Keynote Speakers                      Spotlighted Speakers

Distinguished Speakers

SHARE awards the distinction of Distinguished Speaker to those speakers who repeatedly exceed the criteria for SHARE’s Best Session award. These are long-tenured speakers who are known both for their exceptional session content and technical expertise.  

David Barnes
Program Director, Strategy and Emerging Internet Technologies, IBM

Early in his career David worked as both a hardware engineer and software engineer, focusing on IBM mainframes. During the birth of the PC in 1981 he became IBM’s first official “technology evangelist”, traveling the world, updating customers on IBM’s software strategy and relaying customer requirements back into IBM’s development labs. Later David went on to lead IBM’s evangelism and strategy efforts around Web services, SOA, and then IBM's WebSphere software offerings.

Most recently David managed the IBM Solutions Experience Lab in Austin Texas, and the IBM Extreme Blue innovation laboratory, also in Austin. Today he is helping shape IBM’s strategic efforts around innovation in Big Data and other emerging technologies.

 

John Ehrman
IBM Corporation

After too many courses in math and physics John discovered computers, and has enjoyed working at the Assembler Language level ever since. He is the former product poobah for the High Level Assembler (HLASM), now a free-floating assembler enthusiast.

 

 

Randall Munson
President, Creatively Speaking

Some speakers have solid technological or corporate credentials, others are talented entertainers or best selling authors, but very few like Randall Munson combine it all. He delivers a refreshing blend of inspiration and practicality, sparkling with warmth, humor, and magic. His high-content messages stem from a rock-solid foundation as an IBM Program Manager at the IBM Laboratory in Rochester, Minnesota. For 20 years, he led research and development projects with management, programming, architecture, education, and marketing responsibilities. Simultaneously, he performed professionally as a magician, emcee, ventriloquist, and clown. His two paths have now merged, with presentations that combine genuine substance and captivating style. That's why organizations and Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Disney and The White House have resonated to the power of Randall's messages. As the best selling author of nine books, he has earned the National Speakers Association's Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation. He holds an MS in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin.

 

 

 

 

Marna Walle
IBM Corporation

Marna Walle is a Senior Technical Staff Member in the z/OS Build and Installation organization in the IBM Systems and Technology Group in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her current responsibilities include z/OS release migration and installation improvements. Marna is a frequent speaker at customer conferences.