Charles Fred

Charles L. Fred (born August 12th, 1961) is an American author and entrepreneur. He is the board chair-elect and treasurer for the Association for Talent Development, which describes itself as the world’s largest talent development association. Fred is also Executive Chairman for Modern Teacher, a firm supporting the U.S. Public Schools in technology adoption.

Early life, education, and career
Fred was born, raised and educated in Montana. His father, Lander J. Fred, a high-school coach and administrator, influenced his development as an elite distance runner. A high-school state champion and nationally-ranked in the mile run, he still holds school track records at Montana State University. He Attended MSU and graduated with an Engineering Degree in 1983 and attended Law School at the University of Puget Sound in 1987.

He is best known for the founding and growth of The Breakaway Group, LLC, a firm that trained healthcare providers in the use of diagnostic imaging and electronic health records. The company was listed on the Inc. 5000 in 2009. The Breakaway Group was acquired by Affiliated Computer Services, a subsidiary of Xerox, in November of 2011. Following the acquisition, Fred assumed a larger role at Xerox as President of their global Healthcare Provider business.

Since it merged with digedu in 2015, Fred has worked with Modern Teacher to develop the company's platform first as CEO and now as Executive Chairman. Modern Teacher coordinates with school superintendents to create district-wide instructional and technological programs focused on personalized learning. Modern Teacher is recognized as a partner of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA).

Research and Publications
Fred is the author of the book Breakaway which introduced a new approach to organizational learning that sped up the learning process for front-line workers, specifically those using technology to deliver a service. Fred described a way to reach proficiency faster and more effectively through targeted practice and simulation of tasks specific to each job role. The book defined three thresholds of proficiency: literacy, fluency, and mastery. The methodology, applied in healthcare, was later published in the second edition of Beyond Implementation co-authored with then-senior Vice President of Research and Development of The Breakaway Group, Dr. Heather Haugen. Beyond Implementation 's intention is similar to Breakaway , urging healthcare employers to improve physician adoption of technology through a simulated approach to learning . The body of work that began with the publication of Breakaway is now applied through the Modern Teacher Framework and Dr. Shawn Smith’s publications of The New Agenda  and The Shape of Change[