1. Explain why you should serve as a president of IEEE?
I am a catalyst of change, engineer, and a technical leader. I am persistent in goals, innovative in strategies, and inclusive in execution. I work at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, in the heart of Silicon Valley, and I am very well connected to academia and government. I regularly present to CEOs/CTOs.
I am an author, inventor and, organizer (co-chair IC2E(2019), Infrastructure(2018); on editorial boards (Internet Computing; Transactions on Cloud); Rebooting Computing Initiative co-chair). This enables me to understand our membership needs.
My global background enables me to recognize global issues. I grew up in Europe (Belgrade) and received my Ph.D. in Germany. I worked on the US East Coast (Cambridge, MA), and West Coast (Palo Alto, CA). I worked with and managed teams in Brazil, China, India, Puerto Rico, and Singapore.
Over the past three years, I Chaired the Industry Engagement Ad Hoc Committee, creating a portfolio of products and services. I worked closely with all IEEE OUs and staff, truly representing one IEEE. I was one of only a few members of the IEEE Board of Directors to serve on the IEEE Executive Director Search Committee.
As an Audit committee chair, I managed organizational risks and learned financial intricacies of IEEE. On the Awards Board, I successfully led Awards engagement, sponsorship, and fundraising. On the New Initiatives Committee, I advocated entrepreneurship-based funding.
As the president of Computer Society, the largest in IEEE, I have demonstrated the ability to preside over a board of a similar size as the IEEE board. I am qualified, ready and motivated to lead the IEEE into the next decade.
2. Why do you want to be President of IEEE?
The world and IEEE are in the time of change, and this time of change calls for a change in the type of leadership. I am bringing thinking outside of the box and energy to deliver on these ideas. I am a very dynamic person, but I do stay on the course of action making sure we deliver. First and foremost, I think that IEEE at this time needs a creative person.
Second, I believe that I am very good at it. I have a rare combination of vision and ability to get things done; I am a researcher and practitioner; a person from industry who works closely with academia and government. Having grown up in Europe, spent 25 years in the US, and visited extensively in Asia and South America, I can understand the global needs of our members. All of this has proven over and over to be useful in a diverse environment such as IEEE.
Third, I find a lot of personal satisfaction in leadership positions at IEEE and I bring a lot of passion, which can be attested by those I worked with. In each case, I brought innovative solutions and I changed the landscape in some way (Computing Now, Tech Predictions, Infrastructure Conference, Confluence, and many other contributions). The impact I will be able to make at the presidential level will be even larger.
Fourth, I meet some additional requirements for an IEEE President. I have skills to align membership and drive organization behind the ambitious vision and compelling goals. I am a role model for our Young Professionals: strong technically, skilled organizationally, and driven by business needs. I am inclusive in execution, work exceptionally well with all Volunteers and Staff
Last but not least, it is time for an IEEE President with a strong technology background.
3. Whiteplain Section's President's forum
The Whiteplain Section is hosting a President's forum and as a part of it, they posed questions to candidates (http://www.ieeepresidentsforum.info/). Here are my answers: http://www.ieeepresidentsforum.info/dejan-s-answers. You can also download a PDF copy of my answers.
4. Computer Society Q&A.