MEET YOUR HOST
Dean Halonen is a Co-Founder and CRO of Steelhead Technologies, where he’s on a mission to help job shops across the country unlock higher margins, stronger growth, and more control over their operations. With deep roots in the manufacturing world, Dean understands firsthand the daily chaos shop owners face: tight timelines, rising costs, unpredictable schedules, and constant pressure from every direction.
Through his work at Steelhead and as the host of ShopTalk, Dean is passionate about elevating the voices of job shop leaders who are in the trenches solving these challenges every day. He believes the best insights don’t come from theory, they come from the people doing the work.
On ShopTalk, Dean brings those stories to light, spotlighting operators, owners, and industry leaders who embrace the grind, fight the fires, and find ways to win anyway. His goal is simple: create a space where manufacturers can learn from each other, feel understood, and walk away with ideas to build more profitable, resilient shops.