138. Chris Mohr, President of SIIA, on Data Ecosystems, Policy Advocacy, and Driving Member Engagement

What happens when your members are some of the world’s most powerful data-driven companies, and they rely on you to protect their interests, guide policy, and create best practices across vastly different industries? How do you unite and serve these members while remaining agile in a fast-changing digital landscape?In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Chris Mohr, President of the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). Chris discusses:How SIIA represents 360 companies, including major players like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Thomson Reuters, all involved in data and information services.How SIIA is organized into verticals (market data, B2B media, and policy) to focus advocacy and engagement around shared interests.How information has shifted from being sold “by the copy” to being sold as a service, necessitating new regulations and best practices.The advocacy work SIIA undertakes to ensure the protection of the First Amendment, protects the dissemination of lawfully procured data, even as global privacy laws tighten.SIIA’s work in creating best practices for “alt data”—non-public data used in trading, including web scraping and sentiment analysis.The importance of one-on-one conversations with members to understand sensitive policy positions and emerging issues.SIIA’s role in guiding members through today’s rapidly changing policy landscapes, including artificial intelligence and federal procurement thresholds.How SIIA’s Market Insights initiative gathers industry data to deliver valuable research requested directly by members.References:SIIA Website