By Thomas A. Schwartz

Jul 26, 2016

ASTM Board Appoints President's Successor

As I close out this year of serving as chairman of ASTM International's board of directors, it is a pleasure to think back on what a productive, successful and forward thinking year it has been.

Precisely with the future in mind, I am pleased to report the outcome of a very important decision the board made last month at its meeting in Seoul, South Korea. Having been informed by ASTM President James A. Thomas of his intention to retire, the executive committee of the board set out on a search for candidates whose passion for ASTM would again result in excellent stewardship of the society.

The goal of the executive committee over the past year has been to evaluate internal candidates for someone who could maintain the direction and culture that ASTM's members, customers and staff have come to expect. This goal was consistent with an overall approach of developing internal staff capabilities at ASTM. Having been involved in ASTM myself for more than three decades, I can attest to this climate of staff development as a key component of ASTM's success.

At the October meeting, the board enthusiastically announced its unanimous decision to have Katharine E. Morgan, currently ASTM's vice president of technical committee operations, succeed Jim Thomas. To ensure a smooth transition for our members and customers, Kathie will assume the position of ASTM executive vice president on March 1, 2015. She will work closely with Jim during a time of transition up to his retirement on February 1, 2017.

Kathie came to ASTM in 1984 as a staff manager and soon assumed roles of increasing responsibility in standards development at ASTM. She holds a bachelor of science in chemical engineering and a master of business administration. Kathie's instinctual knowledge of the workings of ASTM technical committees and the industry sectors they represent, as well as the global standardization landscape, is a perfect foundation for her new role. No doubt, this is an exciting time for Kathie and for ASTM, when our offerings include standards and as well as related products and services.

While Kathie is poised and ready to lead the way, we acknowledge that she will have some big shoes to fill. Since assuming the presidency in 1992, Jim Thomas' leadership has had an enormous positive impact on ASTM and its stakeholders. Jim is a respected ambassador, advocate and voice not only for ASTM, but for strategic standardization as a whole. We wish Jim and Kathie well, and appreciate their deep dedication to the future of ASTM.

Please accept my thanks for making 2014 a good year on so many fronts, and please join me in congratulating Kathie Morgan.

Thomas A. Schwartz

2014 Chairman, ASTM Board of Directors