In this episode of the Grand Slam Journey Podcast, host Klara Jagosova speaks with Marlan Macklin, Deputy Principal Director for FutureG within the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, where he guides the U.S. Department of War’s efforts to advance research, development, and investment priorities for 5G, 6G, and future-generation wireless technologies.

Marlan grew up as an Army brat bouncing between military bases across the East Coast and Southeast, competed in athletics alongside two brothers who were, by his own admission, the better athletes, and chose The Citadel, one of only six senior military colleges in the U.S., at 18 years old. Before joining FutureG, he served at the U.S. Mission to NATO as Chief of the Communications and Electronics Division, negotiating international agreements across the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East, and making it a personal mission to set foot in every single NATO allied country.

The conversation explores:

• Why growing up on military bases builds an adaptability most people spend a lifetime chasing
• What The Citadel gives you that no traditional university can
• How negotiating international defense agreements across three regions shaped his leadership
• Why building trust across 30 NATO allies starts with eating their food
• What AI RAN means and why 6G is really an AI infrastructure story
• How Integrated Sensing and Communications could protect the 2028 Olympics from weaponized drones
• Why the U.S. is betting on open architectures and commercial partnerships to win the next technology race
• And why he comes home from Easter Island more tired but more alive than when he left

🔗 Connect with Marlan: linkedin.com/in/marlan-macklin
🌐 FutureG Office: rt.cto.mil/ddre-rt/science-and-technology-futures/futureg-home

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In this episode, Klara Jagosova speaks with Susan Seilheimer Brennan, executive, operator, and author who has spent nearly four decades leading organizations through growth, transformation, and scale across automotive manufacturing, clean energy, and advanced materials.

Susan's journey spans growing up in a working-class steel town in Illinois, building her career from a plant floor in rural Iowa to VP Manufacturing at Nissan where she drove the first Nissan LEAF off the production line, to COO at Bloom Energy where she tripled headcount, cut unit costs by 70%, and took the company public, to CEO at Romeo Power and 5E Advanced Materials where she led turnarounds under extraordinary pressure, and now advising early-stage clean energy and tech founders at EnerTech Capital.

The conversation explores:

• Why she walked away from a Ford executive pension to bet on the electric vehicle.
• How she moved her family from Nashville to Silicon Valley at 51, going from big fish to minnow, and why she did it anyway.
• What the plant floor teaches about leadership that no MBA can.
• How the Hoshin X Matrix connects individual work to company-wide goals.
• How to break the constraints blocking progress when everyone is already working hard.
• Why she believes innovation is the heart, and without it, even the strongest organization won't survive.
• What made her write the whole truth rather than the Instagram version.
• Why she chose to bring light to things most people keep in the dark.

Get the book: Still Standing: From Self-Loathing to Self-Love by S. Jayne Brennan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3SZTHXZ

Connect with Susan:
susanbrennanleadership.com
info@susanbrennanleadership.com
linkedin.com/in/susanbrennan

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If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who may enjoy it as well, and consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also submit your feedback directly on my website.

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In this episode, Klara Jagosova speaks with Katie Calhoun, Founder and CEO of Two-Bridge Growth Insights and Managing Partner at ResonateLab, where she helps organizations use generative AI to facilitate human connections rather than replace them.

Katie's journey begins not in a boardroom but behind a camera lens. With a BFA from Cornell, she started as a photo editor and writer, worked her way up at Forbes, then deliberately walked away to learn the one discipline she hadn't yet mastered, sales, at Hearst. That decision led her to nearly 18 years at Getty Images, where she led a team of 110+ people, drove over $300M in annual revenue, helped take the company public, and played a key role in launching Generative AI by Getty Images.

The conversation explores:

• Why AI can't replace human instinct, storytelling, or genuine connection
• The AI bias problem: how generative models "reduce to the mean" and quietly erase diversity
• The Getty Images playbook: launching generative AI without losing the creative soul
• Building #ShowUs, Disrupt Aging, and the LeanIn Collection to challenge visual stereotypes across 170+ countries
• Lessons from Cannes Lions on moving from AI hype to intentional adoption
• Advice for women on negotiation, leadership, and using your voice

Whether you're a marketer, a founder, or someone navigating your own reinvention, Katie's journey is a masterclass in following curiosity, learning your gaps, and staying rooted in human insight in an increasingly automated world.

Send us Fan Mail

This content is also available in a video version on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who may enjoy it as well, and consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also submit your feedback directly on my website.

Follow @GrandSlamJourney on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and join the LinkedIn community.