A new model for kids' shoes

Newsletter for June 5, 2024

You'll see in today's Power Moves installment that it's been a pretty busy month of executive transitions, new agreements and other developments that reflect the ever-changing power dynamics in our region. Scroll down for that news, including a veteran CTO leaving one of the city's most prominent tech companies and some takeaways from the Greater Baltimore Committee's new long-term economic development plan.

You'll also see a new profile on a footwear exec and his latest plans to grow his novel vision for children's shoes — plans that include one of our highest-profile local accelerators. Check it all out, and I'll see you in your inbox on Monday.

— Sameer, Technical.ly editor for Baltimore and DC

Mike Gugat's career in the apparel business, including stints as an executive at Adidas and Mizuno, showed him that the dominant models for designing children's shoes — essentially, taking adult shoes and shrinking them — weren't fully addressing the specific anatomy and needs of kids' feet.

So the DC-based founder teamed up with former Orioles podiatrist Jay LeBow and Holabird Sports founder David Hirshfeld to create jbrds. The Baltimore County-HQed company is now participating in Towson University's StarTUp Accelerator to grow its solution for children's footwear, which Gugat's own son helped the founders research.

➡️ Learn more about jbrds in DC lead reporter Kaela Roeder's latest here.

The latest article of our monthly Power Moves series highlights Jason Perry, who held many roles at Locust Point-based Mindgrub before becoming its chief technology officer, leaving after nearly eight years at the company. It also breaks down some key points from the Greater Baltimore Committee's new plan that envisions what the regional economy should look like in the next decade.

We also flagged some news about industry boosters' new partnerships with peers in Virginia and Quebec, a C-Suite shake-up at ZeroFox and MICA's new(ish) president.

➡️ Catch up on leadership and strategy development news in my latest.

• For the second year running, Constellation Energy Group landed a spot on the Fortune 500. It's the only Baltimore-area company on the list this year, although Under Armour, T. Rowe Price and McCormick & Co. barely missed the cutoff. [Biz Journal]

• On June 23, the city will start operating the new Charm City Circulator route to connect downtown with the endemically segregated South Baltimore neighborhood of Cherry Hill. [Baltimore Beat]

• JPMorgan Chase announced the latest, $8 million+ donation in its overall plan to invest $20 million in the region. The funds, which arrived as the finance giant plans its own local commercial expansion, will support organizations working to support small businesses and fight the housing vacancy crisis. [JPMorgan Chase]

• A White House official had nice things to say about Baltimore's approach to gun violence reduction. [Baltimore Banner]

• TEDCO (a Technical.ly client) just announced a new partnership with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. [TEDCO]

• Watch Eric Smith, the director of the EDA Tech Hubs program, provide an update on Phase 2 proposals like Baltimore's. [EDA]