Sharon A. Mertz is an instructor at Harvard Extension School, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Southern New Hampshire University, teaching strategic management, leadership, and technology within multinational corporate environments. As a former research director in the software markets research team at Gartner Inc., she published research directed toward business executives, investors, and product managers within the global software market. She is an international business professional with more than thirty years of experience in strategic consulting and management for the introduction and impact of emerging technologies.
Before joining Gartner Inc., Mertz was an associate partner at IBM, working with the global research organizations to evaluate emerging business opportunities. Based in Paris, Mertz was a practice leader for IBM's strategic consulting organization in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Mertz also held management roles at KPMG, Hewlett Packard, Bull Worldwide Information Systems, and Digital Equipment. She is an accomplished keynote speaker and has addressed audiences at both commercial and academic conferences internationally, such as the Russian Open Source Summit, Academy of International Business Conference, International Conference on Complex Systems, and various investor events.
Mertz is a member of the Academy of International Business, the Academy of Management, and the honor societies Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and completed graduate programs in computer science and business management at Worcester State University, George Washington University, and the Harvard Extension School. She received a doctorate in international business with an emphasis on business strategy from Southern New Hampshire University. Her areas of research interest include technology adoption models and software market growth in emerging economies.
PhD, Southern New Hampshire University