What does U.S. leadership in international standardization look like in practice? This question brought leaders from industry, government, and the standards community to Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 24–25 for ANSI's conference: Global Standardization: Enhancing U.S. Industry Leadership and Engagement. The event drew participants from across sectors for two days of keynote addresses, panel discussions, and interactive sessions focused on strengthening U.S. engagement in global standardization.
Following welcome remarks by ANSI Board of Directors chairman Christian Dubay, ANSI president and CEO Dr. Laurie E. Locascio opened the conference with a fireside chat alongside Navin Girishankar of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Their conversation set the strategic tone for the event, exploring the relationship between standards, technology leadership, and national competitiveness—and what it will take to close participation gaps in international standards bodies.
Joel Orban of Corning Incorporated delivered the first keynote address, offering an industry perspective on the realities and misconceptions surrounding U.S. leadership in international standards.
The afternoon panel, Driving Engagement in Standardization in Emerging Technologies, brought together a range of industry and government voices. Moderated by Ajit Jillavenkatesa, ANSI Board of Directors vice chair, the session featured Katharine Harrison (U.S. Department of Energy), S. Shyam Sunder (NIST), Tommy Gardner (HP Federal), and Jason Matusow (Microsoft). Panelists discussed how different emerging technologies—from AI to quantum—require distinct standards strategies, and why the voluntary, industry-led nature of the U.S. standards system is a competitive strength worth protecting through sustained industry investment and participation.
Day two opened with a keynote from James M. Shannon, chair of the UL Standards & Engagement Board of Directors, who called for smarter, more strategic U.S. engagement in international standardization and emphasized the need to develop a new generation of standards leaders.
The morning panel, What Do We Mean by U.S. Leadership?, was moderated by Sonya Bird, vice chair of the ANSI International Policy Advisory Group, and featured Susan Miller (ATIS), Peter Musgrove (AT&T), Jason Oxman (Information Technology Industry Council), Muhammad Ali (HP), Patrick Hughes (NEMA), and Alan Manche (Schneider Electric). Discussion centered on how U.S. organizations can engage more strategically in international standards work, develop the next generation of standards professionals, and ensure that the right voices remain at the table.
The conference included an interactive session on implementation, in which attendees generated specific, actionable ideas across three areas: engagement, strategic collaboration, and tools and resources. Ideas ranged from mentorship programs for new standards participants to an ambassador program for universities, engineering societies, and state-level economic development organizations. ANSI Board members and governance leaders facilitated the table discussions.
To conclude the event, while ANSI Board members kicked off their executive committee meeting, other participants in the conference joined interactive sessions to engage with ANSI experts and stakeholders on three topics related to global standardization activities: opportunities for company engagement and networking, and how to become involved; training and opportunities for emerging professionals in ISO/IEC activities; and how U.S. stakeholders can increase engagement with international and regional policy topics, and with global counterparts.
“When we opened this conference yesterday, I said the United States has a choice: lead the conversations that will shape global markets and national security, or watch others lead them. What I’ve heard over the past two days tells me this community has made its choice,” said Locascio in her closing remarks. “The discussions in every session have been substantive, concrete, candid, and forward-looking in exactly the way this moment demands. And I’m excited for the connections we’ve made and priorities identified across the standardization community and beyond.”
Conference materials including the agenda and presentations are available on the event page.
ANSI thanks all speakers, moderators, panelists, sponsors, and attendees for their participation and contributions to this important conversation.
