Podcast: Download
The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.
James Scheu, Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkins, Shannon Russo and Kris Dunn
Kris Dunn and Shannon Russo
Shannon Russo / Kinetix
CEO
Who is Shannon Russo? Well…..she’s the CEO of Kinetix. She’s got a background as a finance executive with companies such as Spherion, W.R. Grace, M&M/Mars, Inc., and Kidder, Peabody & Co. She rode the corporate wave. She had a big expense account. Then she opted out to do her own thing andfounded Kinetix with the goal of creating a firm that could help growing companies get the talent they need to compete. She thought she’d get more sleep by running her own firm. She was wrong. Luckily, that’s not contagious.
Specialties: Financial chops. Dealmaker. Eye for talent. Mountain Summiter.
In her role as CEO, Shannon is responsible for overall operations and leading the strategic direction of Kinetix. In real talk, that means she creates the foundation for company growth, delivers new business, maintains good relationships with existing clients, manages the leadership and sales teams, and drives the overall vision and culture of the Kinetix brand.
What is Shannon’s Vision for Kinetix? To be the North American Recruitment Process Outsourcing leading firm to deliver a triple play in an integrated way: through RPO, Employer Branding, and Staffing & Recruiting. She has a crazy passion for what happens when talent acquisition is done right—because everybody wins.
Kris Dunn / Kinetix
Chief Resorces Officer / Chief Marketing Officer
Who is Kris Dunn? That’s an easy question – Kris Dunn is a Partner and the Chief Human Resources Officer/Chief Marketing Officer at Kinetix. Prior to Kinetix, Kris served in HR leadership roles at DAXKO, Charter and Cingular. Kris believes that the key to great business results is to get talented people, then do cool stuff to maximize their motivation, performance and effectiveness once you have them in the door. As it turns out, that’s his simple definition of talent management.
Specialties: Belief that the HR function rocks mixed with Business Chops. Crossover Dribble. Encyclopedia- like knowledge of the Grunge Era.
Kris is also the founder of two industry-leading blogs: Fistful of Talent and The HR Capitalist – and has written over 70 feature columns at Workforce Management magazine. As a result of that commitment, he’s been named one of the Top 100 Influencers in the World of HR and a Top 25 Digital Influencer in the HR and Talent Management communities.
Chris Hanks/ KSU EC
(Co – Host)
Christopher C. Hanks is the founder and executive director of the KSUEntrepreneurship Center. Prior to this, Hanks was the founder and director of the entrepreneurship program at the University of Georgia. He has owned multiple businesses, including music, e-commerce, publishing, and export ventures. He is also the co-author of a best-selling book on low risk entrepreneurship.
Hanks leads the International Entrepreneurship Institute and is certified in business valuation, providing expert witness testimony. Before teaching at UGA, Hanks taught entrepreneurship at Georgia State University and assisted in leading the Russell Center for Entrepreneurship. He earned a BBA from University of Georgia and an MBA from San Jose State University. Before launching his first business, Hanks held corporate risk management positions in the pharmaceutical and beverage industries.
