John Girard and JoAnn L. Girard

John Girard is an associate professor of management at Minot State University where he teaches graduate and undergraduate management courses. John is researching the relationships existing between information anxiety, organizational memory loss, and contemporary knowledge management theories. John is engaged in community activities such as Junior Achievement and the Military Affairs Committee.

Prior to returning to the classroom John dabbled in university administration and held a variety of positions at Minot State University including Dean of Enrollment Management, Director of Enrollment Services, Chair of the Business Information Technology department, and Director of the Job Corps Executive Management Program.

After more than 24 years as an officer in the Canadian Forces John, his wife JoAnn, and their two dogs moved to Minot. Throughout his military career John had the pleasure to serve in a variety of command and staff positions in Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany, gaining experience as a leader, trainer, policy officer, human resource manager and project manager in the Public sector environment. In 2004, whilst acting as Director of Knowledge Management at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, he accepted an Associate Professorship at Minot State University, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

John is a graduate of TUI University, where he completed a PhD in Business Administration and an MBA, and of the University of Manitoba where he achieved a BSc with a Computer Science major. In addition, John is a graduate of Canadian Forces College, Toronto and the Royal Military College of Science in the United Kingdom.

John speaks regularly on the subject of knowledge management and how enterprises may reap the benefits of creating and exchanging organizational knowledge. He has spoken in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America at such events as KM World, APQC’s Knowledge Management Conference, the World Congress on Intellectual Capital, KM Australia, and many others events. John has undertaken training and consulting assignments for clients such as the Department of National Defence, Canadian Forces College, Canadian International Development Agency, US Department of Labor, Job Corps, and the Dubai Municipality.

John is actively engaged in academic research, having written more than twenty articles and chapters for peer-reviewed or trade journals and books. John’s first book, an edited volume entitled Building Organizational Memories: Will you know what you knew?, is complete and will be published by IGI Global in 2009. John’s second book, Managing your Organization's Knowledge for Future Leaders, is under development and will be published by Business Expert Press in early 2009.

The City and Guilds of London Institute awarded John their Insignia Award for his research into the application of robotic technology and subsequently appointed him a member of the City and Guilds Institute (MCGI). In 2003 John received the Chartered Manager (F. CIM) designation from the Canadian Institute of Management. In 2004 John earned the Best Academic Paper award at 7th Annual World Congress on Intellectual Capital and Innovation.

JoAnn Girard is the co-founder and managing partner of Sagology, a firm that focuses on connecting people with people to collaborate and share knowledge. She has worked on a variety of knowledge intensive research projects, which considered issues such as information anxiety, enterprise dementia, and organizational memories.

JoAnn is the co-author of A Leader’s Guide to Knowledge Management: Drawing on the Past to Enhance Future Performance, published by Business Expert Press. She was a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Building organizational memories: Will you know what you knew? an edited volume published by IGI Global in 2009. At present, JoAnn is exploring social media with a view to determining what organizational leaders need to know in this emerging domain. She is co-authoring A Leader’s Guide to Virtual Business: Social Media Strategies for Building Real Competition Advantage, which will be published in 2010. JoAnn is also co-editor of an edited volume entitled Social Knowledge: Using Social Media to Know What You Know, tentatively scheduled for publication in 2010.

Prior to forming Sagolgy, JoAnn was co-founder of two successful technology companies. Yacht-club.net developed and hosted web presences for yachting companies in the USA, England, Scotland, Spain, Gibraltar, and Greece. Quid Pro Quo Software developed educational and edutainment software, including their flagship game Trivia Mania. Before entering the high-tech arena JoAnn worked in the travel industry and as a school librarian. The experience she gained in these information intensive positions proved especially valuable as she considers the knowledge challenges confronting executives today.

JoAnn dedicates most of her spare time to animals. She is a board member of her local zoological society and volunteers as an interpretive speaker at the zoo.