People on the Move highlights the career advancements of high-level trailblazers working professionally in diverse areas of standardization, contributing every day to the strength and success of the U.S. standards and conformance community.
UL and its parent company Underwriters Laboratories, a member and audited designator of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), have announced a leadership succession to take place over the next several months.
Keith Williams, president and CEO of UL and Underwriters Laboratories, announced his retirement after 15 years of service. He will remain active with the organizations during an interim period to support the transition to new leadership.
Jennifer Scanlon has been appointed president and CEO of UL, as well as a member of the UL Board of Directors, effective September 30, 2019. She is the first woman to serve as UL's president and CEO.
Previously, Ms. Scanlon was president and CEO of USG Corporation. At USG, a 116-year-old building products manufacturer and one of UL's oldest clients, Ms. Scanlon oversaw significant strategic initiatives of the organization, including establishing USG Boral Building Products -a joint global venture - and divesting L&W Supply. She also negotiated the sale of USG to Knauf for $7B, representing a 75% premium to the company's stock price compared to when she first became CEO in 2016. Prior to her work at USG, Ms. Scanlon worked for IBM and Bricker & Associates, an operations improvement consulting firm.
"Jenny brings exceptional integrity, experience, talent, and technology expertise to UL," said James Shannon, chair of the UL Board of Directors and of the Underwriters Laboratories Board of Trustees. "A Chicago-area native, Jenny also has a global perspective that is certain to benefit UL, having previously led USG's 8,000 employees around the world. Given her dedication to safety and innovation and her demonstrated success in growing a global business, we are confident she is the right leader for UL at this time."
Underwriters Laboratories has announced that Terrence Brady will be its new president and CEO, effective January 1, 2020, following Mr. Williams's retirement.
Mr. Brady is currently the president of Underwriters Laboratories, where he has lead operations, strategy, and growth for the organization since 2018. He joined as a senior vice president and general counsel in 2012, later becoming senior vice president, chief commercial and legal officer. In that role, he oversaw the legal, compliance, government affairs, marketing, and strategy functions. Prior to that, he was an associate and partner of Winston & Strawn LLP for 27 years, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, and corporate governance.
"Given Terry's strong track record at our organization, we know that he will continue to be a significant asset as the new president and CEO of Underwriters Laboratories," said Mr. Shannon. "At Underwriters Laboratories, Terry has excelled in all of his leadership positions, helping to develop our strategy and drive its execution. Terry's first-hand knowledge of Underwriters Laboratories, its history, mission, and opportunities will serve Underwriters Laboratories and its stakeholders well."
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers(ASME), a member and ANSI accredited standards developer has appointed Michael W. Johnson as chief strategy officer. In this newly created position, Mr. Johnson will work with the executive leadership team and senior volunteer leaders to formalize ASME's strategic planning process, develop new working relationships across the organization, and promote increased transparency and accountability.
Prior to accepting this role, Mr. Johnson provided consulting services to ASME for several months. Most recently, he was managing partner and CEO of Johnson Williams Capital Partners, an investment firm that works in the technology, healthcare, biopharma, and sustainability spheres. He has also held executive positions at Svelte Medical Systems, JP Morgan Chase, African Continental Telecommunications Ltd., the National Football League, and AT&T.
Mr. Johnson is active in several civic and professional organizations. He is a trustee of the Boys and Girls Club of Newark, NJ, a member of the board of advisors to the Lally Business School at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and active with the Montgomery Academy for students with social, emotional, and educational challenges not met by their local schools. The National Kidney Foundation named him "Man of the Year" in 1992, and his work has been recognized by Fortune, Black Enterprise, and CIO magazines.
"As ASME grows and evolves, it is fundamentally important that our strategy is continually refined, updated, and closely aligned with other society activities," said ASME executive director and CEO Thomas Costabile. "Michael brings a wealth of experience and expertise, which will be of enormous benefit to ASME as we prepare for the future. With his help, we will foster even more engagement and collaboration with the global engineering community and continue to make a positive impact on lives and livelihoods."
SMPTE, an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, has welcomed Frank Kunkle as its new director of marketing. In this role, Mr. Kunkle guides development and implementation of the organization's marketing strategy, including SMPTE campaigns, events, digital marketing, and public relations, while supporting continuing implantation of their three-year strategic plan.
Prior to joining SMPTE, Mr. Kunkle was a highly valued member of ANSI's team as marketing manager, where he developed and executed marketing plans for the Institute's Standards Subscriptions program. His work stimulated membership, managed the brand of ANSI's standards platform, drove market analysis, and assisted with trade show representation. Previously, he was marketing strategy manager for the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), where he designed and managed marketing, social, and digital medial campaigns for 50 products.
"Frank joins the SMPTE team with valuable experience working within similar organizations, and he has both the expertise and the drive to help us achieve our strategic targets in all areas of our business," said SMPTE executive director Barbara Lange. "Informed and effective communications across all variety of marketing platforms will be critical to SMPTE's ongoing success in driving the quality and evolution of motion pictures, television, and professional media, and I'm confident that Frank is prepared to take on this challenge. We are very pleased to welcome him on board."
ANSI warmly wishes Frank all the best in his new endeavor!
Submit an Announcement
Contributions to People on the Move may be submitted to [email protected]. All submissions are published at ANSI's discretion.
Career Opportunities
As a service to the U.S. standards and conformity assessment community, ANSI provides an online network connecting the most progressive companies with the most qualified individuals. Please visit ANSI's career opportunities webpage for details.