Barry Shelley, N1VXY, to Become ARRL Interim CEO

Or he is the candidate most likely to be able to step in at a moment's notice and keep a steady hand on the tiller? At this point, what license class he holds is immaterial to me. What matters will be his ability to navigate what must be some choppy waters at HQ.

His first go-around as iCEO seemed like a nice promotion before he headed off into retirement. This go-around seems decidedly different and will likely not be an easy go. Unless he does something egregious, I think he deserves the support of the membership.

 

Same as the PO... screw up-move up. That's what PMG`s basically consist of. The ARRL was just a stepping stone.

 

Agreed. There are hams such as myself that are well versed in business, have MBAs and are active. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to find a good match for members and the organization. No, I don't want the job... just pointing out that there are plenty of skilled business people who are active hams.

 

For better or worse, that was my view of the last guy. But yet here we are. I guess my overall point is; given the last two CEOs we had, this stuff of replacing people is getting old.....How about we just pick an actual ham who has some business expertise and be done with these guys who have never if rarely ever pressed a PTT or touched a key in their lives...

 

@KE0GXN that works provided the individual is willing to move to Newington, CT.

 

Well that didn't take very long...

 

Nate, if we have to move to Connecticut, to "Get out of Dodge", we'll "Not in Kansas anymore", the Land of Oz!

 

I'm staying right here!

Be too long of commute to feed the cattle every morning and evening...

 

@WA6MHZ Hey Pat, I know where there's a job opening.
Then you wont have to worry about coming up with another years subscription fee by selling from the museum collection...

 

I disagree.

Without being active, it's difficult to know what's really going on other than by rumor or reports.

BTW, the CEO of NetApp (Network Appliance) is an active ham/DXer/contester.

The CEO of Tandem Computer (now gone, it was acquired by Compaq, which in turn was acquired by HP, etc), a very successful high-end computing company years ago, was also an active ham/DXer/contester. Jimmy was a big gun on 6 meters and I wanted the company as a customer but could never get through to him. One of his staff finally told me, "If you're a ham radio operator, call back and just say 'six meters' and you'll get right through."

I did that, and got right through.

K1ZZ, probably the best CEO ARRL ever had, was and still is an active operator/DXer/contester. Keeping your finger on the pulse of the masses you are working for is not a bad thing.

 

Not at all, the whole point of being the CEO is that you delegate that responsibility to section managers who report back to you a concise version of what is important. Being a contester is a whole lot of doing nothing in ham radio followed by a couple of days of 5n tu 73 gl in the contest. That is hardly something that is going to keep ones finger on the pulse of what people are moaning about on QRZ. Nor should the CEO concern himself with matter of trivia on QRZ.

Here are the rolls of a CEO. The problem is, hams do not want a CEO they want one of the good old boys who can 10:4 like the best of them. And that is one of the problems organizations like the ARRL and WIA face, a giant disconnect between the desire of a membership and the legal responsibilities of a CEO to corporate law. Hams want their cake and eat it. The membership essentially wants a club, but the club has a legal responsibility of a corporation. When your ying and your yang are pulling in opposite directions, something has to give, hence the revolving door CEO's.

1. Communicating, on behalf of the company, with shareholders, government entities, and the public
2. Leading the development of the company’s short- and long-term strategy
3. Creating and implementing the company or organization’s vision and mission
4. Evaluating the work of other executive leaders within the company, including directors, vice presidents, and presidents
5. Maintaining awareness of the competitive market landscape, expansion opportunities, industry developments, etc.
6. Ensuring that the company maintains high social responsibility wherever it does business
7. Assessing risks to the company and ensuring they are monitored and minimized
8. Setting strategic goals and making sure they are measurable and describable

^^ Notice being good old buddies with the membership is not one of those rolls? That is what you have section managers and the board of directors is for. The CEO is there just to take care of all the corporate wankery. Its a glorified I AM THE THINKER job. What is best for the corporation might not be what is best for the membership.

Now I accept there are probably active hams out there who have all the skills to do the job and more. But, they know what hams are like and if they were smart would stay away. Ever wondered why active hams are not lining up in droves to be the CEO? You would have to be bonkers to deal with us.

 

Maybe it's time to move HQ to someplace more central in the US that would be lower cost and more attractive to a wider range of candidates, while being more accessible to more of the membership... Kansas City?

 

Except ARRL is a non-profit and not publicly traded, so their goal shouldn't be to create income for shareholders, it should be to represent the membership and even hams who are not members to help maintain spectrum privileges which are only delegated by ITU and FCC.

They pretty much do that, sometimes better than others. If the head of the non-profit, non-public company isn't active, anything he "delegates" is speculation based on rumors and memos and not experience.

 

You have the chain of command all wrong. The CEO should be dealing with the Board of Directors NOT Section Managers. Section Managers (and I was one) should be communicating to the Division Directors and they in turn to HQ. You also have a skewed understanding of the ARRL. It is not like a typical corporation in the private sector. It is the BOD what determines most of what you indicate in #'s 1 through 8. The CEO then carries out the direction given him/her by the BOD. That is not to say that a good CEO won't suggest programs. activities, and strategies to the Board

 

The section managers largely report to the field services manager and deal primarily with field services like ARES and NTS. They used to be called section communications managers.

They don’t report to the Director but we always encourage cooperation with the SMs and vice-versa.

It is absolutely correct that the Board drives policy and vision and the CEO executes.