Experts Exchange Owner and CEO Randy Redberg kicked off the session by telling the story of Experts Exchange. Back in 1996, Experts Exchange was founded by Dan Gardner, Matt Wormley, and Clint Staley. Randy told the story of their ups and downs, which eventually led to him buying EE in 2001.

Randy continued with his portion of story - breaking down the how the EE organization hit a high in the late 00’s before losing touch with the community later on in the 2010’s.

Randy finished with the story of how the organization finally came around to commit to the community above everything else - and what that means for the future.

EE Director of Operations Thomas Bernal spoke to the community next, and presented the new brand direction and brand identity.

Thomas started by breaking down how “Rebirth” is symbolic of the EE organization’s recommitment to the EE community. He talked about how instead of being a technology product with a great community, EE is just a great technology community.

Then, he revealed the new visual identity, including a new primary logo which features the classic “X” from 2004. Click here to see a full breakdown of the new visual identity. He finished by introducing new plans for growing the community by giving members more reasons to share EE with their network.

EE Director of Community Kasey Hart & Community Manager Rob Jurd took to the stage after Thomas to give the community clear insight into what Rebirth looks like in action going forward.

Kasey & Rob introduced initiatives like Community Leader Teams, the Swag Program, and the Refer a Friend program. They also discussed the organization’s recommitment to virtual and live events.

After introducing the new programs, Kasey and Rob previewed updates that will be coming to the EE platform in the coming month  and revealed the organization’s plans to create a product that brings better visibility to members and the content they produce.

After the presentations from the EE leadership team, EE community members joined them on stage for a roundtable discussion about the past and future of the EE community.

The group discussed why the old logo holds significance to old members, and Jim Dettman (member since 1999) revealed why he has stuck with EE through the ups and downs for over 22 years.

EE Sr. Director of Technology Jeff Dake shared his perspective on the updates coming to the platform in 2022, and why he believes they will make it easy & fun for members to share their experiences on EE.

Session 1 finished with a moderated Q/A session featuring questions from the community answered by members of the roundtable.

EE Director of Community Kasey Hart & Community Manager Rob Jurd began the session by breaking down the history and meaning of the Expert Awards, which were presented live this year for the first time ever.

Member Chris Stanyon was presented the Fellow award, which is reserved for select members who demonstrate sustained contributions, industry leadership, and outstanding performance.

To see a full list of the 2021 Award Winners, visit our Expert Awards page.