whenever we see a space where we need to have someone on our books that is a deep expert in that space, let's take artificial intelligence, for example. Actually, that's a bad example because they actually I'll explain how we found the best firm in that field in a minute because we did it the proper way. Would you believe it's true recommendation? Someone will say to us, you've got to meet this from here, they are just out of the world, amazing at what they do. And so we meet with them because if someone has recommended to us, why wouldn't we go and see them? And if we see what we like, we then basically say, right, we'll only represent you if you can introduce us to three large corporate clients that you have taken all the way to success. We will interview those three large corporate clients, and unless they give us a 10 out of 10 each, they'll give us a 10 out of 10. We won't represent you because we cannot risk you not giving one of our clients and 10 out of 10 service. Now that's that has been the norm by and large. But what we basically saw in the imminent interest in air technology this over 25 years. By the way, we said maybe we should approach this differently. So a friend of mine had recently compiled a database of some four thousand eighty seven companies who all said they knew a thing or two about A.I.. Now, there was no way I could sift through four thousand eighty seven companies, one by one. But he said, luckily, I've got a little search engine as well. So to cut a long story short, I went from four thousand eighty seven to twenty five to 10 to five two three two one, and I ended up taking on board the one of those four thousand eighty seven companies to to represent them as an all honest opinion. The best, though, there is an AI consultant.   Michael Moran [00:06:30] Well, Robert, hold that thought, we're going to take a quick break to hear from our friends at Microshare. And we're back with Robert Bolduc, who is the managing managing director of Cluster Innovation Network in London. Robert, you know, I've had the experience of vetting big companies for various jobs that the company I worked for wanted to have. So we we when I was with Nouriel Roubini years ago, we decided to hire a PR firm. And I remember the experience of sitting in the conference room and watching the young people from Ogilvy and Mather and Edelman and Ruder Finn one after another. These phalanxes of young, bright people kind of file into our conference room and then some senior guy would present what they're going to do for us. And we all we kind of knew right there that we were never going to see that senior guy again. It was going to be one of these young people who looked it looked a bit like, you know, the the the veteran surgeon making his rounds with students traveling along behind. And, you know, when they cut you open, it was going to be one of those students.   Robert Baldock [00:07:45] So what do I do next, boss?   Michael Moran [00:07:47] Yeah. So I mean, why? Why does the small company model that you are pursuing Trump these bigger, you know, big four accounting or infamous global firms?   Robert Baldock [00:08:03] Actually, you've partly answered that question yourself, Michael. Well, actually, when I was with Accenture, our proposal was what you saw was what you got. That is not the norm, as you rightly said yourself, you know, they went in there, the superstars, they dazzle you and then basically you get a bunch of young kids signed up to do the job. What you tend to find with these niche companies, the scale ups as they call them, is you absolutely because all they've got is what you see. They're small and they don't have people fronting them. But secondly, because they're small, they're hungry, they're agile, they're nimble. They bend and adjust much more rapidly, much more appropriately to the needs of the client than a big company will ever do.   Michael Moran [00:08:51] That makes a lot of sense, I think. I mean, just from my experience here at Microshare as opposed to the corporate career I've had before. You know, we tried not to be bespoke, but you almost have to be. Yeah, when you're when you're dealing with complex things like smart building technology or, you know, the contact tracing wearables. Of course, that was a giant experiment when we when we launched it. So you really co-development some of these things with your clients. And that's that's both a a challenge from a business model standpoint, but it's also really builds loyalty and trust among the client service provider relationship. So I totally see where that happens. I want to turn the co
29 minutes | Feb 22, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 55 - Gina Sanchez - COVID, inflation and the markets
