Candidates for 2024 IEEE Standards Association President-Elect are listed below. Please note that the candidate listing order indicates no preference. 

  • Mark Epstein (Nominated by Petition)
  • Gary R. Hoffman (Nominated by IEEE Standards Association)
  • Robby Robson (Nominated by IEEE Standards Association)

 

Balloting for the 2023 IEEE Annual Election ended at 12:00 pm EDT (16:00 UTC) on 2 October 2023. The unofficial election results will be announced on 6 October 2023.

Meet the Candidates Recorded Forum

IEEE’s strength comes from having strong volunteer leadership, with the support of all IEEE members. To support member engagement in these important elections, IEEE Standards Association President Yu Yuan hosted and moderated a candidate forum. 

 

Mark Epstein

Headshot of Mark Epstein

MARK EPSTEIN
(Nominated by Petition)

Senior Vice President – Consultant
Qualcomm Incorporated
San Diego, California, USA
https://electmarkepstein.com/

 
Meet Mark by watching a brief video.
 

Mark received a Ph.D. from Stanford, M.S. and B.S. degrees from M.I.T., and was a Harvard Fellow. He is Senior Vice President consultant at Qualcomm, where he supports standards activities for Wi-Fi, cellular, power line and personal area networks. Mark has been at Qualcomm from the beginning, providing key leadership in helping it grow into the successful business it is today. Previously, Mark was Deputy for Communications for the Secretary of the Army, where he guided the Army’s electronics research. Earlier, he was at CSC and Northrop. Mark has five publications and a patent on polarization modulation.

Mark is on the Boards of ATIS, TIA, US ITU Association, and IEEE SA Board of Governors. He is a trustee at MIT and a board member of the Shakespeare and Studio Theaters. He plays piano and violin.

Mark brings broad industry standardization experience and a successful inclusive management style to the IEEE.

 

Statement

I’m running for IEEE Standards Association President-Elect because it’s time to take our Standards Association to the next level. I’m the person to do it.

I’m driven by my desire to give back to the IEEE – it has given me tremendous support, starting when I was President of the IEEE Student Branch at MIT, continuing as I developed new IEEE technical standards, and as I participate today on committees and in officer positions in our Standards Association.

Here’s my positive vision for the future. I will:

  • Provide greater value to you by increasing investment in modern state-of-the-art standards development platform tools and staff support. This will reduce the time you spend on mechanics of drafting documents and on document and meeting management, so you can focus on producing higher quality content
  • Improve standards management processes to make them much more open, transparent and fair
  • Improve our standards products so that IEEE standards better meet market needs and enhance our global reputation
  • Attract more technologies by demonstrating the added value of using the IEEE to prepare standards

I will work on all these opportunities for improvements with the same entrepreneurial skills that I have successfully applied in growing Qualcomm. 

I ask for your vote. 

IEEE Accomplishments and Activities
(S’60-M’68-SM’74-LS’09)

I am a member of the IEEE Power and Energy, Computer and Communications Societies. I joined IEEE initially at MIT and was elected President of the Student Branch. My long involvement in standards began with proposing wideband solutions for a new wireless band in Canada and then an advanced wide area wireless technology in IEEE 802.

I have served on the Standards Board, where I encouraged minimizing bureaucratic obstacles, and later served on the BOG and the CAG and their governance committees.  My roles have included:

  • VP and Chair, Global Products, Services, and Marketing Strategic Management and Delivery Committee (SMDC)
  • VP and Chair, Financial Sustainability SMDC
  • VP and Chair, Product and Services SMDC
  • Chair, Awards and Recognition Committee
  • Chair, Ad Hoc on Member Retention
  • Chair, Strategic Planning and Portfolio Management Committee
  • Ad Hoc Council
  • Fellows Committee
  • Industry Connections Committee
  • Appeals Pool
  • Nominations and Appointments Committee
  • SA Representative to ISTO
  • ICAP Steering Committee
  • Standards Conduct Committee
  • Strategic Planning Advisory Group
  • Global Coordinating Committee
  • International SDO Advisory Group

I also have served on the IEEE New Initiatives Committee and IEEE Awards Board.

I also have proposed incentives to grow our Corporate Membership, including encouraging specialized collateral material, webinars, and educational material. This helped to grow the number of members dramatically.

