Director Recruitment Committee

Director Recruitment Guidelines

Number of Directors

 

There are currently eight (8) Directors, and the Bylaws permit a maximum of fifteen (15) Directors.  Given the general Director election process described below, the Board of Directors agreed to increase the Director positions from eight (8) to (11).

 

Staggered Term

 

ABO’s Bylaws require that half of the initial Directors serve a term of one (1) year (“1-Year Directors”), and half will serve a term of two (2) years (“2-Year Directors”) so that the election of future directors will be staggered.  May 15th, 2009 is the end of the first term.  The Bylaws provide that the current Directors will determine who will be designated a 1-Year Director either by unanimous consent, or if unanimous consent cannot be obtained, by a form of lottery acceptable to a majority of the Directors (i.e. pick straws).  Those designated 1-Year Directors may be considered for re-election to a new two-year term according to the process detailed below.

 

As the number of Director positions has increased from eight (8) to eleven (11), six (6) of the initial Directors may be designated 2-Year Directors.  As a result, only two (2) initial Directors need be designated 1-Year Directors and seek re-election if desired.  These two (2) 1-Year Directors, when combined with the three (3) open positions, will result in the election of five (5) Directors in 2009, thereby resulting in a staggered Board.

 

General Director Election Process

 

The Bylaws grant all Members of the ABO the right to vote for Directors, except in the special case of a vacancy on the Board due to resignation, incapacity, or death of an existing Director or if new Director positions are created, in which case, the Board may fill these vacant positions by appointment (a Director appointed to fill a vacancy serve out the predecessor's term). The Board will determine whether an election of Directors will be held in-person at the annual meeting, by mail ballot, or by electronic transmission.  The general process for electing Directors is summarized below:

 

• Director Recruitment Committee Recommendations.  The Director Recruitment Committee shall recommend nominees to the Board.  The number of nominees recommended to the board by the Director Recruitment Committee shall be no less than the number of Directors to be elected multiplied by 1.50 and rounded up to the nearest whole number.  Requiring more candidates than there are Director positions ensures that the Board has choice in putting forth a slate of nominees to the Members and more importantly the Membership has choice.  NOTE:  Fewer nominees may be recommended to the Board only if, after repeated solicitations to the Membership, a sufficient number of Members do not express interest by the close of self-nominations established by the Director Recruitment Committee to satisfy this minimum number.  Deadline:  The Bylaws require this to occur no later than eight (8) weeks prior to the date set for counting ballots unless another date is established by the Board for a specific year by resolution. 

• Board Nomination.  After receiving the recommendations of the Director Recruitment Committee, the Board shall select nominees for submission to the Members for election as Directors.  The number of nominees that the Board shall submit to Members shall be no fewer than the number of Directors to be elected multiplied by 1.50 and rounded up to the nearest whole number.  Again, requiring more candidates than there are Director positions ensures that the Membership has choice.  NOTE:  Fewer nominees may be submitted by the Board to the Members only if, after repeated solicitations to the Membership, a sufficient number of Members do not express interest by the close of self-nominations established by the Director Recruitment Committee to satisfy this minimum number.    Deadline:  The Bylaws do not set a specific date; however, Board nomination must occur in-time to meet the deadline for mailing ballots.

• Ballots.  The Bylaws require that a written ballot to be delivered to each Member.  Each ballot shall set forth the names of the Board’s nominees and will provide an opportunity to vote for the nominees pursuant to the principles of cumulative voting, a description of which shall be included on the ballot.  All solicitations for votes shall also indicate the number of responses required to satisfy quorum requirements and specify the time by which a ballot must be received by the ABO in order to be counted.  Deadline:  The Bylaws require a ballot to be delivered to each member at least two (2) weeks (but no longer than four (4) weeks) prior to the date set for counting ballots.

• Quorum for Electing Directors.  The election of any nominee as a Director shall be valid only after a number of Members (or their designated proxies) have cast ballots constituting a quorum (1/10th of the Membership as of the record date). 

• Action by Members – Who is Elected.  That number of nominees corresponding to the number of Directors who received the most votes shall be elected as Directors.  In other words, if five (5) Director positions are the subject of the election and there are eight (8) candidates (see the 1.5 requirement set forth above), those five (5) receiving the most votes are elected.

• Taking Office.  Those newly-elected (or re-elected) Directors shall take office on May 16.

Profile of Initial Board 

• Research and academia
• Fuel End User
• Developers
• Financial services and private equity
• U.S.A. dominated representation

 Requirements for Consideration

 

Applicants must be individual members (at a minimum) of the ABO to be considered.  ABO Membership: http://www.algalbiomass.org/about/  Applicants must be capable of: 1) serving in a trade organization whose purpose includes the influence of public policy and 2) committing 2-4 hours per week in an unpaid position.  Minimal unpaid travel may be required. 

 

Contact

 

            Elizabeth Willett, Recruitment Committee Chair

           

            Dr. Philip Pienkos, ABO Director

          

            Mr. Mark Allen, ABO Director