ISA announces plans for new leadership of professional staff

Summary

August 21, 2017 – The International Society of Automation (ISA) announced that Executive Director and CEO, Patrick Gouhin, will be stepping down. ISA’s President, Steve Pflantz, announced that a Search Committee will be formed in the immediate future to identify Mr. Gouhin’s successor. The selection and announcement of a new Executive Director are expected to occur in the months ahead. Peggie W. Koon, Ph.D., CEO & Founder of Leading Change, LLC, will serve as Interim Executive Director.

“Pat has been our Executive Director since 2006 and has been a dedicated employee of ISA,” Pflantz said. “Under Pat’s leadership, ISA has progressed on many fronts. We will continue to ensure ISA's long-term vitality as we continue our commitment to advance the profession of Automation. The Board is committed to the strategy work that has been done thus far and is grateful for Pat's leadership in bringing us to this point.”

“This is an exciting time in the history of ISA, and I am proud of what we have achieved and the work we are doing,” Gouhin said. “A strong foundation has been laid based on the effort of many passionate volunteer leaders and a wonderfully dedicated staff team that will allow the next Executive Director to hit the ground running.”  

During his 11+-year tenure at ISA, Gouhin has overseen many significant milestones in the Society’s history, including the expansion of ISA’s brand family to include the founding of The Automation Federation and the Automation Standards Compliance Institute, and the acquisition of digital media powerhouse Automation.com. The world’s only consensus standard for industrial cybersecurity, IEC 62443, was also developed and expanded under his tenure.

Before joining ISA, Gouhin served as the Chief Operating Officer of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He also served as the first Vice President of Operations and Technology Transfer for the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) at Langley Research Center, a start-up resulting from $69 million government contract award to build a world-class research and education institute.

Interim Executive Director Dr. Koon’s experience and expertise lies in strategy development and execution, leadership coaching, and change management. Dr. Koon is the former Vice President of Audience for the Augusta Chronicle/TAC Media, Morris Communications, LLC. She has over 25 years of experience in IT, process control, and process automation for both discrete and continuous process industries. She was a General Motors Scholar, earning a B.A. degree in Mathematics from Smith College. She also completed 2 years of graduate studies in Industrial and Systems Engineering as a General Motors Graduate Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and she has a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Kennedy Western University.

In addition to her experience managing strategic change, Dr. Koon has also been a member and leader at ISA for more than 20 years. She has held a variety of prominent roles in the Society, including Society President (2014), Chair of the Automation Federation (2015), member of the ISA Executive Board (2016), and Chair of Workforce Development for the Automation Federation (2016).

About ISA

The International Society of Automation is a nonprofit professional association that sets the standard for those who apply engineering and technology to improve the management, safety, and cybersecurity of modern automation and control systems used across industry and critical infrastructure. Founded in 1945, ISA develops widely used global standards; certifies industry professionals; provides education and training; publishes books and technical articles; hosts conferences and exhibits; and provides networking and career development programs for its 40,000 members and 400,000 customers around the world. 

ISA owns Automation.com, a leading online publisher of automation-related content, and is the founding sponsor of The Automation Federation, an association of non-profit organizations serving as “The Voice of Automation.” Through a wholly owned subsidiary, ISA bridges the gap between standards and their implementation with the ISA Security Compliance Institute and the ISA Wireless Compliance Institute