Delivering the message of value: as Thomas L. Evans steps into the FEI Canada chairmanship role for 2005-6, he's anticipating reaching out to more new members and adding his record to the legacy of leaders that have come before him.

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: Fei chairs

As Thomas L. Evans begins his term as FEI Canada Chair for 2005-6, he's reflective on the value of FEI membership to him throughout his career.

"Working in an industry with its own association, one can easily become too focused on practices in that industry and the problems it alone faces," he says.

A member for 18 years, Evans believes that FEI has provided him the ability to think outside the box and access information from a broad spectrum of financial executives, "by having this organization that I can tap into, it gave me a perspective outside the industry I was working in, and helped me bring more value to the companies I've worked with."

Thus, as Evans assumes the leadership role, he anticipates working with the board and membership to make a contribution, which he hopes will be significant, in bringing FEI's message to a broader base throughout Canada. He's particularly interested in targeting more small and private company financial executives for membership.

"FEI has been historically an organization focused towards the larger public companies," says Evans. In Canada, he explains, significant growth is coming from smaller private companies that eventually grow larger. "CFOs and financial leaders of those organizations are also very busy and resource constrained, and would benefit a great deal from FEI membership because of the support, knowledge and networking opportunities it provides to help them do a better job," he says.

While not all the details for reaching that market have been worked out, Evans says it will include participating through the Web. "If people can't attend a chapter meeting, they can at least be connected through the Internet," and FEIC has to develop a plan to clearly define how to reach those prospects to make them aware of FEI's value, he says.

Recruiting, Evans believes, is likely the same in the U.S. as it is in Canada, with a lot of it done by personal contact. For those who are not familiar with FEI, it's "a matter of delivering to them the message of the value it can bring and inviting them to come on as a member to benefit from the experience," he says.

Early on, Evans learned a lesson that he says has stayed with him for his 35-year career thus far. Having been involved in a number of deals involving acquisitions and divestitures, he says, he learned to "never assume that it's done until everything is, in fact, completed and implemented. That includes dogged follow-up and assuring that all the things...