"Off the record, she's awesome," Dave Balter, co-founder of Intelligent.ly, Boston's community entrepreneurship learning space, says in regards to the organization's new executive director, Dana Artz. "Really ground-breaking new hire." (He later agreed to make it on the record, for the record.)
This morning, Intelligent.ly officially welcomes Dana Artz to its talented and experienced leadership team. According to Intelligent.ly and Smarterer co-founder Sarah Hodges, Artz will help build up the organization's new leadership curriculum.
"Dana is the perfect fit," Hodges gushes. "She's super passionate about learning and really operationally–oriented...she knows how how to execute like crazy."
Before joining Intelligent.ly, Artz worked as the Head of Commercial at Tui Travel, PLC, where she gained invaluable experience in managerial and operational roles.
"[Hiring Artz] was a no brainer," Hodges says.
When Intelligent.ly launched in 2012, it was initially intended to be a community-centered program. "We weren't trying to start a scalable business," Hodges explains. "But the brand has taken flight! People are forming this really nice network around Intelligent.ly."
Intelligent.ly had to consider what was the right next step for the business. To figure out the organization's future direction, the leadership team turned to its students and honed in on the leadership gap within start ups and companies. "There are a lot of junior folks in need of new leadership," Hodges explains, "and a lot of the CEOs are first time CEOs. We're letting the community's needs guide our programming."
It was only natural to kick off Intelligent.ly's new leadership and organizational development workshop curriculum with the hiring of such a strong executive director. Artz will head the organization's new programming to help Intelligent.ly understand how it can best suit the needs of Boston's bright business community.
