Ed Kless joined Sage Software in July of 2003 and is the senior director of partner development and strategy for North America. He developed and delivers the curriculum for the Sage Consulting Academy, a five-day course designed to educate Sage Software partners on the art and practice of small business consulting. He also facilitates the Sage Leadership Academy, a yearlong program designed to assist Sage Software partners develop a continuous process of improvement in their organizations and serves as liaison to the Sage Leadership Academy Alumni Association.

Prior to joining Sage Software, Ed worked with Tipping Point Advisors, an organization dedicated to the growth and development of software implementation partners. Before that, he co-founded Third Wave Business Systems, a Microsoft Dynamics Partner, in 1996, which grew to 20 team members and 5 million in revenue. At Third Wave, Ed developed the implementation methodology and managed the CRM and ERP consulting teams.

Ed is a frequent contributor to industry publications and has spoken at many conferences worldwide on project management, pricing, and knowledge workers. He is also active in the Information Technology Alliance (ITA), Toastmasters, and is a senior fellow at the VeraSage Institute. Contact Ed at ed.kless@sage.com.