Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/688506
June 2016 • The PCB Magazine 53 in China, the decisions really affect our mem- bers. Goldman: We all know that from RoHS, right? Everybody got blindsided by that. Hasselmann: Yes. RoHS, conflict minerals, and there are others. When something is coming across a policymaker or regulator's desk, or there's some sort of proposed rule or a piece of legislation, I want someone to say, "Have we called IPC?" Because that's my goal: to be at the table. There are a lot of other trade associa- tions, but we represent the whole supply chain, we're global, we do standards with a lot of pro- fessional development and educational training around these standards, and we do trade shows. That's very unique compared to some of the tra- ditional trade associations that are based here in Washington, D.C. who just focus on advocacy. We've got a lot of real-world experience to back up our advocacy. Goldman: A lot of people probably think, and I'm just trying to be the devil's advocate here, why not let IPC do all that? Why do I need to come to town? What is the importance of having companies or company executives come? What difference does it make? Hasselmann: The congressional staff see us all the time, but it's much different when a CEO takes the time to call a member of Congress, or to come to Washington or Brussels. If a CEO comes in who's on the front line every day—making decisions that affect their employees, making decisions about whether they need to have a factory here or there, who is looking at their bottom line in terms of keeping revenues up and keeping their employees and customers happy—then members of Congress and policymakers are going to understand how important it is when they make a decision, and that they're going to impact us. If CEOs take the time to be advocates, poli- cymakers are going to listen because they have to make those decisions, too. We're always try- ing to get the decision makers together in the same room to come up with a plan and make it work. And that's the goal. (L-R) John Hasselmann, Nilesh Naik and Bhawnesh Mathur on the terrace during a cocktail hour.