What happens when your job is to bring an entire industry together?

In this episode of IDT My Way, host Dr. Chris Alexander sits down with Ben Stroman, Executive Editor of Clarion Technical Conferences, for a candid conversation about communication, community, education, and the future of knowledge transfer in the pipeline industry.

Ben shares how an unexpected career path took him from music and sound engineering into the pipeline industry, where he helped build and support the community surrounding PPIM, one of the largest pipeline conferences in the U.S. He talks about the importance of communication, what Clarion learned during COVID, and why creating connections between people has become such an important part of his work.

The conversation also explores how Clarion is using AI to make decades of technical knowledge more accessible, from searchable collections of technical papers to on-demand training that helps the next generation learn from experienced industry experts. Ben explains why knowledge transfer is becoming increasingly important as experienced professionals retire, and how technology can help preserve and share what they know.

Ben will bring this conversation to IDT EXPO 2026 in Houston on October 15th, where he’ll share more about the community Clarion has built and what it takes to create meaningful connections across an industry.