Newsletter: Message from the Board
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Introducing GALA's First Executive Director
Meet Jim Hollan
In August, after an extensive international search, the GALA Board announced the hiring of the association's first executive director. James F. Hollan III, CAE, a veteran of association and academic management, finance and marketing, will lead the association as it grows to more than 300 member companies.
“GALA is delighted to welcome Jim as our first executive director,” said Kim Harris, board president. “His extensive background in association management combined with his experience in international business will be invaluable as we serve more members and continue to build awareness of the fast growing language services and technology industry.”
As the new executive director of GALA, Hollan has been tasked with growing the international scope of the organization as he develops more public awareness and understanding of the ever-expanding fields of globalization and localization. To that end GALA looks forward to broadening its reach in Asia and building more programs and activities for European members.
In its search for the perfect candidate, the board was interested in finding someone with a wealth of association experience who also understands the international nature of GALA. Hollan’s stellar background made him the first choice. He is a former university vice president and immediate past president of the Severn Group, an international association consulting and management group. He has previously served as president of the National Shoe Retailers Association and president of Association Management Services, a for profit subsidiary. Earlier in his career he was the executive director of the National Child Support Enforcement Association representing 60,000 professionals in the United States, and for 13 years was president and CEO of Scottish and Irish Imports, Ltd, where he was voted the outstanding small businessman in the United States by the Small Business Administration.
Throughout his career, Hollan has coordinated many international meetings and seminars, including collaborations with The Hague and the United Nations. Additionally, he has served on two separate White House advisory commissions in the United States and most recently served on an advisory Trade Mission to India. The author of four books and more than 50 professional articles, Hollan is also a certified association executive (CAE), a distinction held by less than 5 percent of the 22,000 members of the prestigious American Society of Association Executives.
The Executive Director search committee vetted over 150 applications. Following several rounds of interviews, the search process culminated in June with in-person interviews of three highly qualified candidates immediately following Localization World in Berlin. “The process was exciting because we were presented with many qualified candidates and were able to choose from the best of the best,” said Hans Fenstermacher of Translations.com
In addition to Fenstermacher, the search committee consisted of Inger Larsen (Larsen Globalisation), Stephen Ryan (Moravia Worldwide), Beatriz Bonnet (Syntes) and Kim Harris (text & form). GALA is grateful for the time and energy devoted by all the search committee volunteers.