Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1219491
April/May/June 2020 I 5 From the President, Todd W. Taylor, RCDD, OSP, NTS 2020—A NEW DECADE—A NEW VISION My journey as BICSI's president, a position I am grateful and honored to hold, began several years ago while volunteering on several committees. The past two years have flown by, and little did I know what valu- able learning opportunities volunteering at this level would provide me. The planning for the renovation of the BICSI headquar- ters would be the first task at hand. It had been over 20 years since the BICSI building had been constructed. To continue providing the industry with the leading ser- vices it has come to expect, a much needed upgrade in workspace and technology would be required. We looked to our own intelligent building standard, ANSI/ BICSI 007-2017, Information Communication Technol- ogy Design and Implementation Practices for Intelli- gent Buildings and Premises, to lead the way in design and innovation. The use of technologies, such as PoE lighting, sound masking and HDBASE-T, allowed BICSI to update workspaces and classrooms and to create equipment rooms showcasing advanced technolo- gies. These technologies also expanded the BICSI Learning Academy, allowing BICSI the opportunity to provide to the ICT industry a smart and Best in Class educational facility. Its success is a demonstration of industry-wide collaboration. Twenty-three corpora- tions, committed to the advancement of ICT, contrib- uted time, product and technical expertise. My travels and participation in BICSI global events led to an experience that would lead to a new apprecia- tion for the effects that technology has on the contin- ual growth of a connected world and digital infra- structure. There is a growing interest in the education and credentialing that BICSI offers, which was made evident by the number of non-member attendees at major BICSI events. The constant message was that of a connected and intelligent city/world/ecosystem driven by technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), global internet of things (IoT) and edge data centers (EDCs). Event attendees are looking for BICSI to lead the way in integrating these technologies to achieve the connected world vision. 2019 brought about a turning point for BICSI. Our then current CEO and Executive Director, John D. Clark, announced his retirement after approximately 11 years of dedicated service. Consequently, I chaired the committee that led the search for his replace- ment. Together with board members, a past BICSI president, staff members and the help of a recruit- ment firm, we set forth on the selection process. This lengthy process would give us a good opportunity to conduct a deep dive into the workings of BICSI, thereby giving us a much better view of any new directions needed in the industry. Through a yearlong process, the selection committee chose a new BICSI CEO and Executive Director, John H. Daniels. John joins us from a different vertical within the ICT industry and brings strong management and global experi- ence that will help propel BICSI forward as the pre- eminent standards and manuals, professional devel- opment and credentialing leader for the global ICT industry and community. Fast forwarding to 2020, the culmination of my past two years' adventures has led to a new approach for BICSI's strategic plan and direction. Past strategic plans placed a strong emphasis on placing BICSI in the global ICT arena. Unintentionally, it created the perception that there are two global initiatives, BICSI North America and BICSI Global. Therefore, one of my main goals is to bring our organization back to one global BICSI community with the look and feel of one association regardless of where in the world BICSI is represented. Increasing membership value is another goal, characterized by aligning products and services, obtaining a wider adoption of manuals, standards and best practices via AHJs, and strengthening our relation- ships with other supporting technology organizations. In closing, I am proud to mention a major first for BICSI. We welcome the first woman BICSI President-Elect, Carol Everett Oliver! I look forward to working with Carol, the current and new members of the BICSI Board of Directors, John Daniels, and our committed staff as we move BICSI into the new decade of change and growth!