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Talking Innovation is a conversation about what comes next, hosted by Grant Asplund, a four-decade technology veteran who has spent his career arriving in categories before they had names. Each episode brings together the builders, founders, and operators shaping where technology is headed, with candid conversations about the ideas, bets, and hard-won lessons behind real innovation.
This isn't a show about hype cycles. It's about the people doing the work: how they see around corners, how they turn conviction into product, and what it actually takes to be early and right. From cybersecurity to AI to whatever category is forming next, Talking Innovation goes past the headlines to the thinking underneath.
New conversations on a regular cadence. Pull up a chair.
Episodes

Mar 31, 2025
Mar 31, 2025
1 hr 3 min
This week, my guest is Matt Stamper, CEO | CISO & Executive Advisor. Matt is a multi-time CISO with extensive experience in cybersecurity, information security, cloud security, IT audit, risk management, privacy, AI security, and governance. Matt is a former research director and security analyst at Gartner (NYSE: IT) and has extensive experience in cloud services and IT service management, including international experience in Latin America and China. Throughout his career, Matt has spoken to 1000s of CISOs, CIOs, and other corporate leaders and boards of directors. Matt’s experience includes early-stage startups and large, multinational public companies spanning multiple industries, including managed services, managed security services, global telecom, and advisory. Matt excels at conveying complex cybersecurity and technology concepts to boards of directors, executive management, professional service providers, cybersecurity personnel, and vendors in the cybersecurity industry.

Mar 17, 2025
Mar 17, 2025
55 min
I was so excited to post this episode, I forgot to write an introduction!! In this program I sit down with Paul Nguyen, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Permiso. Paul has a long history of success in the cybersecurity. He's an invovator and entrepreneur and a fantastic guest! I hope you enjoy it!!!

Mar 3, 2025
Mar 3, 2025
54 min
I first met my episode 68 guest in 2002. I recently completed the reacquisition of MetaInfo from Check Point. While Check Point retained 20%, my employees and I owned 80%. Chris, the CEO of Nominum, reached out to me to discuss a possible merger between our companies.
The short story is we never merged. Chris led Nominum until they were acquired by Akamai Technologies in 2017.
Today, Chris is the CEO of Bastille, a unique wireless security vendor disrupting the industry. We have a wonderful, wide-ranging discussion. I hope you enjoy this episode!

Feb 17, 2025
Feb 17, 2025
35 min
In this episode, I sit with the Head of Cloud Security Engineering at Check Point Software. Brian McHenry joined Check Point after over a decade and a half at F5 focused on WAF. Brian has been a practitioner, a Sales Engineer, and a Product Manager. Hear why Brian left F5 and joined Check Point and what he started in NY in 2016.

Feb 3, 2025
Feb 3, 2025
57 min
All the way from Northern Ireland, my episode 66 guest is Chris Cooney, Director of Advocacy at Coralogix. Chris explains the differences between 'visibility' and 'observability' and discusses the benefits of their support for open systems.

Jan 20, 2025
Jan 20, 2025
53 min
Episode 65 features Marina Segal, a friend, former colleague, and now co-founder and CEO of her VC-backed start-up, Tamnoon (www.tamnoon.io). I first met and worked with Marina Segal at Dome9 and, subsequently, Check Point Software. Marina is a shrewd and highly experienced executive with a strong background in Security Governance, Risk, and Compliance. In this age of AI, automation, and BOTs, she and her team have created an interesting value proposition with a human touch. I hope you enjoy the discussion.
*PLEASW NOTE*Correction* Midway through the broadcast I refer to CNAPP as a 'horizontal vertical' solution and I meant to say CSPM, not CNAPP. My bad. Thanks!

Jan 6, 2025
Jan 6, 2025
29 min
Happy 2025! In this two-part episode, my guest is the founder of North Labs, Collin Graves. We discuss a variety of topics, including, of all things, the similarities between Higher Education and manufacturing! I'll never think of a 'bow-tie' in the same way again! Collin was an early pioneer in cloud computing and was one of the very first certified on AWS. Please comment and let us know what you think!

Jan 6, 2025
Jan 6, 2025
25 min
Happy 2025! In this two-part episode, my guest is the founder of North Labs, Collin Graves. We discuss a variety of topics, including, of all things, the similarities between Higher Education and manufacturing! I'll never think of a 'bow-tie' in the same way again! Collin was an early pioneer in cloud computing and was one of the very first certified on AWS. Please comment and let us know what you think!

Dec 23, 2024
Dec 23, 2024
32 min
In another two-part episode, I sit down with a long-time cybersecurity professional and personal friend, Cal Jeffrey. We first met in 1998 when we were both at Check Point Software. We've remained great friends and have collaborated multiple times. I affectionately call him my personal SMEE—subject matter expert on everything! Joking aside, Cal is a knowledgeable, intelligent, and engaging colleague, and I'm sure you'll enjoy this episode. Please comment and share your thoughts!

Dec 23, 2024
Dec 23, 2024
24 min
In another two-part episode, I sit down with a long-time cybersecurity professional and personal friend, Cal Jeffrey. We first met in 1998 when we were both at Check Point Software. We've remained great friends and have collaborated multiple times. I affectionately call him my personal SMEE—subject matter expert on everything! Joking aside, Cal is a knowledgeable, intelligent, and engaging colleague, and I'm sure you'll enjoy this episode. Please comment and share your thoughts!
