The Heller Report: 2025 Recommended Reading for Tech Leaders

Team motivation tips from a Navy captain. Advice for converting your enterprise from a project-based organization to one that’s empowered by a product operating model. A manifesto for the powers of gadget-free concentration. How to include more smart minds for better decision-making. Taking calculated risks to generate new ideas. Check out these book topics and others recommended by readers of The Heller Report.

Companies can use AI to reinvent their customer experiences – if leaders are prepared to manage the risks associated with the new capabilities, write Michael Clifton and Max Schwendner, co-CEOs of Alorica. In this article, the authors explain how companies can mitigate the risks for voice-based customer support systems, including data security, AI model hallucinations, and regulatory compliance.

Today marks the eleventh annual World Emoji Day, an occasion created to celebrate the small digital icons used to express ideas and emotions in text messages. Jeremy Burge, founder of the online guide Emojipedia, created the day as a way to engage online users to voice their support for new pictograms. Why July 17? It is the date that Apple chose for its calendar emoji in reference to the day Steve Jobs introduced the iCal software application, notes the This Day in Tech History blog.

Heller was recently retained by the American Lung Association to recruit a Chief Information and Technology Officer. Founded 120 years ago, the American Lung Association works to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, through research, education and advocacy. We identified Keith Tyrka for this role, who most recently served as Vice President of Planning, Performance, and Technology at the College of DuPage. Prior to that, he was the Chief Information Officer and HIPAA Security Officer at Aunt Martha’s Health & Wellness. Tyrka earned a BS and an MBA from DePaul University. Best of luck, Keith!