These are challenging times for many professional organizations in the supply chain and beyond.
With that backdrop, news last week from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) that president and CEO Rick Blasgen has decided to retire from his spot in March, in what can only be called a surprising development.
Supply Chain Digest Says...
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Brian Gibson, CSCMP's chairman of the board, said "a comprehensive search for a new leader" will begin later this year. |
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Blasgen has been in that role since 2005, or about 15 years. He started just one year after the organization was renamed from the Council of Logistics Management (CLM) to CSCMP in 2004.
He came to CSCMP after a career as a supply chain practitioner and then later executive at companies such Nabisco and Conagra.
The announcement from CSCMP noted that "Rick dedicated his life to the membership of CSCMP and its staff for the past 15 years," adding that "Without question, Rick is the identity of CSCMP to thousands around the world."
CSCMP also said that Blasgen will stay engaged with CSCMP in some type of advisory capacity. There are also plans to recognize Blasgen's tenure at September's CSCMP EDGE Conference in Atlanta.
No permanent replacement for Blasgen has been named in conjunction with his retirement,
Instead, the CSCMP board of directors has named Mark Baxa, a previous chairman of the CSCMP board and current CEO of FerniaCreek Global Supply Chain Consulting Group, as interim CEO for the organization.
Baxa has been very involved in CSCMP for many years, and had a long career in logistics management at Monsanto before starting FerniaCreek.
Blasgen will remain in his role and oversee the transition until March 5, 2021. Baxa, in conjunction with the current CSCMP leadership team, will oversee CSCMP's operations and engage with the board of directors on a regular basis until a permanent successor to Blasgen is named.
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 "Rick is more than a professional peer. He is our friend. And although we understand and support him in his decision to retire, it is with mixed emotions," Baxa said. "We are happy for him in reaching this career milestone, but we will miss having him in this role."
Baxa also said Blasgen had positioned the association to continue to evolve with the supply chain profession and its members.
It appears that a search for a successor will not be immediate. Brian Gibson, CSCMP's chairman of the board, said "a comprehensive search for a new leader" will begin later this year.
Many professional organizations have been challenged generally and specifically as a result of the virus pandemic, which led to the cancelation of nearly all conferences, events that are usually the leading source of revenue for professional associations. Even if a virtual conference is held, it doesn't generally bring in nearly the profit of an in-person event.
Last year, the Warehouse Education and Research Council (WERC), a competitor of sorts to CSCMP, announced it was being acquired by MHI, a trade association in the materials handling industry.
CSCMP and WERC were primarily driven by an individual membership model. MHI, conversely, is built on company memberships.
SCDigest has heard Blasgen is an expert pizza maker, and has long talked about baking pizzza pies in his retirement.
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