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Author Topic: ARRL CEO Retires  (Read 12981 times)

W5JON

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ARRL CEO Retires
« on: January 18, 2018, 08:49:55 AM »


ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, to Retire


01/18/2018

ARRL’s chief executive officer for the past 2 years, Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, announced his retirement as CEO, as the ARRL Board of Directors prepares to meet January 19-20. He will step down on March 2. Gallagher, who had earlier advised ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, of his intention to resign, expressed his gratitude to Roderick and the ARRL Board for giving him the opportunity to help guide the organization.


“It has been my great privilege to serve in this capacity for 2 years, and I am deeply grateful to the Board and President Rick Roderick, K5UR, for their support and encouragement,” Gallagher said.


President Roderick expressed appreciation for Gallagher’s contributions to ARRL. “The ARRL is in a transition to a new generation for Amateur Radio. Change doesn’t come easy,” Roderick said. “Tom helped us in taking that step forward, and for that we are very grateful for his service to the League and to Amateur Radio,” he said.


Gallagher, 69, cited recent changes included in the new federal tax law that made it unattractive for him to continue working in Connecticut, where ARRL is headquartered. The Board will evaluate and determine the next steps to take in a search for his replacement when it meets this week.


Among Gallagher’s chief accomplishments during his tenure as CEO were creating an enhanced level of professionalism and efficiency in the organization that represents more than 150,000 US Amateur Radio operators. Gallagher also oversaw a significant turnaround in the organization’s financial performance.


Licensed in Pennsylvania in 1966 as WA3GRF (later N4GRF in North Carolina), Gallagher is a member of the West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group. He has described himself as “an incurable HF DXer and inveterate tinkerer” and credits his first visit to the Franklin Institute’s Amateur Radio station W3TKQ in 1963 for inspiring his interest in ham radio.


Amateur Radio led to an early career in broadcasting. He was a cameraman and technician with WGBH-TV in Boston, the CBS Television Network, and Metromedia’s WIP Radio in Philadelphia.


Gallagher joined ARRL following 3 decades as an international investment banker and financial services executive. His career has included senior leadership positions with JP Morgan Chase & Co and CIBC Oppenheimer & Co in New York, and with Wachovia Capital Markets in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and as CEO of the Secondary School Admission Test Board in Princeton, New Jersey. He has served on boards, both public and non-profit, including two NYSE companies; the NPR affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Executive Board of The PENN Fund at the University of Pennsylvania, and The International Center of Photography.


 

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W6EM

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RE: ARRL CEO Retires
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2018, 06:22:41 PM »

There is more to this story.  But, its not on Eham.  QRZ.com has several threads.

Changes at ARRL coming soon.
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W4KVW

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RE: ARRL CEO Retires
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2018, 06:18:40 PM »

There is more to this story.  But, its not on Eham.  QRZ.com has several threads.

Changes at ARRL coming soon.

Hopefully like the whole joke of an organization is going the way of the Dodo Bird.He knows they have made things worse & got out while the getting was good.Happy Trails.................  :D ;D :o ::)

Clayton
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W6EM

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RE: ARRL CEO Retires
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2018, 06:00:45 PM »

As the old Eldridge Cleaver quote says, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

I don't know how much real authority the CEO has to act independently of the Board, but seems to me [that] a policy applying to the Board would be drafted by the Board and President...cadre.  As for applying it, perhaps that's where the CEO took the baton....

A "retirement" after only 2 years is puzzling, especially with a tax consequence as the announced reason.
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AA2UK

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RE: ARRL CEO Retires
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2018, 05:13:46 AM »

As the old Eldridge Cleaver quote says, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

I don't know how much real authority the CEO has to act independently of the Board, but seems to me [that] a policy applying to the Board would be drafted by the Board and President...cadre.  As for applying it, perhaps that's where the CEO took the baton....

A "retirement" after only 2 years is puzzling, especially with a tax consequence as the announced reason.
I take the tax comment as just another political hack taking a shot at Trump. I think it's a stupid comment that won't help the ARRL deal with the current administration.
Bill, AA2UK
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KB6QXM

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RE: ARRL CEO Retires
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2018, 01:38:11 PM »

Draining the swamp!

