For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Brian Langerman, and I’m proud to serve as your SHARE Executive Director. Previously, I have held executive director and CEO roles in technology communities that focus on IT healthcare and human capital management. Prior to that, I spent 14 years working at Motorola, Inc., working across marketing, product management, business development, and operations and strategy roles.

When I accepted the role of SHARE Executive Director in October 2018, I was eager to apply my knowledge and experience leading user groups, as well as to learn about the people, culture, and history that make SHARE so unique. Several months of observation later, and with my first SHARE event under my belt, it’s clear that this association is fueled by individuals who are deeply passionate about their work, the opportunity to shape the industry, and the ability to foster a tight-knit community of peers.

As I returned from my first SHARE event, I reflected on the passion I saw in volunteers and conference attendees each day. For our volunteer leaders in particular, the engagement and time they put into the organization and the industry is truly unparalleled. As a testament to this, our winter event in Phoenix had nearly 1,400 total attendees, making it the largest winter event since 2014. In fact, from 2014-2019, SHARE has had a 35 percent growth in attendance. It’s the hard work from our volunteers, and the keen interest from attendees, that in part help this association thrive and grow.    

As executive director, I have been focused on listening and learning, talking to all stakeholders, members, partners, and thought leaders in the industry to gain their perspective and insights on the organization, learning where we are excelling and noting key focus areas for opportunities to improve.

With a successful winter event behind us, it’s become much more rewarding to look to the future. The SHARE Board of Directors is finalizing priorities for 2019 SHARE imperatives. This includes building upon two new initiatives you may have noticed in Phoenix: digital badging and the Women in IT program.

Digital badges are a way to indicate accomplishments and share them widely online, through LinkedIn profiles, websites, emails, and digital resumes. We are introducing digital badges gradually, beginning with recent “Best of the Best Session” award winners, and plan to expand digital badge designations at SHARE Pittsburgh.

The Women in IT program was started to create an environment of mutual support among existing delegates and welcome more women to SHARE. You can learn more about the planning and thoughts that went into this program in Martha McConaghy’s February Message from SHARE.

Both efforts were a huge success and we look forward to continuing each.

The SHARE Board is also working with our partner community to reshape the SHARE partner program, based on soliciting feedback from SHARE partners, as well as evaluating leading practices in the industry. The goals are to simplify the program, create additional, unique value for the SHARE community, and expand offerings from partners semi-annually at conferences to a year-round engagement program.

The SHARE Board of Directors is also paying close attention to our semi-annual events, education and training, and the user experience. SHARE events remain a top priority for the association. We are eager to build on the strength of Phoenix and continue to increase attendance, both in number of people and companies participating. We also want to expand on the great education and training already offered by introducing more user-led, peer-generated content that helps others learn how to maximize technology investments. A welcome challenge that lies ahead is how to prioritize these initiatives.

Between now and SHARE Pittsburgh, I encourage you keep the momentum going. If you were inspired by hallway conversations or session topics, help us help you by emailing Kristin Fields, managing editor for SHARE’d Intelligence, at editor@share.org, to suggest article ideas or subject matter experts who want to contribute to SHARE’d Intelligence.

Thank you for allowing me to get to know SHARE over these last few months. I look forward to what’s in store for us in the future. Onward to SHARE Pittsburgh!