CompTIA Press Room

CompTIA Executive Biographies

David Sommer Chief Operating Officer

David Sommer is the chief operating officer for the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), the leading trade association for the world’s information technology (IT) industry. He is responsible for shaping strategy, development and growth efforts for the association; and leading the organization’s efforts to deliver products and services that help its members grow and expand their businesses.

Prior to his appointment as chief operating officer in 2007, Mr. Sommer was vice president of e-business and software solutions for CompTIA. He was responsible for developing and implementing worldwide initiatives by working with IT leaders to develop and promote collaboratively-defined business and technology standards for business-to-business supply chain transactions in the computing and electronics industries.

Mr. Sommer also worked directly with leading software industry executives delivering timely business information and best practices through SoftwareCEO, a comprehensive information service for software executives.
Under Mr. Sommer’s direction, CompTIA developed the CompTIA RFID+ certification, a vendor-neutral professional credential that individual’s ability to work with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. CompTIA RFID+ is helping to address the needs of hardware and software manufacturers, technology resellers and solution providers, training developers, and end-user customer for a workforce skilled in RFID technology.

A frequent speaker at industry conferences, Mr. Sommer has addressed a diverse range of issues such as the looming skills shortage in RFID talent and trends in business-to-business electronic trading practices. He also has authored a number of articles on technology-themed topics. Some of his writings include “The RFID Revolution Starts... Soon?” (IndustryWeek, April 17, 2007); “Mixed signals for RFID growth in 2007” (RF Design Line, March 2, 2007); “Skills Challenges in RFID Implementation” (Industrial Control Design Line, January 2006); and “Trends and Challenges in RFID Implementation” (Port Technology International, October 2005).

Prior to joining CompTIA in 2000, Mr. Sommer was a senior principal at American Management Systems, Inc. (AMS) where he managed a multitude of major application software implementations and electronic commerce software implementation projects in the state and local government markets. He also developed and delivered electronic commerce training to AMS consultants.  Mr. Sommer managed the implementation of the financial system for the State of Illinois, managing over 70 consultants, as well as the financial system for Illinois’ Department of Employment Security, among others.  Mr. Sommer has over 25 years of custom and commercial off-the-shelf systems software implementation experience.

Mr. Sommer earned his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and his BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from Purdue University.