COVID, inflation and the markets Gina Sanchez, CEO of Chantico Global and prominent business analyst, discusses the late pandemic market volatility. Gina Sanchez is the Chief Executive Officer of Chantico Global and Chief Market Strategist for Lido Advisors. Chantico Global was spun out of Roubini Global Economics in 2013. Ms. Sanchez was the Director of Equity and Asset Allocation for Roubini Global Economics. Currently, Chantico Global collaborates with Oxford Economics, the world’s largest economics consultancy. Ms. Sanchez also currently serves as a Trustee of the Los Angeles County Employee Retirement Association. Ms. Sanchez also serves as Chief Market Strategist for Lido Advisors, a $5.4 billion national investment advisor based in Los Angeles. Prior to joining RGE, Ms. Sanchez spent four years as an institutional asset manager, serving at the California Endowment, a US$3 billion Los Angeles-based foundation, as managing director of public investments and at the Ford Foundation, a US$10 billion New York-based foundation, as director of public investments. In both roles, she was responsible for making asset allocation and manager selection recommendations for all external public managers, including both total return and absolute return strategies. In addition, she was a portfolio manager and strategist for eight years at American Century Investment Management in Mountain View, Calif. She also worked in emerging markets research at JPMorgan in New York. She is frequently quoted in the media and was a recipient of Institutional Investor’s 2009 Foundations and Endowments Rising Stars Award. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and a master’s in international policy studies from Stanford University. Follow Gina Sanchez on Twitter @GinaVSanchez. This bio work constitutes a fair-use of any copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US copyright law. View original source here: Gina Sanchez   Sponsored by Microshare. Listen to our other podcasts on the Manifest Density portal. - Subscribe to DataStream: the Microshare Newsletter - View our LinkedIn page -  Contact Us   Episode transcript The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. While Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Michael Moran [00:00:04] Well, Gina, it is a pleasure to have you here. We, of course, go way back to the Roubini days. It's great to see you and have you on the podcast. Tell me, you know, for the sake of the audience. How did you get into asset allocation and and you've become quite a market prognosticator. What's what's your background? And tell us a little about what you're doing. Gina Sanchez [00:00:28] So, you know, I started my my professional career, you know, coming out as a newly minted economist out of out of Harvard. And I kind of went up through the ranks, you know, on the sell side of J.P. Morgan, on the buy side in American century as a portfolio manager running asset allocation money. And on the institutional side at the California Diamond and the Ford Foundation. And so once I had had all of those perspectives soda from, you know, through the life of a security from from offering all the way to buying and holding and investing for long periods of time, you know, I felt that that asset allocation, consulting it rabbinical economics, where we had the benefit of overlapping three wonderful years of fascinating times and stories. And then I launched my own asset allocation consultancy, which was actually spun out of Roubini Global Economics. And you know, one of the things that we do is a core business as we help our clients think about the long term trends that will have an impact on both the opportunities and the risks of the portfolio opportunities that they see. So we're trying to put everything in some kind of context so that our investor clients can make sound decisions about a what is the opportunity look like? And B, what are the risks that are either evolving or changing or what are just the basic risks that they're taking in making these decisions? So I spend a lot of my time, you know, taking a step back and helping, you know, put an investment or, you know, fund opportunity into a broader context of demographic opportunity, migration or shifts, you know, and what has happened in the pandemic has been one of the fascinating studies of, you know, pivot points for for the markets. And so, you know, I love what I do, but I've come to it from a very, very kind of granular perspective having, like I said, come up through the chain of of the securities industry all the way out to the investors perspective. Michael Moran [00:02:44] So Gina, I kind of strangely got a lot of credit from my my, my former colleagues that control risk because they dug out a 2014. Would they do an annual thing called risk map, which is a kind of global look around at what might happen? And I had pandemics on there, and it was mostly because of SaaS and mayors, the Middle East respiratory syndrome. And so I had asked the the obvious question, which is not brilliant, but just obvious. You know, what's the next pandemic and what could it be? And they were like, Oh my God, that was so prescient. Well, no, it was just it's it's just the way forecasting goes. Sometimes you get it right, and sometimes you predict that Hillary Clinton is going to be the next president. But ultimately, you're in the business now of figuring out how to apportion investment to make it both optimize growth and minimize risk sort of seeking alpha. How do you deal with the pandemic in that regard? I mean, how how surprising was it to you and what is it done to your business? Gina Sanchez [00:03:53] So, you know, with the pandemic has actually had a lot of really significant effects, I think, and some of them will not be appreciated, probably for another decade. And the reason I say that is that, you know, when pandemics happen historically. So, you