I couldn’t help but notice Melissa Taggart recently became the third high-level InfoComm International staffer to leave the organization in the past few months, joining CFO Kevin Madden in May after almost 13 years and senior VP of member services Duffy Wilbert in July after 12 years.
Taggart, senior VP of education, certification and standards at InfoComm, had been there for almost 18 years when she left to pursue new opportunities. These changes come at a time when InfoComm is getting ready to put together its new strategic plan, so there’s some urgency to who comes next.
While some would look at this flurry of departures—either by their own choice or InfoComm’s—and wonder about the level of turmoil behind the scenes there, a more reasonable approach is to think about the fact that most organizations go through this same sort of transition shortly after a new CEO comes on board. The difference here is it took more than two years under David Labuskes for some of InfoComm’s major players to find they either weren’t wanted or wanted to be elsewhere.
Sports fans know this happens all the time. A new owner will clean house of the old regime’s general manager, coach/manager and even players and replace them with those who are more in line with the new owner’s philosophies.
So what happens from here? Promoting from within is always a great thing for any company or organization, and certainly there aren’t a lot of high-level departures at InfoComm on a regular basis for those who’ve worked there for a while to apply. So, it’s nice to see Betsy Jaffe get the opportunity to move from her previous role of vice president of communications of InfoComm to senior VP of member services.
In addition, Gregory Feehan joined the organization in July as CFO after a 15-year run as CFO of several companies, most recently Xceligent, a subscription-based software provider where he was CFO for a little more than a year.
What will InfoComm do with Taggart’s position and will her departure give Labuskes and other InfoComm administrators and opportunity to think differently about the top of the organization? InfoComm has long prided itself on its educational offerings and recently celebrated its 10,000th CTS certification, but major departures give companies the opportunity to make bold decisions if they so choose.
Here’s hoping the candidates for the job include those who have fresh, new ideas about how to help InfoComm become the global power it has started to become under Labuskes’ stewardship. At a time when the new strategic plan is in development, this is the time to consider how to shape the future of both InfoComm and the AV industry.
For the past two years, we’ve highlighted some of the bright young talent in this industry through the CI 40 Influencers Under 40 lists. We’re not saying any of those people will or should be considered for Taggart’s old job, but we’d love to see InfoComm go against conventional wisdom and hire someone who will really get people talking, assuming of course the person is qualified to do the job.
In an age where InfoComm member companies are still trying to distance themselves from being part of the good old boy’s network, InfoComm could take the lead on that by thinking young and grooming the next generation of leadership within its own walls.
