New direction?
The IT trade association CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association) announced today that Todd Thibodeaux, formerly SVP for industry relations at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), is to become president and CEO of CompTIA from 1 July, replacing John Venator, who led CompTIA since 1989.
Venator’s services will be retained until mid-2010 in his capacity as president and CEO of CompTIA’s charitable Educational Foundation outreach program.
Thibodeaux has been with CEA, which organises the benchmark annual International Consumer Electronics Show, since 1990. Before that, he worked in the Office of Regulatory Analysis at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Washington.
CompTIA Chairman Brian Wiser said Thibodeaux “is extremely well-versed in the way a trade association operates, especially in areas such as membership growth and engagement, communications, international business, and public policy.”
Thibodeaux pioneered new media efforts at CEA and intends to introduce social networks and blogs to CompTIA’s promotional efforts.
“Our industry faces great challenges – economic and employment, environmental and educational,” said Thibodeaux. “But we also have a great opportunity to demonstrate how technology can help to better our world.”
A lot of CompTIA’s activities concern training and accreditation and it is mainly in this capacity that it has worked in the UK for the past few years. But recently it has been making noises about being more active in a trade association capacity.
It will be interesting to see if the new CEO uses his connections within the CEA to open up new opportunities for CompTIA and its members.
Press release: Computing Technology Industry Association Names Todd Thibodeaux New President and Chief Executive Officer
