In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews T’Ray Rutledge, P.E., CEO of Circle R Engineering, whose career spans the U.S. Air Force flight line to founding a design-build firm that turns napkin sketches into working machines. Rutledge shares how aerospace discipline, curiosity, and safety culture shaped his approach to hydraulics, pneumatics, and electric-drive systems across industries from agriculture to steel. He explains how Circle R Engineering helps inventors and manufacturers accelerate innovation with maintenance-friendly, power-efficient, patent-ready designs—demonstrating how precision engineering and servant leadership can move ideas from concept to market with reliability and heart.

In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Paul Jaminet, Ph.D., Founder and President of Angiex, to discuss a revolutionary new approach to cancer therapy that delivers drugs directly into tumor cell nuclei while sparing healthy tissue. Drawing from his journey through MIT physics, Harvard astrophysics, software entrepreneurship, and natural health research, Jaminet shares how he and his wife, Angiex’s scientific co-founder, developed AGX-101, a TM4SF1-targeted nuclear-delivered antibody drug conjugate now in Phase 1 clinical trials. This conversation explores how physics, biology, and patient-first engineering converge to change the future of oncology and redefine how cancer can be safely and effectively treated.

In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Erik Visser, CEO of Hamlet Protein, to explore how early-life animal nutrition is shaping the future of sustainable protein. From law and political science to leading global feed innovation, Visser shares how strategy, culture, and servant leadership drive transformation across the feed and food value chain. He discusses how Hamlet Protein’s soy-based specialty proteins improve gut health and long-term performance in young animals, why data sharing and collaboration accelerate progress, and how global leaders can balance sustainability, efficiency, and affordability in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. The conversation offers actionable lessons on building trust, scaling innovation, and leading with empathy in an industry where people—and purpose—still matter most.

In this episode of Industry Ignited, host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Ann Marie O’Connell, professional engineer, MBA, and certified Six Sigma Black Belt, to explore the intersection of process discipline and creativity. With over four decades leading MCU Limited, Ann Marie shares how flexible, physics- and economics-based design thinking can drive real innovation—without stifling imagination. She reveals why true process excellence isn’t about rigid control, but about empowering teams to think critically, identify root causes, and design systems that sustain improvement even in disruption. From digital twins to design-for-manufacture, Ann Marie explains how leaders can balance rigor and empathy to make continuous improvement part of their company’s DNA.

On Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Sara Quintero, founder & chief innovation officer of KarmaChic Marketplace—an e-commerce platform built to scale women-owned and minority-owned businesses. Sara shares how a boutique setback became the launchpad for a human-first, AI-powered marketplace with low fees, geolocation discovery, and a CreatorLab vendor hub for content, analytics, and social scheduling. We cover why storytelling converts, which KPIs matter for small sellers, and how KarmaChic blends video, real-time analytics, and simple dashboards to turn data into action. Sara talks community-building, referrals, and mentorship, plus expanding from Tampa to Texas and Los Angeles—including a Youngpreneur track to reach Gen Z. If you care about inclusive commerce, AI tools that don’t erase the human, and practical growth for makers and service pros, this episode is for you.

In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar talks with Thomas Gilman, founder of Driving Business Growth and former BP executive, about how CEOs can move from running their business to truly scaling it. Drawing on decades of global leadership and financial strategy experience, Gilman reveals the Wall Street techniques that every Main Street CEO should know—from improving business credit and building bankability to mastering cash flow and reducing expenses by up to 30%. He explains how to avoid the most common blind spot in growth planning, why humility is a CEO’s greatest strength, and how to prepare for funding before you need it. Whether you’re growing fast or trying to stabilize, this episode will help you make smarter financial decisions and unlock sustainable profitability.

In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar talks with LaToya Hinton-Howery, MPH, CEO and Research Director of Next Innovative Clinical Research (Next ICR), about reshaping the future of clinical trials through representation, accessibility, and trust. From Chicago to Houston and beyond, Hinton-Howery is proving that innovation doesn’t just come from labs—it comes from the communities research serves. She shares how her team trains local coordinators, partners with minority physicians, and creates culturally competent sites that welcome participants who have historically been overlooked. The discussion covers inclusive trial design, the importance of diverse investigators, and how community-based research improves both data quality and health equity.

In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Dr. David Smith, physician, innovator, and founder of DeltaChase and TBI Innovations, to explore how nature-inspired science is revolutionizing medicine. Known for the FDA-cleared Q-Collar—the first medical device proven to help protect against traumatic brain injury—Dr. Smith shares how studying woodpeckers, giraffes, and sheep led to breakthrough solutions in brain protection, sleep apnea, altitude illness, and even dementia research. With over 40 patents and decades of research, he reveals how biomimicry—copying nature’s own designs—could hold the key to solving medicine’s toughest challenges, from the battlefield to the bedroom.