Avid Learner, Inc. - David Huffner


	David Huffner Principal Consultant Avid Learner, Inc. Current Role David Huffner is the co-founder, President and a Principal Consultant for Avid Learner, Inc., a privately held global consulting firm based in Pittsburgh, PA. Their mission is to help organizations develop knowledge workers, and those who lead them. At Avid Learner, David guides the company’s new product development and marketing efforts, leads the consulting services group, and coordinates productivity research projects. In addition, David is an Instructor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business Center for Executive Education (CEE). At the CEE, he has led courses on Leadership, Followership and Star Performance, Cross-Organizational Influence and C-Level Communications. He has also been a Guest Lecturer at numerous client-sponsored events, including Southwest Airlines People University, AstraZeneca’s Professional Development Forum, Carnegie Mellon University’s Program for Executives and their School of Public Policy and Management (Medical Management), Hewlett-Packard’s Young Employees Network and Leadership Pittsburgh, Inc. Key Capabilities and Experience David’s consulting and research engagements place him in frequent and close contact with emerging leaders, star performers, and those who aspire to star performance in the workplace. He draws extensively on these experiences when presenting. Those who attend his sessions often describe David as knowledgeable, perceptive, articulate, engaging, low key and thought provoking. He approaches his work with great passion, enthusiasm and a sense of humor. David has worked with organizations in industries including manufacturing, high technology, banking, service, health care and government. He has extensive experience in developing and delivering training on leadership, organizational change, team-building, problem-solving, individual and team productivity, facilitation skills, performance management and selection skills to employees and all management levels. He is also a certified job analyst. He has successfully led and supported projects to enhance hiring processes, develop selection skills, and improve workforce productivity at clients such as Hewlett Packard, FedEx, American Eagle, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Kodak, Lucent Technologies, Sharp Laboratories of America, Shell Exploration, Buick, PPG Industries, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, American Eagle, Bayer, Sanofi-Synthelabo, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, ViroPharma, Life Technologies, HCA Healthcare, Eaton Corp., Land O’Lakes, Michael Baker Corp., The American Association of Retired Persons, AirTouch Communications, Lexis-Nexis, American Electric Power, Agway, Kimberly-Clark, NOVA Chemicals, the American Refugee Committee and Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute. His engagements include working with all levels of management, and have taken him beyond the United States and Canada, to Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa. Prior Experiences and Education David resides in Pittsburgh, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Communications from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981. Before co-founding Avid Learner, David spent over ten years with Development Dimensions International (DDI), an HR consulting firm in Pittsburgh. At DDI, he split his time between consulting on organizational effectiveness and handling Product Marketing Management responsibilities. He was instrumental in researching new learning and performance technologies. He led efforts to develop alternative delivery platforms, including CD-ROM and self-study versions of classroom training programs, and served as a subject matter expert in the development of an on-line performance and learning system. He also developed distributed learning solutions to meet self-paced, same-time and asynchronous collaborative learning needs. David has extensive experience in sales and marketing management. Prior to joining DDI, he was a Director of Marketing and Regional Sales Manager for a privately held San Francisco-based manufacturer of computerized marking and engraving equipment. Before that, he served as Training Manager and Branch Sales Manager for Kroy Inc., in Phoenix, Arizona. In his personal time, David plays softball and volleyball, and enjoys making disastrous appearances at karaoke bars. He is a member of the board of GLSEN-Pittsburgh, where he works to create safe school environments for all students. Contact Information David Huffner Principal Consultant Avid Learner, Inc. 2421 Edgewood Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15241 USA Ph: 412-835-7306 david.huffner@avidlearner.com David Huffner on LinkedIn.