Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/612684
16 The PCB Magazine • December 2015 by Patty Goldman I-cOnnect007 A few weeks ago I was able to sit down with John Mitchell, president and CEO of IPC, to dis- cuss the organization and where we are going as an industry. We discussed IPC's four aspira- tional goals—standards, education, advocacy and solutions—as well as short-term goals. We also talked a bit about going virtual and becom- ing paperless. Patty Goldman: John, could you start by giving readers the background on IPC. John Mitchell: IPC serves the entire global elec- tronics industry supply chain. And we represent all facets of the industry from design to materi- als, boards, assembly and test, and the suppliers along that chain. We're really trying to meet the needs of this whole industry value chain and the various segments as well, whether it's aero- space, defense, military, medical, automotive, consumer electronics, telecommunications, etc. Overall, we're trying to make sure our member companies achieve success. We do that by fo- cusing on four goals. It's easy to remember be- cause the acronym spells SEAS: S-E-A-S. The first "S" is for standards. IPC is known around the world for our standards. We con- tinue to try to make our standards even bet- ter. Many people have this mistaken notion that IPC creates standards, but we don't. IPC manages the development process. It's really all of the industry that creates standards. To note however, annually, IPC publishes dozens of new and revised standards in areas from printed board design and intellectual property protection through box build. Our collection of industry guidelines and standards exceeds 300 active standards and our resource library contains more than a 1,000. Goldman: Not just the member companies, but any company? Mitchell: Right. Experts from all over come to- gether and work on the standards. It's a col- laborative effort to meet needs in the industry. Some of the things in that area we're doing a A Conversation with IPC President and CEO John Mitchell FeATure inTerview