The National Association of Electrical Manufacturers (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va., has named Evan Gaddis to succeed Malcolm O’Hagan as president of NEMA.
Gaddis, currently president of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA), will join NEMA in mid-September. O’Hagan will be honored at NEMA’s 79th annual meeting and leadership conference in Washington, D.C., in November.
Gaddis joined GAMA in 2001. GAMA is a national trade association representing more than 200 manufacturers of residential, commercial and industrial heating appliances, equipment and components, as well as manufacturers of equipment and providers of services used in the production, transmission and distribution of fuel gases. While Gaddis was at GAMA, he helped introduce new divisions for power generation (fuel cells and microturbines), gas air conditioning, and gas detectors.
Before joining GAMA, Gaddis was with the U.S. Army. In his last assignment, as commander of U.S. Army recruiting, Gaddis managed a 12,000-person organization with an annual objective of recruiting 122,000 new Army personnel. Within 20 months of his assuming that responsibility, he exceeded the Army’s recruiting target, the first time in seven years that had been accomplished.
Randy Carson, chairman of the NEMA board, cited Gaddis’ management and leadership skills as the major factors in selecting him for the position.
“Evan Gaddis is a perfect fit for NEMA,” said Carson. “In addition to his obvious management skills and experience abroad, he is politically savvy and a fine team builder, qualities you would expect in a person with his background. He is no stranger to the inner circles of the policy-making apparatus in Washington and will represent NEMA like few others could. The board went through an exhaustive search process and, in the end, Evan was a consensus choice to lead the organization.”
O’Hagan has served as NEMA’s president since 1991. He led the association through its transition from a national standards development organization to an international body with influence in the world’s fastest developing economies and in the harmonization of standards, testing and certification of electrical products in markets worldwide. Under O’Hagan, the association also became a well-known voice on public policy in Washington, D.C., and in the nation’s state capitals. In the last few years, NEMA has opened offices in China, Mexico and Brazil to accommodate manufacturers trying to do business in those markets.
During O’Hagan’s tenure, the association also has been a key player in the development of national energy legislation, said Carson. “NEMA has made a stunning contribution to the way U.S. energy policy has been crafted in the past decade and a half,” he said.