SSPA Names Former IBM Global Services Executive Stephen Smith as Executive Director

Smith to Lead Technology Service and Support Community Through Critical Transformation to Value-Added Support Model

SAN DIEGO, April 10, 2007 – The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), the largest and most influential association for technology service and support professionals, today announced the appointment of Stephen Smith as Executive Director. 

Smith succeeds Bill Rose, who founded the SSPA more than 18 years ago and has spearheaded the organization’s growth to more than 200 member companies that comprise the world’s leading tech support, field service and customer relations organizations.  During Rose’s tenure, the SSPA has cultivated a reputation as the go-to thought leader for technology service and support professionals, driving unparalleled advancements in operational excellence and business insight through research, certification, education and the peer-to-peer exchange of information.

Rose will continue to serve the organization as Executive Director Emeritus and member of the Advisory Board, and will formally transition the executive directorship to Smith at the SSPA Best Practices Conference, May 6-8 in San Diego.

“Bill was the guy who made tech support an industry.  By starting and leading SSPA he has contributed mightily to the state of the art of technical service and support.  We look forward to his continued involvement and leadership as an influential and trusted advisor helping to guide SSPA to even greater success,” said J.B. Wood, CEO of SSPA.

Smith takes the Executive Director helm as the technology industry is undergoing a dramatic shift from viewing support as primarily a break-fix function to having support become responsible for driving the value of products to customers, a model that SSPA calls Value-Added SupportSM.  Many global companies are turning to SSPA to help fashion a new service strategy for the next decade which not only protects and grows their current service revenues but also contributes more directly to the growth of the product business.

As strategy leader for IBM’s On Demand business transformation services, Smith was responsible for helping transform the technology giant’s overall On Demand services strategy.  He helped craft IBM’s On Demand offerings and has been the driving force behind IBM’s hot new Component Business Modeling strategy.

“SSPA is very fortunate to have one of the industry’s best, most experienced service strategists as its new Executive Director.  Steve’s experience at understanding the high-value needs of service customers and translating them into service offerings and strategy is unsurpassed.  He has also has helped lead transformation in IBM Global Services, the industry’s largest, most complex service organization. This gives him great insight into how companies large and small, enterprise and consumer, need to adapt to the radical industry changes that are coming.  The future of support is about more than just cutting costs.  Steve may be the best single person in the industry to help us drive the discussion toward customer and shareholder value,” said Wood.

By sharing best practices, data and innovations with the SSPA, members have created the world’s most complete library of tech service and support information.  The SSPA team has translated this information into insights that tech companies can use to improve operational excellence, boost customer satisfaction and improve service economics. Members are consuming this value in both targeted and organizational fashions.  Most importantly SSPA has articulated a vision of the future called Value-Added SupportSM.  The Value-Added SupportSMmodel transforms customer support resources to accelerate the customer’s time to value as well as boost their ROI on the product. It has the potential to make customers more successful which enables a technology company to enjoy greater product sales to existing customers through accelerated repurchase frequency.

“This is an exciting time for the industry and I’m looking forward to helping member companies to shape and execute their strategic vision and to work with the SSPA team to improve the ease by which members can consume the tremendous value that exists inside the core of SSPA knowledge,” said Smith.

“It’s personally rewarding to me that our upcoming Best Practices Conference provides the ideal environment to really connect with the SSPA membership and start a personal dialogue,” he added.
Smith joins the SSPA from IBM Corporation where he has held roles as Strategy Leader, Business Performance Transformation Services, executive positions in IBM’s Business Consulting Services, Global On Demand Business Transformation, and the Strategy and Change Practice.  He has also led all business development for the Supply Chain and Indirect Procurement BTO practice.  Previously he was co-founder, vice president and chief operating officer of Encadia Inc. which was acquired by Mainspring and later by IBM.  Smith has also worked for Mercer Management Consulting of Washington, D.C. and Ernst & Young LLP.  Smith holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in international business from Loyola Marymount University.

About the SSPA
As the industry’s foremost professional association, the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) is a key resource for the information and best practices needed to make better business decisions. It brings together the best minds from across the industry spectrum – from established companies with successful track records to the pioneering newcomers with out-of-the-box ideas. The SSPA also partners with thought leaders such as J.D. Power and Associates and the Wharton School of Business to create programs that benefit the industry. The SSPA is a member of a global network of associations that includes the Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA), the Association for Services Management International (AFSMI) and the Electronic Supply Chain Association (ESCA). For more information, visit www.thesspa.com.

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