know, when there are large scale pandemics and this really doesn't qualify as a large scale pandemic, but it will have an enormous impact in terms of the effects of long COVID and the number of people who will be disabled as a result of the pandemic in some way shape or form where their productivity is hampered. You know, pandemics are very different from wars. Wars destroy labor and they destroy capital. Pandemics only destroy labor that they leave their capital in place. And ultimately, after pandemics. It's not that unusual to see wage growth, which we are actually seeing right now. And and from a from a societal standpoint, it's not that unusual to see sort of a renaissance effects. I mean, you know, the Renaissance came after, you know, the plague. And so, you know, you will see sort of these, you know, efforts at innovation. You know, the societies, businesses, corporations start to think about fragility and robustness and how can we improve those? You know, but the other thing that you tend to see is you tend to see societal navel gazing and that societal navel gazing can take many forms. And, you know, probably the first time we really felt it was during the George Floyd, you know, that kind of period after the the tragic George Floyd murder. And that was that we happened to have a huge population work population for whom collective action normally has a very high price. It's very difficult to organize these things where you were stuck at home, you didn't really have a whole lot else to do. A lot of people had lost their jobs. And so the price of collective action fell and suddenly you had this enormous outpouring of protests. And so this notion that has been simmering for decades and I would argue centuries, this notion of of sustainability and how we treat each other and how we treat workers and racial justice and gender justice, all of these issues actually exploded to the fore that have been simmering in the background. I mean, we've had yes, we've had sustainability funds in various forms and under various names like socially responsible investing and, you know, screening methods. Since 1928, we literally that was when the Pioneer Fund was was established. But, you know, they never really caught traction. They were always sort of this sideshow in the investment market. You know, I ran a socially responsible investing fund and sorry fund for American Century Investment Management. You know, in from 2001 until 2006. And so, you know, but but it was never central. And what one of the things that the pandemic did was it actually Gina Sanchez [00:07:00] brought Gina Sanchez [00:07:01] forward this notion that we we need to be able to metro's eyes and track and understand the impacts that we have in terms of how we treat labor. You know, our our our workplaces safe, who are all the stakeholders involved, this notion of stakeholder capitalism rather than sort of shareholder primacy as the key. You know, all of these issues, they were already on the table for discussion before the pandemic. But I think the pandemic really allowed the population, the global population, the mind space to prioritize it. And as a result, I think the market has shifted inexorably. We suddenly see the SEC stepping in to have, you know, a greater say in what is going to be mandatory, what kind of disclosures we should have, what represents materiality. Europe was farther along on that. But really what it did was it actually forced the conversation to formalization. And so it I think it's it's it Gina Sanchez [00:08:04] has forever changed what Gina Sanchez [00:08:06] risks are, how risks are priced and what due diligence has to include. So I think that's been an interesting kind of outcome of the pandemic, but there are other kind of impacts as well, like the long term investments we've made into the biosciences and into technology. One for, you know, because we were trying to get a vaccine quickly, the other because we were trying to to, you know, repair the fragility that that, you know, working the work
30 minutes | Feb 16, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 54 - Christiaan Page - COVID and the Winter Olympics
COVID and the Winter Olympics The IOC's Senior Advisor Christiaan Page, a leading sports technologist, speaks of the challenges the pandemic has placed on the 2022 winter Games. Christiaan Page has been involved in the world of sporting events and Games Technology for nearly 3 decades, making him an absolute authority in the field. His job is to provide innovative technology solutions to providers in the sporting and event industry. With 27 years of experience under his belt, he worked closely within the Olympic Games and Sporting events industry, catering to them with forward-thinking and intuitive new technologies. In order to pursue his work, Christiaan followed the Olympic Games throughout the years, experiencing life in the past 5 hosting cities, but also having lived in 13 different countries! A passionate, dedicated and vibrant individual, Christiaan lives by his favorite keywords: “Live, Learn, Legacy”, strongly believing that through living your dreams and learning as much as you can, you’ll ultimately be able to leave a lasting legacy. Christiaan is also an active public speaker who motivates audiences through workshops and presentations. Feel free to get in touch to find out more: info@christiaanpage.com Sponsored by Microshare. Listen to our other podcasts on the Manifest Density portal. - Subscribe to DataStream: the Microshare Newsletter - View our LinkedIn page -  Contact Us The podcast can also be accessed on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, PlayerFM, Listen Notes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Tune In, Podcast Addict, Himalaya, Deezer, and on Podbean.     