Time to take the ARRL out of CT and move it to Texas!
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W4KVW

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RE: ARRL CEO Retires
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2018, 11:05:12 AM »

Draining the swamp!

Time to take the ARRL out of CT and move it to Texas!

Better if we just take it to the gun range & shoot it & get it over with ASAP.No matter the location it is still a dead horse & lost cause.Can't wait until I start hearing the playing of Taps on their behalf.  ::)

Clayton
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KC2QYM

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RE: ARRL CEO Retires
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2018, 01:57:02 AM »

The CEO position is a petty role in the scheme of things as the ARRL exists now. Their main reason for existence has been to sell advertising and find ways to make amateur radio exciting for radio enthusiasts...also encourage newcomers for additional membership revenue.  The ARRL is above all a publishing company; its initial goal was to formalize the amateur radio hobby to encourage more collaborative radio communications experimentation. They did a great job of this but in my opinion this has been declining over the last 15 years. The self-policing OO program was a good idea but as a consequence the FCC greatly reduced their monitoring and enforcement responsibilities.  The ARRL also adopted the license testing process and the FCC happily removed itself from that responsibility;  in essence because in my opinion they started to consider ham radio the new CB.   

If one listens around the bands and particularly in the phone segments I can't see how many would get excited about ham radio. Mindless nets with the only topic being weather reports, signal reports, and waiting your turn to say absolutely nothing of interest to anyone else and act as if it was interesting. Contact (not QSOs) nets with guys crying out 59s and goodbye; what possible excitement does this provide.  Probably the perfect communications process for shy guys or those without much to talk about...can we say dull?  Contests can be exciting if you just want to make as many contacts as possible to make imaginary points and collect useless certificates.  The ARRL has been the main pusher of contests of all stripes and a great number of hams only do contesting. Hey whatever turns you on I guess.

Why did the CEO resign?  Probably because he didn't want to ride down a declining dinosaur and be the last guy to get blamed. Perhaps he was extremely frustrated realizing he was surrounded by people without vision or imagination and couldn't get them to change up.  But change into what?  A strong promotion of amateur radio towards youth but let's get real.  How many here have had any recent conversations with young people? Do you really think that most of them would flock to ham radio if they had the chance to listen in today before they tried it?  Come on folks....you know that the few young people that get into ham radio will not support the ARRL to any great extent.  How about the ARRL's boondoggles in promoting the measly 6 or 7 Khz below the MW band.  How many ARRL employee hours financing bunches of section/division folks to push this useless band in Washington DC.  What about the ceaseless harping of the parity act attempting to convince the world that ham radio is the true last resort emergency communications source and that every ham is an emergency station ready to be pressed into service.  What a joke, how many hams are truly engaged in emergency radio volunteerism?  Can the ARRL state with a straight face that they are not throwing a curve ball at the Washington politicians they are courting to support this bill.  Why should a minority (hams) who agreed to adhere to the HOA covenants (particularly about external aerials and the like) be allowed to subject others to an eyesore antenna system just so that they can engage in idle nonsense weather net chit chat under the disguise of being an emergency station? 

A few others here and in other threads have suggested that the ARRL is in decline; I believe that’s an understatement. They’ve picked the wrong issues and thrown too much time and money at them.   The return on investment is paltry.  If the ARRL announced that they were going to mount a campaign on an international basis to expand amateur radio frequency allocation beyond the band edges then perhaps they might find a great many hams come forward to support them.  Otherwise, this once venerable institution is condemned to obscurity. Let’s face it…times change.
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VE3WGO

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RE: ARRL CEO Retires
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2018, 04:46:01 PM »

sounds to me like most US hams don't think they need a national club any longer.

this thread and the often-seen articles on eHam (one is alive right now) also have a lot of comments about how ARRL needs to change or disappear.

73, Ed
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SOFAR

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RE: ARRL CEO Retires
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2018, 05:17:30 PM »

sounds to me like most US hams don't think they need a national club any longer.

this thread and the often-seen articles on eHam (one is alive right now) also have a lot of comments about how ARRL needs to change or disappear.

73, Ed

We do need one large cohesive voice.

Unfortunately, the current organization doesn't have priorities in order.
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