- DisrupTV
DisrupTV is a weekly podcast with hosts R "Ray" Wang and Vala Afshar. The show airs live at 11:00 a.m. PT/ 2:00 p.m. ET every Friday. The audience can expect A-list guests, the latest enterprise news, hot startups, insight from influencers, and much more. Tweet questions to #DisrupTV or @DisrupTVShow. We broadcast live on StreamYard.
Show Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/ConstellationR
Featured Guests:
Michael Israel
Chief Information Officer at The Kraft Group
Michael Israel is an award-winning CIO, COO, Corporate Officer, and Advisory Board Member with dynamic leadership expertise spanning technology, operations, business development, and marketing with top media, entertainment, and technology companies.
Mr. Israel currently serves as Chief Information Officer for The Kraft Group of privately held companies, which operates in 90+ countries, and has diversified interests in professional sports, manufacturing, real estate development, and philanthropy. As CIO, he leads the IT function across The Kraft Group and its operating companies, including Gillette Stadium, Kraft Sports and Entertainment, The New England Patriots, The New England Revolution, Kraft Analytics Group, Patriot Place, International Forest Products, Rand-Whitney Containerboard, and the Rand-Whitney Group. He leads an Information Services team of 60 and maintains full responsibility for all CIO, CISO, and CTO duties. Since joining the organization in 2019, Michael planned and executed a major re-architecture of the Gillette Stadium operating environment, implemented a large-scale stadium entertainment network that created a new revenue stream for the corporate sponsorship team, and invested over $25M to deliver enhanced broadcast operations. Additionally, he developed AI and RPA-based tools to reduce operating expenses and improve data integrity across Kraft Group companies, including an AI-based automated behavioral analytics system for comprehensive security management and an AI-driven Automated Raw Material detection system that has reduced downtime and material costs.
Michael was previously the Senior Vice President of Information Services/Chief Information Officer for Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, where he led IT operations for all Six Flags Theme Parks and corporate offices across North America. As a key executive team member, he led an organization of 148+ and an annual IT budget of $25M. Over 11 years with Six Flags, Mr. Israel led transformational work across the organization, including a $22M initiative to revamp the IT Infrastructure in 11 facilities that decreased transaction processing time by 500%, the launch of a standardized vendor contract program that reduced IT costs by up to 28%, and an array innovation projects that enabled world-class guest experiences. His e-commerce and ticketing system today are responsible for over 50% of all corporate revenue annually.
Mr. Israel built additional leadership, technical, and consulting expertise as a Strategic Advisor with Cloudscann (VisualC3), as a Consultant with Financial Security Assurance, and as both a CIO and SVP with AMC Computer Corporation. He has earned numerous high-profile awards throughout his career, most recently as an ORBIE CIO of the Year–Super Global Finalist and CIO Magazine CIO Top 100 honoree.
Michael currently serves as a Customer Advisory Board member with Dell, Cisco and Extreme Networks and as an Innovation Advisory Council Member with Vation Ventures. Outside of his professional life, Mr. Israel has supported various impactful causes as an advisor, mentor, and leader, including NPower and The Boy Scouts of America. He enjoys outdoor endeavors, automotive racing events and car shows, skiing, and photography.
Josh Carley
Vice President, Technology at TD Garden and Boston Bruins
Josh Carley is the Vice President, Technology for TD Garden and the Boston Bruins. In this role, Josh ensures technology strategies meet growth goals and serves as a thought leader for emerging opportunities to showcase two of Delaware North’s flagship members. Primary focus on biometric authentication, alternative broadcasting, and fan engagement – both on property at TD Garden and at home – initiatives have set the technological compass heading for TD Garden and the Bruins with a keen eye on ensuring guests feel just as comfortable here as they do in their own homes.
Josh joined Delaware North from the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, near Palm Springs, California, where he served as IT Executive Director since December of 2020, guiding technology strategies for tribal government and enterprise services out of Covid and into the new era of service ubiquity. As the technology leader for the tribe - from constituent needs, to life safety services, to administrative functions – his singular focus was to develop infrastructure, products, and digital strategies to position the sovereign nation for complete self-reliance.
Between 2011 and 2019, Josh went from the Golden State to New Jersey and back to build, open, and operate four world-class casino resorts. Revel in Atlantic City, a $2.5 billion ‘cruise ship on land’ was followed by Graton Resort and Casino north of San Francisco, and finally back home in San Diego where he opened Hollywood Casino Jamul for Penn National Gaming – then managed the migration to tribal governance nine months later, effectively opening the same casino twice.
Having found a new hearth with Delaware North in Boston during the winter of ‘22, he’s wildly excited to bring his love of sports (hockey, most of all) and IT service excellence under one roof. He is currently earning a double major in English and History through Arizona State University as a personal goal, simply for the love of education. His 16-year-old daughter does not share this sentiment. He and his family reside in the Boston metropolitan area.
Brian Shield
SVP, CTO of Boston Red Sox
Brian Shield is the SVP/CTO for the Boston Red Sox | Fenway Sports Management since 2013, where he leads the technology team on all phases of their IT strategy, including digital fan engagement, corporate and ballpark infrastructure, systems and data architecture, cyber security, app dev, and corporate systems. Shield founded BostonCIO, is the National Chairperson of InspireCIO. Prior to joining the Red Sox, he served as EVP/CIO of The Weather Channel in Atlanta for 13 years where he led technology for weather.com, mobility, data and analytics, and television broadcast. His work in digital media was recognized with a Technology ‘Emmy’ Award and he was named ‘Georgia CIO of the Year’. Previously, Shield served as SVP/CIO of FTD, Inc. in Chicago. Preceding his tenure at FTD, he was the CTO at Scudder Investments, in Boston and New York.
Twitter: @bpshield
Jay Wessland
CTO of Boston Celtics
Jay Wessland is responsible for strategy, implementation, and management of Technology, Operations, and Facilities for the Boston Celtics. Jay joined the Celtics in 1990 as a consultant and member of the Game Night staff and has been a fixture at the office and courtside ever since.
During his tenure, Jay has transformed the Celtics Technology Infrastructure many times over; from pre-PC to modern OnPremise Virtualization, Cloud Infrastructures, and SaaS/IaaS applications while also managing existing and new Facilities and Operations. Recent projects include design and construction of The Auerbach Center Practice Facility and Celtics Corporate Offices, as well as numerous architectural and Technical TD Garden renovations.
In 2001, on loan from the Celtics to Turner Networks, he managed the back-end statistics and data flow for the Basketball portion of the Goodwill Games in Brisbane Australia where Team USA, led by Doc Rivers, earned a Gold Medal.
Prior to joining the Celtics, Jay held several engineering and technical sales/marketing roles in the Boston High Tech corridor and started his career at IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jay graduated from Virginia Tech in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering.
