'In a long blink of an eye'.

• Author: Twinem, Carita R.
• Position: Tax Executive Institute - President's page

It seems only a few short months ago that I received the President's gavel and pin from my colleague and predecessor, David Penney, and embarked on my presidential term. So it is truly hard to believe that I have now passed those symbols of leadership to my good friend and successor, Teri Wielenga, and have entered the PIP ranks.

But what happened during that long "blink of an eye?"

I had the opportunity to work with an unparalleled group of committed leaders, members and staff to help develop and advance my Members First strategy, a plan to enhance TEI's transparency, strengthen its voice on behalf of membership and better ensure diversity among our leadership ranks. I chose this theme for two key reasons; first, because it logically built on the yeoman work undertaken by the Vision 20/20 and Global Tax Advocacy task forces and second, because it focused emphasis on the life blood of TEI--its members--in a transition year, where losing sight of our members, among all the surrounding challenges and change, would have been detrimental to our future. Paying careful attention to the evolving needs of both rising and seasoned tax executives was--and remains--our true raison d'etre.

In the Governance and Management area, two key efforts stand out, one complete, the other in progress. The work led by Katrina Welch to revise the Institute's diversity policies and procedures was outstanding and provides a roadmap to better ensure that the diversity of our membership is better reflected in our chapter, regional and Institute leadership.

An even broader undertaking is well underway to examine key issues in the structure of our Board, the role and participation of our Regional leadership, the manner in which our nominating procedures operate, and ensuring the financial strength of our organization for the future. These efforts are being spearheaded by Teri Wielenga, Sandy Macfarlane and Mark Silbiger, on whose respective presidential watches the resulting recommendations will be considered and evaluated, and, if approved, ultimately implemented.

TEI's brand has now been extended to its fourth continent, with the establishment of a chapter-in-formation in Latin America. Over the years, after several fits and starts, the growing prominence of the Latin American economies, most notably, Brazil, and Argentina, among others, pointed to the need for TEI to establish a presence there to begin to serve the educational, networking and advocacy needs of the...