Let's Grab Coffee Podcast ☕

#177 – Wendell Dallas | Powering Illinois: Leadership, Strategy & the Future of Energy

Wendell Dallas serves as president and CEO of Nicor Gas, one of America’s leading natural gas distributors and the largest distribution company of Southern Company Gas. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring that natural gas reaches more than 2.3 million homes and businesses in over 650 northern Illinois communities.A champion for workforce development initiatives, Dallas serves on the boards of Intersect Illinois, Executive Club of Chicago, American Association of Blacks in Energy and World Business Chicago. He also believes in helping communities grow and prosper and is an active board member for the United Way and Chicago Field Museum. Dallas also serves as a member of the Southern Company Gas Management Council, The Chicago Club, Chicago United, Commercial Club of Chicago, Economic Club of Chicago and Business Leadership Chicago.A native of Opelika, Alabama, Dallas holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Atlanta and Leadership Savannah.

#176 – Varvara Alva | What Great CFOs Actually Do: Leadership, Teams & the C-Suite

Varvara Alva is a finance, strategy, and operations executive with 25+ years of experience scaling high-growth technology companies and leading successful public and private exits. She is an active investor and advisor to Chicago-based startups, deeply involved in the local startup ecosystem through 1871 and Techstars, and a passionate advocate for advancing women in business and finance. Based in Chicago, Varvara currently serves as CFO & COO of Avidbots, a rapidly scaling autonomous robotics company expanding across the U.S. Previously, she was CFO of SpotHero and BenchPrep, and helped scale Gogo from $36M to over $700M in revenue, culminating in a successful IPO. She is known for her expertise in strategic finance, capital raising, and building high-performing, collaborative teams that turn vision into execution.

#175 – Tyrone Thomas | Inside the Mind of a General Counsel: Leadership, Risk & Decision-Making

Tyrone Thomas is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Doral Renewables, a leading developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy assets across the United States, with a portfolio exceeding 13 GW and more than $2.5 billion in long-term power purchase agreements. Over his career, Tyrone has helped advance more than $7 billion in utility-scale clean energy projects, advising on legal, compliance, risk, and crisis management at the highest levels. Beyond his professional work, Tyrone is a devoted father and an anti-hunger advocate, serving as a founding member and board leader of Beyond Hunger, which supports over 70,000 individuals and families annually across the Chicago region.

#174 – Nick Moran | Why Outsider Founders Win and How New Stack Picks the Best Early-Stage Teams

Nick Moran is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and the Founder & General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a Chicago-based fund backing early-stage, often first-time founders building in emerging markets and overlooked categories. He’s also the creator and host of The Full Ratchet, one of the industry’s longest-running and most respected venture capital podcasts, where he’s interviewed hundreds of top investors and operators. Before launching New Stack, Nick led product management for a Fortune 500 company and created The Firehose, a patented IoT product that was later acquired. His operator background heavily shapes his hands-on approach to supporting founders. Today, Nick is known for championing underrepresented geographies and unconventional entrepreneurs, blending sharp investment judgment with deep empathy for builders navigating the earliest stages.

#173 – Michael Roytman | How AI Is Changing Cyber Risk And What Most Companies Get Wrong

Michael Roytman is a cybersecurity data scientist and entrepreneur. Born in East Germany and raised between Ukraine and Russia, he immigrated to the U.S. and studied industrial engineering at UIUC and operations research at Georgia Tech. A lifelong builder, he founded TruckSpotting and Dharma Platform—a data tool used by WHO, MSF, and Save the Children—earning him a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30. He spent nearly a decade at Kenna Security, co-creating the Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), then became a Distinguished Engineer at Cisco. Today, Michael is Co-Founder & CTO of Empirical Security, developing enterprise-specific AI models for cybersecurity. He also co-founded Sputnik Coffee in Chicago and serves on the Forbes Technology Council.