Episode transcript: The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. While Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Michael Moran [00:00:01] This is manifest density. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this edition of Manifest Density, your host Michael Moran here, and we will explore the intersection, as always, of COVID 19. Global business and society. And this week, I'm very, very excited about our conversation today, coming straight from Beijing site of this year's Winter Olympics, and our guest is Christiaan Page, who's the founder of Legacy Sport based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Just like the International Olympic Committee, and Christiaan has been involved in sporting events and technology for three decades since Sydney 2000. For those of you who were born after 2000, as many of my listeners probably were, it's scary. Thought you really know your way around games, summer and winter. And now here you are at a game and at the games at a time of global pandemic. Obviously, we saw that play out in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Now we're seeing China's approach to this. And first, I want to just introduce you and give you a chance to tell us how you are dealing with every level of the technology that makes these games happen. How is it going and give us a sense of how you got into this industry? Christiaan Page [00:01:26] Right. Well, first of all, thanks for having me on the show. Great to be here. And yeah, it is scary, scary opening. When you say yes, some of the lessons maybe may not have been around in Sydney 2000, but great to have you with us as well. So my involvement with the games obviously started back in Sydney 2000. I started my career, as you mentioned three decades ago. Now, actually my first one was an outside broadcast. You know, I was actually traveling. I was on a week's holiday backpacking and ran into a friend and I said, What are you doing tomorrow? And he said, I'm doing an outside broadcast and said, What's that? And he said, Oh, well, what you know, can I said, can I put my hand on a set kind of come along? And he said, Well, sure, why not? So I got there. I was shown how to roll cables. I was absolutely kind of mind blown by the fact he had those all these trucks and cameras and people running everywhere. And so they gave me a Two-Way radio, which obviously, as anyone knows, who works at events. Once you get it to a radio, kind of someone important. Anyway, I got to do all the running, and that was over a week by the end of that week. They offered me a job and said, Look, we're going to pay you. Do you want to come and work for us? And that was how I started. I think the journey has continued. Probably very similar vein. I've always managed to put my hand up. I think that's one of the things that has I love about the career that I've had and the opportunities that are presented themselves. I think it's also a little bit about being outside your comfort zone and saying, Well, yeah, I can have a go at doing that. And and I think there's the opportunities of a bigger, bigger and I've been able to, you know, work with great teams who've made it possible to do some, you know, some really great work. So as you mentioned, the technology piece is key to that. I've always had a fascination with technology and I think what we what it enables and what it drives in terms of modern events, broadcast and production is how we engage with our audience. And I think the technologies as they've evolved over the years and I've seen these changes has expanded. I think, you know, with the digital explosion, all those elements, we've really seen some real change in how we engage with our audiences. Michael Moran [00:03:41] Christiaan, these Olympic Games obviously have a particular challenge. There's the usual logistical challenges which we spoke about before we started recording from my days in broadcast. I mean, to do a live broadcast from anywhere is it is a challenge to do it from on a global basis around the world from a place like China is an extra challenge. And now you layer on top of that, a global pandemic and a government that has been as vigilant and and strict as any on the planet with regard to that pandemic. How is that complicated the job and have you seen any interesting technological attempts to to ease the way? Christiaan Page [00:04:26] Yeah, that's a great question. Look, the the the I have to say, first off, I think the efforts made by the Chinese government to enable us to still facilitate and have the games has been phenomenal. You know, they've got a zero policy, zero tolerance policy to COVID. You know, everybody is treated, you know, from, you know, any any detection of the virus. So and they, you know, the rigorous nature of the testing means that they do really