Seth Hallen Looks Back Over Nine Years As HPA President And Toward The Organization's Bright Future

Seth Hallen had been on the board for seven years before being named president in 2016. For much of that time, he had been extremely active in the organization; attending events and forming committees, including serving as co-chair of the HPA Awards committee for its first ten years. Despite his active participation, Hallen admits to feeling nervous about stepping into the role of president, following Leon Silverman, who had founded the organization and led it for 15 years.

Filling Leon's shoes was a tall order. At the time, honestly, I was terrified. Leon had done so much. But in true Leon fashion, he told me, Just wear your own shoes, pal.' So that's what I did. When I became president, I wanted to hit the ground running. I hope that the past nine years have built on the foundation of HPA's early days and helped usher in a new era of engagement and enrollment.

What comes next

It's the future that has him most excited, Hallen notes, Every organization needs new fresh leadership and I am about to pass the baton to someone who is an outstanding leader. I have full confidence that Kari will continue the work we've done and push HPA forward with her own vision and leadership. She's backed by a first-class executive team alongside her and the passion and intellect it takes to steer this ship.

Hallen knows that the industry is challenged and fueled by new technologies and the impact of recent events. Our industry is undergoing fundamental transformative change, and there are many professionals who are deeply challenged at the moment. I believe that HPA is exactly the venue to help our industry embrace the knowledge necessary to navigate and thrive through these evolving times.

Keeping HPA relevant

Just before Hallen became president in 2015, the HPA changed the Post' in its name to Professional' signaling a widening of the community. This branding change proved prescient, as the industry has undergone vast technical transitions in the past decade; from streaming to IP, cloud and AI. Postproduction itself has become steadily absorbed upstream as workflows between production connect more seamlessly. No matter what, change will continue.

We keep HPA ahead of the curve to every new change in technology and frame discussions around cloud, virtual production, VR and, more recently, AI, says Hallen. We are the ones to shine a light on things that are about to happen. Bringing education, engagement, and collaboration to our industry is part of our DNA. For instance, as segments of our community are afraid of AI, HPA will continue to provide context in a way that enables professionals to better navigate their careers.

Engagement and enrollment

Building an organization that inspires involvement was always a priority for Hallen and he was armed with the support of HPA's Board of Directors who set the strategic vision for the organization. Growing the inclusivity of the Board was an early goal. And ten board members including Kari Grubin, Chuck Parker, Wendy Aylsworth, Renard Jenkins, and Graylind Wherry, were added during his tenure. More changes to the board are coming in 2025.

Fostering the next generation of leaders was a priority for Hallen and the Board. When I began the presidency, I was in my forties and realized that I was one of the youngest people in the room, Hallen says. That's not a good thing for the future of any organization, so it was clear that we needed to support and bring up the next generation. The Women In Post committee established the first HPA Young Entertainment (YEP) class in 2016. Under the guidance of Loren Nielsen and Kari Grubin, the YEP program aimed to attract bright young professionals to be paired with mentors to build the next generation of leaders and has grown into a vibrant aspect of HPA. YEP has done just what we aimed for it to do. We focused on building a vibrant group of working professionals who would be in line to lead the future of HPA. With every passing year, I am constantly impressed and amazed by the amazing young people who join YEP. We know that the industry is in great hands, because we are collaborating with this smart, engaged, creative group of people. He adds, We've passed 200 YEPs with this year's class. And they are all under forty!

Revitalizing the Sales Career Resource Group (SCRG) -which he helped found was important to Hallen. SCRG was successful and illuminated the need for ongoing discussions of technology, mixed with connection. We spoke to the business and technology sides of the business and it was supported by a highly engaged committee. SCRG was reimagined as HPA NET (Networking Education Technology). NET events remain one of HPA's most popular.

When Board members Renard Jenkins, Grubin and Nielsen brought the Board the concept for HPA All, Hallen was enthusiastic to greenlight it and stand behind it. HPA ALL is HPA's initiative that focuses on educating the industry about diversity, equity and inclusion with recognition and action.

Keeping business and hope alive

Hallen has the dubious honor of serving as president during two of the most difficult events in the industry: a global pandemic and debilitating strikes. The future of the industry could have been derailed by the pandemic during the winter of 2020 but the HPA Board, recognizing the severity of the impact, launched the Industry Recovery Task Force (IRTF) that would maintain connections with the community and help it come out on the other side fighting fit. Having the privilege to be in this role with this board at that time is one of my proudest experiences, he says. When the lockdown happened on Friday 13 March 2020 and everything was shut down that weekend, nobody knew what it meant. It was simply the most bizarre moment we will hopefully ever experience. The following week,

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