Kirk Shore
Managing Director of Product Management
Clever Devices
- Alma Mater: Covenant College, Georgia
- Fun Fact: Retired from arena football; he played right guard on the offensive line and nose guard on the defensive line for the Tennessee River Sharks
- Favorite Book: Isaac Asimov's "Robot City" series
- Favorite TV Show: "Supernatural"
- Favorite Movie: "The Replacements"
- Favorite Hobby: Hanging out at home with the family and watching movies and playing video games on Saturdays when they get a chance
Kirk Shore worked three jobs to work his way through college, which was Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. While working at the college during the summer, he got to know Dr. Frank Brock, the president of the college. Through the Chatanooga Rotary, Brock was friends with Joe Ferguson, owner and CEO of Advanced Vehicle Systems (AVS).
Shore was the director of marketing for AVS where he promoted and supported development of advanced electric and hybrid-electric transit bus platforms. He also worked in engineering testing and prototyping new advanced drive system and battery technologies. Shore also won the Tour De Sol, a race for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles through the northeastern United States.
After AVS, Shore was the director of Information Technology at the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), where he managed and implemented ITS solutions, including computer-aided dispatch, automatic stop announcements, automatic passenger counters, real-time passenger information systems, vehicle health monitoring, human resources/payroll, work order system and dynamic message signs. He developed one of the first enterprise data warehouses at a transit agency in the U.S. He also successfully implemented the first U.S. system-wide free onboard Wi-Fi system (CARTANET), and CARTA’s fare collection and smart card system, ticket vending machines and automated parking system.
Today Shore is the managing director of Product Management for Clever Devices. He began his career at Clever Devices as the product manager for Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) for Clever Devices, where he introduced browser-based enterprise systems and implemented Agile Development Strategy in partnership with engineering.
Shore is a graduate of both APTA Leadership’s Class of 2010 and Eno Transit Executive Program 2009. He found both programs beneficial, being mentored by highly experienced transit people to better understand large and small agencies alike and to network with transit peers in similar stages of their careers. Aside from the programs themselves, understanding the industry and the common goal provide a background to success.
Shore holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Covenant College. He won the Long Island Software Award (LISA) for AVM Software in 2013, was Engineering Week’s “Technician of the Year” in 2009 and was a finalist in Chattanooga’s Technology Council’s “Early Innovator Award” competition. He was the Volunteer of the Year and Official of the Year for the Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga in 1999.
Shore has been happily married for 15 years and has three small children. He is actively involved with volunteer work in his community through his Church and is actively involved in the Boy Scouts of America with his oldest son. Kirk is retired from Arena Football and has served as a coach for his son’s football team.
“The stakeholders on the transit side have things that they need and the vendors are really in the same situation but at the end of the day, really what’s necessary to be successful in a public-private partnership is mutually beneficial relationships that are based on trust and are long term in nature. That would be the takeaway from having been on both sides.”
“I like to be able to hook up with folks in the industry on the transit side and solve transit agency challenges with innovative solutions. I’m a big fan of working in a team environment with really creative technology that addresses transit challenges today and solutions that really have the strength to grow in the future because new challenges arise in the industry.”
“I think no one actually graduates from college and says I’m going into the transit industry. Unless maybe you’re planner. But it happens that once you get in, you’re hooked, in my experience.”
“I would like to see more dedicated funding to increase the frequency of transit service. There’s three things that drive ridership: fuel price, congestion, and frequency or convenience. To expand transit where there’s not massive population density and congestion, I’d really like to see additional operational dollars.”