catch everything as it comes through technologically. I think what we've seen is the processing. I'm going to say, if you look at behind the scenes, you know, the the the processing of just the testing and the volumes of testing that's required, you know, I'm tested every day. I have my PCR test. So it's not just a little antigen test, it's a full proper genetic test that they conduct every day. And they track all of this for not just the games population, but the whole population of what's going on in and working in around the games. And one of the really clever things and this is something the IOC did in partnership with the Chinese by boycotting the organizing committee and the Chinese government was to build the playbooks. And these playbooks really were sort of, you know, threaten to devour the definition, if you like, of how we were going to do this together. And what they did was they created two sort of definitions of a closed loop, which is effectively the bubble within the venues and then the outer loop, which is for everybody outside, basically who's been through to a 21 day quarantine and then they go out into and can go out into the general population of of of Beijing. But technologically, think about all of the tracking of all that data. That there's a lot of personal data is a lot of information that has to be recorded and protected. So a lot of systems behind the scenes in making sure that that has happened. You've also then got to integrate that with travel schedules. You know, I think from when I started my journey, I came out here at the beginning of January. Two weeks before that, I started doing recordings of my health records. Before that, I had to have a couple of tests, a PCR test that had to be recorded and sent to the organizations. You know, this is for everybody who's working on the games and we're talking, you know, thousands of athletes. We're talking thousands of my colleagues who work and work in sport and deliver the games. The broadcast is everybody behind the scenes. And then you've got this interesting sort of blend where you've got this crossover of, you know, the local team people based here in Beijing. They had to come inside the loop. So they've actually kind of committed to being inside the actual closed loop away from family and friends for the duration of the games and for the build up. So all of this is all tracked and managed through apps, so we can actually see what's going on and we can actually record all of our daily activities. So lots of lots of coordination, if that makes sense. Michael Moran [00:07:26] So Christian, I want to make sure that people understand not everybody's watching the Olympics like I do because I'm a skier. Yep, but there is when you say closed loop, we're talking Green Zone in Iraq, kind of closed when you go in and you don't leave that loop unless something terrible happens. You need to go to a hospital, probably, or when you leave, when you leave that back, right, the games are over and you're you're broken down and you're moving to the next step next city. So yeah, that's a that's a real corny. Christiaan Page [00:07:55] Yeah, absolutely, that's exactly right. So, you know, we we are in, you know, sealed vehicles, for example, so we travel literally from our bubble of our hotel, which is again, we cannot go outside the perimeter. We which we're fine with. We're in a compound of several hotels so we can interact with each other. We've got the restaurants, but all the stocks that have come in and also a part of that bubble. And if they're not, then they're in hazmat suits. So it really is wel
28 minutes | Feb 8, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 53 - Dennis Owens - The local politics of the pandemic
The local politics of the pandemic Dennis Owens of ABC 27, a local Pennsylvania news network, joins us this week on Manifest Density. Michael and Dennis discuss the many ways COVID has changed everything in Pennsylvania, where Dennis covers the statehouse for a living. Guest bio: Since 1993, Dennis has been a part of the ABC27 team and he's played many roles at the station. He began as a weekend sports anchor under legendary Sports Director Gregg Mace. In that position, he reported on Super Bowls, World Series, Bowl Game, NASCAR races and Spring Training baseball, and Penn State football. But he's most proud of co-creating Friday Night Football, a show that still airs and showcases the athletes, cheerleaders and bands that make Friday nights special across Central Pennsylvania. In 1999, Dennis switched to news and co-anchored Live at Five, which spotlighted his ability to connect with viewers and the community. Whether it was jumping out of airplanes, attending the local fair, or learning to make Easter eggs, Dennis' warmth and personality and his love of the Midstate were always on display. Dennis also answered the call to the anchor desk. First with Valerie Pritchett at 7 pm and then Alicia Richards at 6 pm. But Dennis is also a passionate story teller and journalist. He has been nominated for more than 70 Regional Emmy Awards, winning 15, including Best Anchor in the Mid-Atlantic Region. He has also won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for his reporting on the influence of lobbyists in Harrisburg. He is a familiar face at the State Capitol and one of the most respected television reporters on that beat. His state government reports appear daily on several stations across the commonwealth. He is also the host and co-producer of This Week in Pennsylvania, the only statewide political talk show in PA. His guests include, governors, senators, congressmen and women, and a who's-who of political powerbrokers in Pennsylvania. Dennis is a Philadelphia native and LaSalle University graduate. The eternal optimist, he is a proud fan of Philly sports, as painful as that can be. He and his family reside in Cumberland County, outside Harrisburg.   - Subscribe to DataStream: the Microshare Newsletter - View our LinkedIn page -  Contact Us   Episode transcript: The transcription of this episode is auto generated by a third-party source. Microshare takes every precaution to insure that the content is accurate, errors can occur. Microshare, Inc.  is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Michael Moran: [00:00:00] This is manifest density. Hello, everyone, and welcome to this latest edition of Manifest Density, your host Michael [00:00:08][7.7] Michael Moran: [00:00:08] Moran here to explore [00:00:09][0.7] Michael Moran: [00:00:09] the intersection of COVID 19 global business and society. They just have to say Brown, J-just past and have we all been living Groundhog Day for these last two years? Appropriately enough, my guest today is a journalist from Groundhog Day Spiritual Home, Pennsylvania. Dennis owns Dennis, is the capital reporter in Harrisburg, which is the state capital for ABC. 27. Did I get that right, Dennis? [00:00:40][30.2] Dennis Owens: [00:00:40] You absolutely did. I have covered Groundhogs Day in Punxsutawney a couple of times in my career. [00:00:45][5.1] Michael Moran: [00:00:46] Well, that's wonderful. And I think pretty much everybody, thanks to Bill Murray as an idea of what exactly packed ceremony, very authentic. So with no further ado, Dennis, welcome to this podcast! As everyone would know, this is brought to you by the global smart building in ESG data company Microshare. Unleash the data as they say, but I want to jump right in and unleash you, Dennis. We're going to talk really about Covid's impact on local politics, and when I say local for our international audience, I'm talking about state level politics in the United States and specifically the state of Pennsylvania, which you've probably noticed is a pretty important electoral state and one which has a very interesting demographic split between all sorts of industrial and service workers and wealthy suburbs of various cities like Billy, but also real, some real farmland and mountain regions. So it's kind of a little country in and of itself. But before we get to that, Dennis, I want to ask how did you end up in Harrisburg, the state capital? And what was your route into broadcast journalism? [00:01:56][70.2] Dennis Owens: [00:01:57] Well, I'm a Philadelphia native. I went to LaSalle College and in those days, not to sound like biblical in those days, but it was as far as broadcast journalism is concerned, it was an effort to go. It might as well have been biblical times. You had to go to a smaller market to get your start. I went to Bakersfield, California, which is a small little rural place in the San Joaquin Valley. But as a Philly native and I was a sportscaster, by the way, and as a Philly native, I wanted to get back to the Northeast and the opportunity presented itself in Harrisburg. I took it, came back here thinking I'd be in Harrisburg for one or two years and then maybe get to Baltimore, Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, get to one of the bigger markets. But while here I found a couple of things one, I liked the area and two within my station, I began to do different things. So they promoted me five o'clock anchor, where we did a light and lively show. I would jump out of airplanes and race cars, live on television, and then became the Six O'Clock news anchor and capital reporter. So I'm kind of the equivalent if I can use a sports analogy to the utility infielder that can kind of play lots of different positions, which I would do live football games and then also moderate political debates, whatever it is the station needs. And as I looked up on Groundhogs Day, I've been here now in May. It will be 29 years, but I'm I'm kind of a unicorn in the sense of a television. State politics reporter. I also anchor what state politics is a kind of a black hole in the journalism industry. So lots of people cover national politics, of course, big cities, people cover big city politics and in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh. But most people don't even know what state politics really does. And the irony there is it impacts their everyday life. I'm also a host of the only statewide political talk show this week in Pennsylvania, and every week we have to get newsmakers from across from across the state. Two weeks ago, we had a governor. We've had U.S. senators, congressmen. Basically, politicos in that show airs across Pennsylvania, which for those of your viewers. Not only is Pennsylvania home to Three Mile Island, which I know you're international viewers will remember, but it's kind of radioactive politically because the the U.S. Senate may hang in the balance this year. That is