Updating the Transition

Following considerable feedback from our ASME members and various groups since November 2003, the ASME Board of Governors, at its meeting on March 12-13, 2004, discussed and approved a new organizational design and process for implementation. The board's action followed the unanimous recommendations of ASME's senior vice presidents for implementation of the plan.

You can find the presentation for the March 12-13 meeting of the BOG on the Continuity and Change Web site at ASME.ORG (www.asme.org/change), along with highlights of key decisions.

The new organization will become effective July 1, 2005. Between now and then, ASME will continue to function in our current organizational structure, with our existing leadership teams providing the needed guidance and support for ongoing operations as well as transition planning.

Between March 2004 and July 2005, we will begin a 15-month transition period during which implementation details will be developed in each ASME council, as necessary, to achieve the outcomes of the organizational design approved by our board.

Under the leadership of our ASME senior vice presidents, each council leadership team will schedule meetings to discuss, identify and recommend the critical functions for continuation in the new organizational model. Many councils have already commenced these leadership discussions. For staff-related activities, our ASME staff will be implementing study efforts similar to those of our councils.

Council and staff recommendations for successful detailed implementation of the new organizational design will be forwarded to a soon-to-be-named ASME Project Management Task Force, approved by the Board of Governors, to provide the necessary overall enterprise-wide project management for the transition process.

This is an exciting time, designed to enable ASME to be of even greater value and benefit to our members and customers in over 130 countries. Our new organizational design will provide many additional opportunities for ASME member participation, for customer benefit, for added value to the engineering profession and to industry, government and academia.

For success, we need your continued support and participation. To all of our ASME members who have been active in our process to date, and who have forwarded their thoughtful communications, we thank you. All communications to date have been fully read and carefully considered.

Please join us in the detailed development and launch of this new plan designed to ensure a Society that will thrive and provide added benefit in the next 125 years. Please visit the Web site now (www.asme.org/change) and in the coming months for regular updates. And please continue to post your communications about how ASME can maximize our success in this new venture. Onward — together.

— Reginald I. Vachon
ASME President

— Harry Armen
ASME President-elect, 2004-2005

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