Executive Director's Message 

 

This is my first article as your new executive director. It is a pleasure and an honor to be serving you in this position.  Following in Norm's footsteps will be challenging. Significant growth and improvements occurred for the CSIA during his "reign" (he was crowned king and Joan was crowned the queen at the annual conference) and it is my desire to continue that positive trend. Although CSIA has been a professional association for about 16 years, to some degree we are still young because so many opportunities still await us.
 
During the past 18 years I have managed Loman Control Systems, a company that I co-founded. About two years ago I decided that I wanted to do something different, a decision that was later confirmed by Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, when she said a CEO should not stay in that position for more than 10 years. However, I didn't know what the change should be. Then I "heard through the grapevine" that Norm wanted to retire, and being CSIA's executive director seemed worth considering. So I explored the possibility, decided that it was the answer to my prayers, ultimately interviewed with the Executive Council, and the rest is history.  Now that the first few weeks have passed, I can say that it was doubtless the right decision. Read more.

As part of the CSIA Executive Conference in Naples, special recognition was given to CSIA Partner of the Year, Mark Moriarty of Rockwell Automation for his significant contribution, dedication and support to CSIA. The CSIA Partner Company of the Year Award was given to Schneider Electric, Knightsdale, NC for its significant contributions of resources for the betterment of CSIA and its members.
 
The Charlie Bergman Award was also presented at the conference to the late Nels Tyring, formerly of TVC Systems. Presented annually, this award goes to the integrator most committed to unselfish sharing, guiding the way in leadership and promoting control system integration as an industry.  
 

The CSIA Sales Excellence Council launched its efforts last October and has already established a firm foundation for achieving its primary goal:  Enable an 8 to 12% annual, incremental increase in CSIA members' effective sales capacity. 

The Sales Knowledge Mine, which contains documentation of all SEC activities, is open to all CSIA member companies. Register for access at http://csia.saleskx.org, explore the ever-expanding collection of sales best practices and tools, add your own insights and comments and begin to apply these assets to your own company.

A small number of slots are open for new SEC members. If you are interested in becoming part of this exciting effort, please contact Todd Youngblood; 770-514-1189 or todd@ypsgroup.com.
The primary focus of the group over the next several months will be to establish CSIA sales process benchmarks, publish analysis of that data, develop a series of "on demand" videos, podcasts, etc. regarding sales best practices and assisting other CSIA members with their implementations of Sales Process Engineering.

Watch this space!
 

Let us help you get the word out. As a CSIA Associate or Partner member, you're encouraged to send us your news. Tell us about your company's promotions, new contracts, additions to staff, awards, announcements, etc. and we'll make sure your fellow-CSIA members know about it. Submit your information to CSIA's PR Manager, Julie Redders at jredders@controlsys.org.