IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - May/June 2017 - 14

a continuing struggle and requires constant
innovation to find new ways to attract and
retain members. The ieee faces increasing competition from other publishers,
and we must continually strive to be the
best. conferences face similar challenges.

Election Process Reforms
During 2016, all Pes members received
several communications from Pes and
ieee sources on the proposed constitutional amendments. some from Pes
were very strongly worded in opposition to the amendments, and others from
ieee sources were strongly in support of
them. This was not a healthy situation and
will hopefully not be repeated. however,
there is currently an effort underway to
change the ieee bylaws regarding election processes and communications. some,
i believe, are a big step in the right direction. however, other proposed changes
have the potential to silence the voice of
societies, sections, and other ieee organizational units (ous) during certain parts
of the election cycle. every ou should be

able to communicate openly and honestly
with its members at any time and on any
issue that impacts them. To restrict that
right to open and honest communication at
any point is an extremely dangerous precedent and not in the interest of an open
and honest debate on issues that govern
the ieee or its ous.

Search for a New
IEEE Executive Director
by the time you read this, many of you
will have already heard that the ieee's
executive director, Jim Prendergast, has
announced his intent to retire in early
2018. The search for his replacement has
begun, and i'm honored to be part of that
search committee. as i write this in late
January 2017, the committee has already
interviewed a number of firms that specialize in helping organizations like the
ieee in recruitment. The committee
was scheduled to present a preferred
company to the ieee board of Directors at its February 2017 meeting. once
approval is received, the committee and

the selected firm will begin the process
of identifying and vetting candidates.
Qualified candidates from within ieee's
volunteer and staff network will be considered in addition to those from outside
the ieee. This is a very important effort
and will help to chart the course of the
ieee over the next five to ten years. The
ieee is not a typical corporate model,
since the volunteers normally provide
the strategic direction and oversight and
the ieee staff provides execution and
support. This requires a person with exceptional interpersonal skills to keep the
whole process running smoothly.
Thank you all for the opportunities
you've given me to serve Pes and the
ieee during the last 15 years. They
have truly been the highlight of my career, and i'd gladly do it all again just
for the privilege of working with all of
you. Please give the future Pes leadership the same unwavering support you
have giving me during my years as one of
your leaders.
p&e

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - May/June 2017
