The voting membership of IEEE annually elects officers that serve on the top-tier IEEE governing bodies. The candidates are drawn from recommendations made by divisional and regional nominating committees, as well as candidates nominated by petition. In addition, the names will include candidates for positions in the IEEE Standards Association, IEEE Technical Activities, and IEEE-USA. The election started on August 2, 2017 and ends on October 2, 2017. More detailed information can be found on the web site (from which the information below originates): http://www.ieee.org/elections

IEEE PES Election

Upon the vote for IEEE PES slate of candidates for officers at January meeting of the Governing Board, the 2017 candidates have published their biosketches and candidate statements on IEEE web site: http://site.ieee.org/pes-enews/2017/03/15/pes-elections-2/

Since beginning of August, the voting membership of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) has the opportunity to elect our future leadership. The offices of PES President Elect, PES Treasurer and PES Secretary for 2018 – 2019 will be decided.

The candidates have had an opportunity to present their vision statements in person at the 2017 IEEE PES General Meeting in Chicago, during the Opening Plenary Session of the conference, where each presented 5 minute speeches (their presentations can be viewed at https://www.ieee-pes.org/2017-pes-elections

The candidates for IEEE PES elected positions also met with conference attendees during the “Meet the Candidates” event in the evening of the opening day.

IEEE PES election is an important event in the process of shaping our future. While our candidates are not diametrally opposed to each other in their views of the path forward for our Society, in order to continue the successful progress of the past several years, it is necessary that the candidates’ statements resonate well with the members.

Our strength comes from the immense power of volunteerism applied to advancing our profession, creating a nurturing and networking environment for all of our members worldwide. By doing so, we are investing in the next generation of IEEE PES members and supporting our unwavering commitment to the diversity among our ranks. While all of these values are present in all of the candidates’ statements, the nuances among them, their personalities, as well as their broadly varying experiences can lead to very different paths forward.

Elected officers help define our Society. As an organization that values diversity, we are looking for leaders who represent and encompass differing backgrounds based on race, ethnicity, age, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, appearance, geography, and professional status. As members of the second largest society of the largest professional association of electrical engineers in the world, our votes are important and represents not only the endorsement of the candidates themselves, but also support for the open and democratic process through which we elect our leaders. I would like to strongly encourage you to exercise your right and duty to vote for the next generation of IEEE PES leaders!

M.M. Begovic