who controls the US Senate. And we have a Republican senator by the name of Pat Toomey, who is retiring. It is an open seat and it is a free for all in this state as people try to take that state they have already spent. Now is in May, the general elections in November. But number of candidates in the Senate race alone have already spent $15 million. Add that the seat is up for grabs and lots of people are trying to grab it. [00:04:47][169.7] Michael Moran: [00:04:48] Well, Dennis, I want to extend the sports analogy just a bit that warmed my heart. Your Bakersfield sojourn. I came out of newspapers in the back in the day. Newspapers looked a lot like the American. Baseball system, there were minor league, there was a level it's exactly right. And I went to the Sarasota Herald Tribune and then I went to the St. Petersburg Times, which was kind of a AAA, and I always wondered what if I'd stayed at one of those places? They're really wonderful newspapers and places to stay, but I ended up getting sucked into the vortex of Washington and then international news. But that's for another day for our listeners who aren't familiar. Another reason state politics in America state capital politics is so important is because these are the people who draw the lines that determine where the districts that people represent are actually located. The Republican Party over the last several decades has been extremely successful in capturing statehouses, even in competitive states like Pennsylvania. And so that's another level of relevance for those of you overseas are going, Why should I care? [00:05:55][67.1] Dennis Owens: [00:05:56] Well, and and there's great intrigue right now in Pennsylvania. But our conversation is timely because on this very day when we taped this on February 4th, we the Legislative Reapportionment Commission is set to release its maps of where the State House and Senate boundaries are. It is likely headed for the state Supreme Court, which interestingly enough, though the Legislature is controlled and dominated by Republicans, and as you said, the last couple of times they've redrawn boundaries, both congressional and state. It's basically been controlled by Republicans. Republicans had the governor's office, the Legislature and the Supreme Court. While the the worm has turned, as they say, the governor here is Democrat and the state Supreme Court is five to two Democrat. And if the groups can't come to an agreement on how to draw the lines, they end up in the Supreme Court, and that is likely for both the maps, even though there was a lot of talk for a year. It's a small it's like one of my favorite scenes from movie Austin Powers is when there's a guy on a steamroller moving at half a mile an hour, and Austin Powers is about 100 feet in front of him and is acting as if he's about to be run over by a speeding train and never gets out of the way. Well, we know reapportionment happens every 10 years. This time it was quote unquote supposed to be different because of the public input and transparency. And the fact of the matter is they're going to get drawn by the Supreme Court in both levels, and that's going to happen here in the next couple of weeks. [00:07:19][83.0] Michael Moran: [00:07:20] And so
30 minutes | Jan 31, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 52 - Robert McNally - COVID-19 and global energy markets
  COVID-19 and global energy markets In this week’s episode of Manifest Density, Michael Moran welcomes Robert McNally, a renowned oil and gas analyst at Rapidan. The duo discuss the changes in oil prices following the Covid-19 pandemic, from a geopolitical perspective. McNally shares his prediction on the energy transition in the coming decades.
21 minutes | Jan 20, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 51 - Rebecca Scorzato - Crisis and Change Management
Crisis and Change Management Rebecca Scorzato of Control Risks on the enormous challenges companies face with 'the new normal'
35 minutes | Jan 12, 2022
Manifest Density - Episode 50 - Grey Lee - COVID-19 and ESG/sustainability movement
COVID-19 and ESG/sustainability movement Grey Lee of S&P Global on the progress and complexities of corporate sustainability during the pandemic.
23 minutes | Dec 23, 2021
Manifest Density - Episode 49 - Ron Rock - COVID‘s Act III
COVID's Act III Microshare CEO Ron Rock reflects on the on-again, off-again challenges to global business posed by new strains of the virus.
26 minutes | Dec 16, 2021
Manifest Density - Episode 48 - Eleni Polychroniadou -Retrofitting to Green ‘the Built World‘
Eleni Polychroniadou is Founder and Commercial Director at Sintali a global green building certification company. She describes herself as "passionate about catalysing global change and on a mission to make every building on this planet green." A sustainability communicator, she leads sales, business development, public relations and marketing across the sustainability sector. Eleni is a strong believer in the power of individual action. Individuals are at the core of climate action because they hold power within larger entities, such as corporations, governments and local communities. "When individuals are empowered to make bold decisions within their spheres of influence, we will actually make a difference and drive climate action," she says.
