LBJ Business Policy Forum

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy—99.9% of all firms and 46.6% of U.S. GDP. As AI shapes how businesses operate, its impact on small businesses will be central to America’s competitiveness and economic resilience.AI’s effects will vary across the small-business landscape, from Main Street shops and retailers to small manufacturers. This forum will examine how AI can help small businesses boost productivity, improve operations, and compete—while also exploring risks such as workforce disruption, uneven access to capital and technology, and the growing advantage of large incumbents.The discussion will focus on the public policy choices that will determine whether AI becomes a catalyst for growth across small businesses—including small manufacturers—or a force that deepens existing divides. Policy experts and business leaders will share perspectives on how government and the private sector can ensure small businesses are positioned to compete and thrive in the age of AI.

Nathan Byman is the founder and President of Wolfram Manufacturing Technologies, an Austin-based production machine shop and technology consulting firm. With a background rooted complex machining and manufacturing, Nathan founded Wolfram in 2011 with a mission to revitalize domestic manufacturing through the integration of advanced technology and high-efficiency processes.Nathan is a leading voice in the application of AI and Machine Learning (ML) within the machine shop environment. Under his leadership, Wolfram has developed three synergistic business lines: contract manufacturing, automation consulting, and proprietary software development. He is the driving force behind OnTakt, a production management and machine monitoring software designed to reduce downtime and maximize "spindle utilization" through real-time data insights.As an advocate for small-to-midsized manufacturers, Nathan focuses on "automating to survive," helping shops implement deep-tech solutions—such as feedback control systems and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things)—to achieve high productivity with leaner teams. He is a frequent speaker on the intersection of traditional machining and modern digital transformation, emphasizing how data-driven decision-making can bring manufacturing back to the forefront of the U.S. economy.

Jeremy Martin serves as President and CEO at the Austin Chamber of Commerce. He has represented Central Texas businesses at all levels of government from the White House Business Council to local community groups with one purpose in mind: helping Austin businesses succeed. Prior to his current role, Jeremy served as Interim Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President at the Chamber.As Senior Vice President of Government Relations, Jeremy oversaw advocacy efforts at the Chamber focusing on priorities such as economic development policy, transportation, infrastructure, education/workforce development, and regulatory climate. Whether it appeared on the ballot or a city council agenda, he knew how policy items affected Chamber members. Jeremy serves on the Boards of Directors for the Austin Economic Development Corporation, Community Advancement Network, Quality of Life Foundation of Austin, Transportation Advocates of Texas, and Visit Austin.Jeremy earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematical economic analysis from Rice University and a Master of City Planning with a concentration in community and economic development from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dheeraj Pandey is the co-founder, CEO & Chairman of DevRev (devrev.ai), and was the founder, CEO & Chairman of Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX). In addition to Nutanix, he currently sits on the board of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) and is a member of its Audit Committee. Dheeraj co-founded Nutanix in 2009, which has gone on to become a multibillion-dollar company with thousands of employees in over 60 countries. NTNX was the largest software IPO in all of 2016. Prior to founding Nutanix, he was the VP of Engineering at Aster Data (later acquired by Teradata), where he helped build the product and the engineering team from the ground up. At Oracle, he co-authored numerous patents in the area of distributed databases.Dheeraj’s entrepreneurial spirit has been recognized with a number of prestigious awards including Dell’s Founders 50 and the EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Silicon Valley. Dheeraj is a Ph.D. dropout from University of Texas (Austin), where he was a Graduate Fellow in Computer Science. He holds a BS in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT, Kanpur), where he was adjudged the “Best All-Rounder Student Among All Graduating Students in All Disciplines” and bestowed with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Dilawar Syed is an entrepreneur, board member, and former U.S. cabinet official whose leadership has spanned various public and private sector organizations, including as Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Special Envoy for Commercial Affairs at the State Department. In a decades-long career in Silicon Valley, Dilawar led and scaled ventures in AI, software, and consumer web. After his public service, he has joined the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin as Senior Economic Policy Advisor, to lead a new initiative on advancing U.S. business competitiveness, and as faculty at the LBJ School and UT’s McCombs School of Business. He is advising several technology ventures as a board member. Dilawar’s most recent role as SBA Deputy Administrator began with a bipartisan vote of the U.S. Senate. Dilawar advanced the Biden Administration’s priorities for small businesses by democratizing access to capital ($56 billion in 2024), government contracting ($183 billion in 2024), and entrepreneurship enablement, especially in the underserved and rural communities. He coordinated SBA’s disaster response after Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeast, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, MD, and the wildfires in Maui, HI. As Special Envoy for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Dilawar served as America’s top commercial diplomat, championing U.S. companies in markets abroad and strengthening U.S. competitiveness. He mobilized private sector support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, advocated for strategic deals in advanced tech, energy, aviation, and defense, and negotiated market access in his 24 bilateral engagements across the globe. Dilawar’s civic entrepreneurship has spanned local, state, and federal governments. Appointed by President Obama in 2010 to the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, he led engagement with small businesses during the economic recovery. In 2017, he launched the California Entrepreneurship Task Force with the Governor’s Office to bridge Silicon Valley with rural communities and promote inclusive entrepreneurship. Dilawar has previously served as CEO of Lumiata, an AI healthcare company backed by Khosla Ventures and BlueCross BlueShields, and as President at Freshworks, where he founded the software company’s North America business. Freshworks had a successful IPO in 2021. Earlier, he held leadership roles at Yahoo! and Siebel Systems. Dilawar started his career in management consulting at Ernst & Young and Deloitte Consulting. Dilawar holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA in Computer Science and Economics from The University of Texas at Austin.

Info: Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy—99.9% of all firms and 46.6% of U.S. GDP. As AI shapes how businesses operate, its impact on small businesses will be central to America’s competitiveness and economic resilience.

AI’s effects will vary across the small-business landscape, from Main Street shops and retailers to small manufacturers. This forum will examine how AI can help small businesses boost productivity, improve operations, and compete—while also exploring risks such as workforce disruption, uneven access to capital and technology, and the growing advantage of large incumbents.

The discussion will focus on the public policy choices that will determine whether AI becomes a catalyst for growth across small businesses—including small manufacturers—or a force that deepens existing divides. Policy experts and business leaders will share perspectives on how government and the private sector can ensure small businesses are positioned to compete and thrive in the age

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