I proposed expanding the scope of SA Awards to provide financial recognition to our honorees. I also worked on recognizing IEEE fellows active in standards.

I proposed and succeeded in getting the IEEE to be a member of the Global Standards Collaboration, a key recognition for the Standards Association.

In summary, my objective is to ensure that the IEEE Standards Association is the best place for standardization of new ideas and technologies, and I will work hard and be dedicated to its success.

Gary R. Hoffman

Headshot of Gary R. Hoffman

GARY R. HOFFMAN
(Nominated by IEEE Standards Association)

President, CEO, CTO and Founder
Advanced Power Technologies, LLC
Randolph, New Jersey, USA

Meet Gary by watching a brief video.
 

Gary is an IEEE Life Fellow and has a BSE and MSEE from SUNY Stony Brook and has been a practicing electrical, electronic, and firmware engineer and Entrepreneur for over 47 years. After graduation he was a custom and standard LSI chip designer with General Instruments designing six custom and standard LSI ICs in two years. At Controlotron he designed the trim and drain flowmeter for the Ohio Class nuclear submarines. At VEECO Instruments he became Director of Engineering and led a team of mechanical, electrical, and physicists to design high vacuum instruments and vacuum systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors. At RFL Electronics he joined as Vice President of Engineering and in 1999 he bootstrapped his own Company: Advanced Power Technologies, a financially profitable Company where he is Founder and CEO developing and manufacturing Power Transformer Monitoring systems for Electric Utilities throughout the World.

 

Statement

As IEEE Standards Association President, I will use my leadership skills to ensure the IEEE SA’s strategic plan is Member and consensus driven and I pledge:

a)       The IEEE SA will focus on being a service to all Societies and Councils while maintaining our World Class Standardization process.

b)      To continue funding of the TAB Committee on Standards program to fund nascent standards development to support start up activities in Societies and Councils.

c)       To facilitate better cooperation by having regularly scheduled meetings with Society and Council’s leadership to encourage cooperation in outreach activities that will lead to the success of the Societies and Councils as well as the entire Institute.

d)      To build a more globally and gender inclusive IEEE SA that will capture the hearts and minds of stakeholders to participate in the IEEE SA Standards development process and IEEE SA Governance activities.

e)      Ensure we have a pipeline of volunteers engaged in IEEE SA governance activities, I pledge to support travel and living expenses for IEEE SA volunteer governance Members to encourage participation on a world-wide basis where they may not otherwise be able to participate.

 

IEEE Accomplishments and Activities
(M’74-S’76-M’76-M’79-M’93-SM’98-F’15-LF’21)

IEEE and IEEE SA Positions:

  • IEEE SA Standards Board (SASB) Member: 2013-2023
  • Member IEEE SA Standards Review Committee (RevCom): 2011-2014
  • RevCom Chair: 2016-2018
  • Elected SASB Vice Chair by the SASB: 2016, 2017, 2018
  • SASB Chair: 2019-2021
  • Member IEEE SA Audit Committee (AudCom): 2015
  • Member IEEE SA Industry Connections Committee (ICCom): 2015
  • Member IEEE SA Patent Committee (PatCom): 2013, 2016-2018, 2022-2023
  • Past Chair of SASB: 2022-2023
  • IEEE SA Board of Governors Member: 2019-2023
  • Member of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Fellow Evaluation Committee: 2022-2023
  • Member of TAB Committee on Standards (TAB CoS): 2021-2022
  • Chair and leader of TAB CoS Ad Hoc to develop its Operations Manual: 2021-2023

IEEE SA Major Accomplishments:

  • Founding Chair of the new IEEE SA BoG Committee: Standards and Standards Innovation (S&SI) Strategic Management and Delivery Committee (SMDC), 2019
  • Founding Chair of the new S&SI Committee: named: Strategic and Emerging Standards Committee (SESCom), 2022

IEEE PES Transformers Committee Standards Development Project

Accomplishments:

  • 2010: Working Group Chair IEEE Std C57.12.10
  • 2014: Working Group Chair IEEE Std C57.116
  • 2015: Working Group Vice Chair IEEE Std C57.163
  • 2017: Working Group Chair for the Revision of IEEE Std C57.12.10
  • 2023: Working Group Chair IEEE Std C57.167

Robby Robson

Headshot of Robby Robson

ROBBY ROBSON
(Nominated by IEEE Standards Association)

Co-Founder, Chief Science Officer, and
Chair of the Board of Directors
Eduworks Corporation
Corvallis, Oregon, USA
www.robbyrobson.com/IEEESA

Meet Robby by watching a brief video.

