Consumer Electronics Association executive Todd Thibodeaux will take over in
July as president and CEO of IT trade
association CompTIA, according to organization officials.
Thibodeaux will take over on July 1 for outgoing CEO
John Venator. Venator had planned to step down in 2009, but recently moved up
his retirement to care for his elderly parents, a Computing Technology Industry
Association spokesperson said. Venator will remain president and CEO
of CompTIA's charitable Educational Foundation outreach program through August
2010.
Thibodeaux has been with CEA,
the organization behind the mammoth annual International Consumer Electronics
Show, since 1990. As senior vice president of industry relations at CEA,
Thibodeaux oversaw that organization's growth to more than 2,200 members and
150 employees.
|
|
|
Todd Thibodeaux
New CompTIA CEO
|
Prior to CEA, Thibodeaux worked in the Office of Regulatory Analysis at the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, in Washington.
A self professed IT geek his entire life, Thibodeaux tells Channel Insider
he was attracted to the CompTIA position "because of the 10- to 15-fold
increase in complexity of distribution and challenges that you face with the
channel as opposed to the consumer electronics space."
Thibodeaux continued, "CompTIA is such a vital part of the IT channel,
and as technology associations go in terms of resources and capability, it's
second to none. What we're trying to do is help companies climb the pyramid.
You have companies coming in at the bottom starting out. We're here to make
sure they are climbing up; from new entrants to survivors to market makers to success
stories."
Part of that effort, Thibodeaux says, involves spreading the message among
high school and college students that there are great careers in IT today.
"We're going to see hundreds of thousands of people retiring in the next
few years with skill sets that need to be replaced," he says.
"There's still a great opportunity in this space. Stay on the IT
track."
Trained as an economist and research analyst, Thibodeaux says he built much
of CEA's research program and is looking to
bolster research efforts at CompTIA as well. "Beyond lobbying, research is
among the top benefits that members expect from our organization. I'd like to
see us grow our in-house research capabilities and we'll also explore a number
of partnerships in order to step up our efforts."
Thibodeaux was also responsible for a number of the new media efforts at CEA
and says he hopes to bring the same Web 2.0 capabilities to CompTIA in the form
of social networks and blogs.
Even in a sluggish economy, Thibodeaux says he feels strongly about the role
organizations like CompTIA can play in promoting the interests of the
technology industry.
"I always feel like technology is the driving
force behind the global economy," he says. "[Look at] what it can do
in terms of enhancing quality of life, lowering prices, improving efficiency.
People look to technologies to solve their problems. Look at health care,
education. There are so many untapped areas."
Channel News and Analysis 
