Technology has always been a “game changer,” according to Matt Ater, vice president, Vispero – which he explains “makes technology so blind people can live a good life.” Ater joined WorkingNation’s editor-in-chief Ramona Schindelheim for WorkingNation Overheard at CES 2024 in Las Vegas to share his thoughts on how technology is creating greater access for people who have disabilities.
Ater says when it comes to hiring people with disabilities, companies are still navigating that process. He reminds, “Keep in mind that disability is a very broad term. You could have permanent disabilities, temporary disabilities, and a wide range from cognitive to vision to hearing to mobility. Some are hidden disabilities where the corporations may not even know the person with a disability is working there.”
The CTA Foundation advocates for people with disabilities or those who are aging. Ater says not all companies are thinking the same way about accessibility for these populations. “There’s a lot of companies who may do it by design. They may choose to build accessibility in. Then there’s going to be companies who do it by accident – which is perfectly fine. We’re okay with that, as well. And then there’s going to be this whole other section of tech companies who just don’t do it right and haven’t even thought about it.”
He notes the “great technology” that’s showcased at CES 2024. “I saw something that was an AI-like robot that would be for somebody with dementia to be able to have natural conversations,” says Ater.
He adds, “The amount of over-the-counter hearing aids at this conference is unbelievable thanks to CTA and the efforts that they did with the hearing loss community to push for changes in the law – which cuts the cost of hearing aids drastically and improves the lives of not just people with disabilities, but people who are aging.
“From my perspective, what we’re seeing is the kinds of things the Foundation has done and CTA, in general, has done to up the game for serving those communities.”
Learn more about Vispero.
Learn more about the CTA Foundation.
Learn more about CES 2024.
Funding for WorkingNation Overheard at CES 2024 was provided, in part, by Walmart.
© Copyright 2024 by Structural Unemployment, LLC dba WorkingNation
Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.
Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.
Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.
Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.
Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.
Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.
