GSA Elections Heat Up
By Ed Sperling
Five years ago serving on the board of the GSA was considered by many executives to be something of a sacrifice of time and effort for the good of the fabless industry. It is now viewed as a lucrative business opportunity within a fragmented global supply chain, turning seats into hotly contested races.
“There is certainly much more contention for board seats,” said Jodi Shelton, GSA’s president. “We’ve also been on a roll for the past two years to build up the board. We took eight seats and made them appointed for each region. The rest are open elections.”
It’s those open elections that are creating angst among companies vying for seats. Some of the contenders’ Web sites have direct links to place a vote for their CEO on the board. “There are a lot of relationships built on the board,” said Shelton. “It’s a who’s who of the industry. There are all the major foundries, the fabless companies, and all the top executives from those companies. And they actually show up for meetings four times a year and are fully engaged.”
That’s apparent in the growth of candidates. In 2009, there were four open semiconductor board positions and 10 candidates. In 2010 there was 1 open position and 9 candidates, while in 2011 there are 4 open positions and 16 candidates. In this year’s election there are 5 open positions for the semiconductor slots and 10 candidates, and 1 position in the value chain producer slot and 4 candidates.
How this will all play out is anyone’s guess, and losing or winning the election certainly doesn’t mean a company will do well or fail going forward. But in the world of business relationships, this is an easy “in,” and the number of votes cast is expected to be quite large by the time balloting ends in mid-February.
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