How the GTIA successfully rebranded in less than 70 days

The GTIA rebranded and is more focused on IT leaders than ever, according to the company’s CEO and CCO.

In the space of six months, the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA) rebranded from CompTIA creating a new identity, a new website and a brand new association in just over two months.

The transition happened in early January this year and according to GTIA’s execs, the industry response has been everything they could have hoped for.

The GTIA is the only vendor-neutral, non-profit membership community for the global IT channel.

It’s been nearly a year since the rebrand and MJ Shoer, chief community officer at GTIA said the 60 day transition is “unheard of”.

"We've accomplished the unattainable in terms of the response from the market or an event that we've put on, and we just move on to the next and level it up a little bit more,” he said.

“That's been the most exciting thing for me is to see how everyone has responded to this internally, how our members and the market have responded to it externally.”

Looking at the transition and rebranding, Shoer gives all credit to his team at the GTIA.

"They executed at a level that I never imagined asking people to execute at, and they did it and then some. That's been such a pleasure to watch and be a part of,” he added.

Prior to the rebrand, GTIA formerly known as CompTIA had a not-for-profit arm of the business and a training and certification business. The for-profit training business was then sold to HIG Capital and Thoma Bravo.

Looking back at the transition, Shoer said the new message of GTIA resonates.

"Over the past couple of years, the market sensed some of the internal conflict that we had at CompTIA,” he said.

“Which was simply driven by the fact that we were a non-profit trade association running both the trade association and a highly profitable training and certification business that funded all of the trade associations activities.”

He said that created some natural tension around resources, budget and focus; and the industry could feel it. But once the rebrand happened, it created clarity within the market.

“Now our sole focus is truly as a nonprofit trade association and the benefits that we can provide to our members,” he said.

“I think that answered some unspoken questions that existed in the market, like what is going on at CompTIA? Is the association the priority, or is the training and certification business the priority?”

For those who didn't know the GTIA, Shoer said they're now seeing that new collective energy that that's around them

“At ChannelCon 2025, I had a long standing member, someone who's extremely well known in North America, pull me aside one evening, and he said, ‘MJ, the channels alive again, thanks to GTIA’,” he said.

“And that blew my mind, that absolutely knocked my socks off.”

Plans for the ANZ region

The ANZ region boasts 5,000 individual members and Shoer wants to provide tools and resources that benefit each and every one of them.

“Whether that's for an individual in their career helping them advance their career, whether that's through training, networking, just general knowledge, or the organisation to help it perform better,” he said.

While the GTIA is non-profit, its members aren’t and Shoer said they have to deliver tangible benefits for their members.

"We understand that we need to provide even though our dues are incredibly low, there's an investment of time, there's an investment of opportunity cost to participate, we've got to deliver tangible benefits that have an ROI for the members,” he said.

Dan Wensley, CEO at GTIA said Australian members are driven by growth and want to understand and be a part of growing this community.

“They see the value in it, and they're excited about expanding it, and so much willing to be a part of growing it, evangelising because they see the power of the community and want more to be a part of it, which is just great,” he said.

Forward thinking

Wensley said he wants to firmly establish GTIA to have embraced all aspects of the industry.

“From media to associations to other communities and really have established that as GTIA is the cornerstone all those other communities, organisations and peer groups can exist, should exist and need to exist,” he said.

“But we're seen as the glue of the industry, that you come here first and then can branch out and be a part of communities within our community.”

Shoer told CRN Australia what he wants GTIA members and future members to know.

“GTIA is here to help our members succeed, whether that's individually in their career or as an organisation, and through them, to help their customers succeed. That's ultimately where we all make our impact,” he ended.