• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Profiles of Innovation

    An IT kingpin who rocks: CEO Jack Brandt goes from Sixth Street to the boardroom

    Greg Scheinman
    Apr 16, 2012 | 4:38 pm

    Most CEOs wouldn’t suggest conducting their interview at Rockin’ Robin Guitars store, but then again Jack Brandt isn’t like most CEOs. For one, he’s as comfortable with a guitar in his hand as he is in a boardroom. And two, he figured he could get some shopping in when we were done with the interview.

    It’s this efficient type of thinking that has contributed not only to the affable CEO and founder of Technology Solutions' success in business, but also to his ever-expanding collection of more than 36 guitars.

    “Outside of my office and my home I spend the most time here at Rockin’ Robin Guitars. I’m a lifetime musician, started playing when I was 8, won my first songwriting competition when I was 11 and I can’t even tell you how many bands I’ve played in,” Brandt says.

     

      "I still talk to a lot of our clients on a daily basis, but I don’t necessarily crawl under desks anymore.” 

    Born and raised in Houston, Brandt lived in Stafford until age 7 before moving inside the loop. He graduated early from Sharpstown High School in 1982, but was technically class of ’83. He went on to the University of Texas where he majored in psychology with a minor in music and graduated in 1987.

    “When I was in Austin I put myself through college," he says. "I sold cars on the corner of Sixth and Lamar, had jewelry stores in the flea markets of Austin. And for my last two years I played music on Sixth Street and was a house guitar player and singer for a studio there.”

    Brandt has been involved in Houston’s technology industry for more than 15 years. “My first job after college was in the computer business selling computer supplies, surge protectors, printer cartridges and it was going really well until right up until the time a company called Office Depot and another called BizMart came to town. Ultimately that business failed," he recalls.

    He then went on to TeleCheck, where he was responsible for all micro computing operations and subsequently became vice president at NetConnect systems, a Houston-based value added reseller.

    Technology Support was started in 1994. “Back then there were no IT guys," Brandt says. "Small businesses were just beginning to deploy computers as a tool that they couldn’t work without.

    "Accounting firms could still put their tax returns together without a computer; engineering firms could do drawings without CAD and so on. But as Windows 3.1, then 4 and ’98 became more pervasive that meant that they needed someone like us that the larger companies had from a departmental support standpoint.”

    Technology Support now has 25 employees. Clients range from five to 10 up to 2,000 users.

     

      “I love music, but no one is beating down my door to pay me a good living to play guitar, so the balance between business and music has kind of worked itself out that way . . ." 

    “Day one I was everything: Selling, implementing, ordering," Brandt says. "Working with the client by day and then implementing at night. As things evolved I’ve moved into a sales and business development role. I still talk to a lot of our clients on a daily basis, but I don’t necessarily crawl under desks anymore.”

    Brandt attributes longevity and skill set as major contributors to Technology Support’s success.

    “We’ve been in business almost 18 years and in IT that’s a millennium so we have the history and the experience. and there’s really no substitute for that type of experience," he says. "The skill set we have is very comprehensive, more comprehensive than anyone a company could hire for their own internal staff, it’d be too expensive."

    Brandt took an innovative approach to client services and instituted a unique pricing model that has been a tipping point for the company and enabled Technology Support to differentiate itself from the competition.

    “What’s really been a game changer for us is we’ve formulated a way to offer an all inclusive price, which means our clients never watch a clock," he says. "We’re very creative and very easy in the way that we come to that price with our customers so that there are no secrets. A lot of the ways our competitors do things now, there’s just too much smoke and mirrors."

    While Brandt maintains a balance between his two passions, business and music, he realizes which comes first.

    “I love music, but no one is beating down my door to pay me a good living to play guitar, so the balance between business and music has kind of worked itself out that way . . . In business I’m very fortunate in that I feel like I get paid to play with toys all day. To this day, the best thing for me is opening up a box with some new component, new part and taking it out, configuring it, putting it in service, that’s really a privilege.

    "I get to do what I normally would be doing after work if I was doing something else for a living, which is taking stuff apart, putting it back together and playing guitar.”

     Greg Scheinman is creator of the PBS show, PROFILE with Greg Scheinman, and an associate at Insgroup Inc., Houston's fourth largest independent insurance agency.

    unspecified
    news/innovation

    the future of surgery

    Houston hospital performs first fully robotic heart transplant in the U.S.

    Laura Furr Mericas, InnovationMap
    Jul 3, 2025 | 9:30 am
    Baylor College of Medicine Robotic Heart Transplant
    Courtesy of Baylor College of Medicine
    Dr. Kenneth Liao and a team at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center used a surgical robot to implant a new heart in a patient.

    A team at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, led by Dr. Kenneth Liao, successfully performed the first fully robotic heart transplant in the United States earlier this year, the Houston hospital recently shared.

    Liao, a professor and chief of cardiothoracic transplantation and circulatory support at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of cardiothoracic transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, used a surgical robot to implant a new heart in a 45-year-old male patient through preperitoneal space in the abdomen by making small incisions.

    The robotic technology allowed the medical team to avoid opening the chest and breaking the breast bone, which reduces the risk of infection, blood transfusions and excessive bleeding. It also leads to an easier recovery, according to Liao.

    "Opening the chest and spreading the breastbone can affect wound healing and delay rehabilitation and prolong the patient's recovery, especially in heart transplant patients who take immunosuppressants," Liao said in a news release. "With the robotic approach, we preserve the integrity of the chest wall, which reduces the risk of infection and helps with early mobility, respiratory function and overall recovery."

    The patient received the heart transplant in March, after spending about four months in the hospital due to advanced heart failure. According to Baylor, he was discharged home after recovering from the surgery in the hospital for a month without complications.

    "This transplant shows what is possible when innovation and surgical experience come together to improve patient care," Liao added in the release. "Our goal is to offer patients the safest, most effective and least invasive procedures, and robotic technology allows us to do that in extraordinary ways."

    ---

    This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

    medical researchbaylor college of medicine
    news/innovation

    most read posts

    Veteran Houston bartender shakes up the Heights with new tropical bar

    This Houston suburb had the highest apartment rent prices in June

    Exclusive: New cocktail bar from Houston hospitality stars coming to the Heights

    Loading...