Growing Houston blockchain company expands C-suite

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Houston-based Data Gumbo has a new C-level exec to lead its growing sales team. Courtesy of Data Gumbo

After expanding into the Asian market last month, a Houston blockchain startup has grown its C-suite with the addition of a chief commercial officer to lead its sales team.

Data Gumbo Corp. has brought Bill Arend onto its team. Arend brings over 20 years of experience in software sales from the likes of Workday, Oracle. and Microsoft. The new hire comes at a time when Data Gumbo continues to expand, and, in March, the company brought on Indonesia-based client, Air Drilling Associates Indonesia-based client, Air Drilling Associates, a drilling and project management service provider.

"The opportunity abounds for Data Gumbo to help industry leaders to streamline current processes, eliminate errors, reduce contract leakage and save on costs," says Andrew Bruce, CEO of Data Gumbo, in a news release.

"Arend has the proven track record to support our mission in helping industrial players realize greater efficiencies and the leadership skills to scale our growing team as we continue to garner commercial momentum."

Data Gumbo's GumboNet is a robust blockchain network that provides automated contract execution for industrial clients. Beginning in the energy industry, Data Gumbo has since expanded into water management and construction.

"I am excited to join the Data Gumbo team to serve the market," Arrend says in the release. "There is a huge opportunity to provide industrial global enterprises a solution that drives down operating expenses by automating smart contracts."

Since its inception in 2016, the company has raised over $9.3 million in equity funding and grown its clientbase. The company, based out of The Cannon, operates as a blockchain-as-a-service model to improve efficiency for its industrial clients.

"In today's business climate, company's must look at their processes critically to find ways to improve productivity and cost efficiencies," Arend continues in the release. "Data Gumbo is well positioned to aid in that digital transformation for forward-looking companies."

Bill Arend has been named Data Gumbo's chief commercial officer. Photo courtesy of Data Gumbo

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Mark Cuban calls AI ‘the greater democratizer’ for young entrepreneurs

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Texas billionaire Mark Cuban—whose investment portfolio includes Houston-based Holliball, a startup that makes and sells large inflatable holiday ornaments—believes AI is leveling the playing field for budding low-income entrepreneurs.

At the recent Clover x Shark Tank Summit in Las Vegas, the Shark Tank alum called AI “the greater democratizer.”

Cuban told Axios that free and low-cost AI tools enable disadvantaged teenagers to compete with seasoned professionals.

“Right now, if you’re a 14- to 18-year-old and you’re in not-so-good circumstances, you have access to the best professors and the best consultants,” Cuban said. “It allows people who otherwise would not have access to any resources to have access to the best resources in real time. You can compete with anybody.”

While Cuban believes AI is “the great democratizer” for low-income young people, low-income workers still face hurdles in navigating the AI landscape, according to Public Works Partners, an urban planning and consulting firm. The firm says access to AI among low-income workers may be limited due to cost, insufficient digital literacy and infrastructure gaps.

“Without adequate resources and training, these workers may struggle to adapt to AI-driven workplaces or access the educational opportunities necessary to acquire new skills,” Public Works Partners said.

Texas 2036, a public policy organization focused on the state’s future, reported in January AI jobs in Texas are projected to grow 27 percent over the next decade. The number 2036 refers to the year when Texas will celebrate its bicentennial.

As for the current state of AI, Cuban said he doesn’t think the economy is witnessing an AI bubble comparable to the dot-com bubble, which lasted from 1998 to 2000.

“The difference is, the improvement in technology basically slowed to a trickle,” Cuban said of the dot-com era. “We’re nowhere near the improvement in technology slowing to a trickle in AI.”

CPRIT hires MD Anderson official as chief cancer prevention officer

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The Austin-based Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which provides funding for cancer research across the state, has hired Ruth Rechis as its chief prevention officer. She comes to CPRIT from Houston’s University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she led the Cancer Prevention and Control Platform.

Before joining MD Anderson, Rechis was a member of the executive leadership team at the Livestrong Foundation, an Austin-based nonprofit that supports people affected by cancer.

“Ruth has widespread connections throughout the cancer prevention community, both in Texas and across the nation,” CPRIT CEO Kristen Doyle said in a news release. “She is a long-term passionate supporter of CPRIT, and she is very familiar with our process, programs, and commitment to transparency. Ruth is a terrific addition to the team here at CPRIT.”

Rechis said that by collaborating with researchers, policymakers, public health leaders and community partners, CPRIT “can continue to drive forward proven prevention strategies that improve health outcomes, lower long-term costs, and create healthier futures for all.”

At MD Anderson, Rechis and her team worked with more than 100 organizations in Texas to bolster cancer prevention initiatives at clinics and community-based organizations.

Rechis is a longtime survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymph nodes, which are part of a person’s immune system.