Apple welcomes Garr Reynolds as its new user group program manager. Reynolds has been active in the Mac community for many years and most recently served as president of Kinki Mac User Group in Osaka, Japan. He has been a speaker at User Group University, a User Group Guide at Macworld and an Apple Regional Liaison to user groups in Asia. 

In his previous job, Reynolds was a communications specialist and trainer for Sumitomo Electric Industries in Osaka. He has an MA in Organizational Communications from the University of Hawaii and is an experienced speaker on many topics, including cross-cultural management, leadership, design and branding. 

  So, what possessed you to join Apple? 
I didn’t just want another job, I wanted to be a part of a cause. With Apple I can be part of something much bigger, and that’s why I came. 

 
  What’s it really like on the inside? 
I have always thought that Apple was cool — now I know why. Apple is full of the coolest people. I not only have a dream job, I am working in a dream company. The people here are so talented, creative, and fun. I cannot imagine a better place to work. 

  What did you do before joining the company? 
When I lived in Hawaii getting my master’s degree I did a lot of intercultural and cross-cultural management training at the East-West Center and other places. Then in Japan I worked as a coordinator for communication programs at Sumitomo Electric Industries, an IT company with 15,000 employees. I also kept very busy giving presentations and making speeches on different but related issues such as branding, design, and leadership in the digital economy.

  What was your first Mac ever? 
Back as an undergraduate I started writing term papers on a Mac Plus — the computer lab was full of Macs then, no PCs. Ah, those were the days... 

  How did you get involved in user groups? 
Well, to tell you the truth, I resisted joining the local Mac user group in Osaka for a long time because I thought it would just be full of nerds and geeks. But I wanted to be around other people who used Macs since I felt very alone in my company as one of the only Mac users. So one day I went to a meeting, and what I liked about it was that I could meet new friends and grow my personal network. The people were very friendly and open-minded. I got it — it was less about raw technology and more about community. 

About six months after I joined, I did a formal presentation for the group on document design and typography. Two months later the executive committee asked me to be the president of the group. This group had been active for about 10 years, but it needed direction and an injection of energy and enthusiasm. The team that I worked with was excellent, and in about a year we dramatically increased the size of the group and tripled the meeting attendance. Diversity was a big deal for me so we worked hard to get a lot people from various backgrounds. 

  What’s your vision for the user group community? 
I envision a user group community that is evolving and growing. A community of groups that are diverse and independent, but inclusive and open to change and evolution. A community that cooperates and shares with one another, with developers, with retailers, and with Apple. I intend to cultivate a user group community that feels it has a voice, has impact and a positive, respectful, win-win relationship with Apple and its employees.