The catch phrase used to be "Change your mind without losing it" back in the day. That particular time was 1991, the year I first started with Avid as the 4th Customer Support Representative and then the first full time Instructor for Avid Technology. In that time I traveled the country and more than a dozen countries training editors on the Media Composer. In 1998, I went to IBM as a training manager giving me broader exposure to the education business and how it can be run on a large scale while still maintaining product quality and measured results.
Fast forward to 2008. Avid is enveloped in New Thinking, new management and unification across the corporate brands. We have harnessed the power of our counterparts around the globe and are working to bring modern training methods and concepts to Avid customers in a consistent and intelligent fashion. During this time of evolution and cohesion as a company, it makes perfect sense to align the training organization in the same way, and this will be the first time the company has had a truly worldwide training organization. Recently I was given the opportunity to return and I jumped at it, as I enjoy fostering the fire of education through new challenges and approaches. And what opportunity better than to return to the company I helped to grow globally and to take public, now with the largest and most talented customer base in the industry. Just look at those who walk away with recognition at each Clio, Emmy, Grammy and Academy Award presentation.
Our team is now aligned with Avid Worldwide Training on a cross-brand, One Avid organization led by Carolyn Lightner. As the Manager for the Americas Training Delivery Team, I work with driven individuals who collectively have an amazing amount of talent and industry knowledge that we would like to share, and this forum is one of many vehicles where we would like to offer some of our knowledge to you on a global basis. Collectively, our instructors have years of broadcast experience in various aspects of production, film and post-production experience, and are skilled in creative arts, technology and the sciences. My delivery management counterparts in APAC and EMEA, Anna Lockwood and Jason Plews respectively, will also bring their team's skills and experience to this forum for perspectives on training, equipment and methods from around the planet.
We hope that you enjoy and benefit from the entries that will be forth coming, and as always, thank you for your support as Avid customers and users!
Cheers,
AJ Steffenberg
Training Manager, Americas Services Group