26 minutes | Dec 9, 2021
Manifest Density - Episode 47 - Nicholas White - What makes a building ‘Smart?‘
Smart Buildings expert Nicholas White, Co-founder of www.smartbuildingcertification.com unravels the alphabet soup of certification programs in the market. 
18 minutes | Dec 1, 2021
Manifest Density - Episode 46 - Wouter Truffino - Are buildings getting smarter?
Wouter Truffino Founder & CEO at Global Proptech ( https://www.globalproptech.online/) and one of the top influencers in the world of proptech joins us this week to look at how COVID is accelerating property technology to improve buildings and the lives of their occupants. You can follow Wouter on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/woutertruffino/
22 minutes | Nov 22, 2021
Manifest Density - Episode 45 - Erika Pärn - Bringing buildings to life
Bringing buildings to life Cambridge researcher Erika Pärn on using IoT data to bring efficiencies and sustainability to older infrastructure. Dr. Erika A. Pärn [PhD, BSc (Hons), PgCE, PgCR] is a Research Associate at University of Cambridge supporting the IfM and CDBB. Previously whilst working in industry, she led multiple research project technical deliverables for the EU commission such as the two H2020 initiatives: GreenInstruct (Home - Green INSTRUCT) and BIMERR (Home) and a UKRI project SeismPrecast (http://seismprecast.eu/). Her PhD has evaluated the use of BIM and cloud-based technologies to streamline facilities management into the as-built BIM via three case studies at Birmingham City University. During her time in academia as lecturer at Birmingham City University, she taught undergraduate and postgraduate students of built environment school and accrued research experience. This saw successful winning of a KTP research grant to help automate and digitize manufacturing with BIM. To date, E.A. Pärn has published her research in several peer-reviewed academic journals and has been a keynote speaker at several preeminent industrial and conference events. Erika’s own research interests focus predominantly upon the multi-disciplinary area of ‘digital built environment and smart city developments’ but she remains actively involved in other broader ‘construction and civil engineering management’ topics whilst working with international colleagues. Research investigations have thus far included: BIM and FM integration; design development automation; clash detection; laser-scanning; engineering design; construction management in developing countries; built environment cyber-security; and networked and sensor-based BIM integration. Prior to her career in academia, she gained professional qualifications and first-hand industrial experience whilst being employed by several architectural practices and working on a range of commercial, residential and logistics projects as an Architectural Technologist. Google Scholar: Erika Pärn Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erika_Paern LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-erika-parn-b6415854/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/erikaparn
23 minutes | Nov 4, 2021
Manifest Density - Episode 44 - Phyllis Horner - The new office environment
  The new office environment Phyllis Horner on optimizing spaces to reassure returning staff.
23 minutes | Nov 1, 2021
Manifest Density - Episode 43 - Charles Sennott - COVID in the grassroots
Charles Sennott, founding editor of Report for America, on the ravages of COVID in America's small communities, often overlooked by big media. Charles Sennott is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Editor of The GroundTruth Project. He is an award-winning correspondent, best-selling author and editor with 30 years of experience in international, national and local journalism. A leading social entrepreneur in new media, Sennott started GroundTruth in 2014 and in 2017 launched the non-profit organization's new, local reporting initiative, Report for America. Reporting on the front lines of wars and insurgencies in at least 20 countries, including the post 9-11 conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and the 2011 Arab Spring, Sennott began his career in local news covering cops, courts and municipal government. Sennott’s deep experience in reporting led him to dedicate himself to supporting and training the next generation of journalists to tell the most important stories of our time. Sennott is also the co-founder of GlobalPost, an acclaimed international news website. Previously, Sennott worked for many years as a reporter at the New York Daily News and then the Boston Globe, where he became Bureau Chief for the Middle East and Europe, and a leader of the paper's international coverage from 1997 to 2005. Sennott has also served as a correspondent for PBS FRONTLINE and the PBS NewsHour. He has contributed news analysis to the BBC, CNN, NPR, MSNBC and others. He is a graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. In 2016, Sennott was accepted into the DRK portfolio of leading social entrepreneurs who can make a difference. He is also a blindly loyal fan of the Boston Red Sox.
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