 

Robby is an entrepreneur and standards professional known for innovation and effective leadership. After receiving his doctorate from Stanford, Robby spent fifteen years as a research mathematician. He focused on the Learning Technology field after co-creating one of the first online learning systems in 1996. In 2001 he co-founded Eduworks, became its CEO, and retired as CEO in 2022. Robby was elected chair of the IEEE Computer Society Learning Technology Standards Committee in 2000 and has served on numerous Standards Association, Computer Society, and IEEE major Organizational Unit committees and boards. He currently leads the IEEE Standards Association’s Open Source efforts, chairs the IEEE SA Strategic and Emerging Standards Committee’s Inclusive Language Working Group, and serves on the IEEE Educational Activities Board and Industry Engagement Committee. Robby holds several patents, has over 100 publications, has lived in the US, Germany, and France, and has never lost his sense of humor.

 

Statement

The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) has a well-deserved reputation for producing high quality global standards. Over time, however, its governance has become risk averse and too often prioritizes internal processes over supporting standards developers. To grow, deliver member value, and achieve mission goals, IEEE SA must fully commit to:

  • Serving the working group participants, Societies, and industries that are the foundation of its success, and
  • Deeply engaging members in innovation and decision-making.

If elected, these will be my top priorities. In collaboration with the many IEEE SA leaders who support me, and with a technically and culturally diverse global leadership team, I will work to:

  • modernize our tools and streamline operations,
  • provide new services (like our Open Source platform) that add value for standards users, 
  • create on-ramps for young professionals,
  • expand and facilitate transnational participation,
  • emphasize mentoring and education over policing, and
  • treat standards developers as IEEE SA’s most valuable assets.

Together, we can transform IEEE SA into a vibrant, service-oriented organization that provides unparalleled member value, is a leader in emerging technologies, and is enthusiastically supported by its members and staff. I am committed to serving full time as your president, and I humbly ask for your vote.

 

IEEE Accomplishments and Activities
(A’99-M’00-SM’05)

  • Chair, IEEE Computer Society Learning Technology Standards Committee (2000-2008). Focused committee on market-relevant work and produced five published standards. Successfully managed relations with rival standards bodies and a liaison with ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36.
  • Computer Society Standards Activity Board (2003-2021). Vice chair, P&P chair, industry engagement chair, and C/SAB standards committee chair. Helped launch AI, data compression, distributed ledgers, and online gaming Standards Committees. Introduced training for new WG chairs.
  • Member, Standards Association Standards Board (2010, 2011, 2017-2018, 2021-2023). Served on SASB, NesCom, RevCom, PatCom, ProCom and ICCom.
  • Member, IEEE-SA Board of Governors (2019-2021, 2023). Helped accelerate stalled rollout of myProject. Worked with staff to provide broad access to WebEx. I am leading industry-focused open source initiatives and Serious Open Source for Humanity.
  • Chair, IEEE SA Open Source Committee (2021-2023). First/only chair. Helped position IEEE-SA as the Open Source leader among global standards bodies. IEEE SA Open has 29 standards projects from 12 Societies and is growing.
  • Chair, Standards Education Committee (2019-2021). Turned a passive committee into an active one with multiple initiatives. Led creation of Working Group Fundamentals course. Guided efforts to sunset the SEC and transfer activities to more appropriate homes.
  • Member, IEEE Educational Activities Board (2021-2023). SA representative. Working on IEEE standards professional credential.
  • Industry Connections Committee (2017-2023). Vice Chair since 2021. Multiple contributions to operations and P&P.
  • Entity Collaborative Activities Governance Board (CAG) (2019, 2020, 2022-2023). Worked on Open Source, its P&P, and member value.
  • Chair, IEEE Industry Engagement Committee Tools Subcommittee (2022-2023). New AI-enabled services being developed in 2023.
  • Chair, P3400 WG on Inclusive Language in Technical Documentation. Was invited to chair critical, potentially contentious WG under the BOG Strategic and Emerging Standards Committee. Started in 2022. SA Ballot expected to start August 2023.