Professor Edmund Burke FBCS CITP FORS FIMA Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Leicester
Thanks to everyone who participated in our presidential election. Our candidates ran an exciting campaign and we had an excellent response from our members. The final result is that Edmund Burke received 276 votes (70%) and is our new president-elect. Edmund will serve as president-elect for one year and president for two years (2020-2021), afterwards serving as a past president for a further year.
Commenting on his new appointment, Burke said: ‘Thank you to everyone who voted in the election and contributed to what I understand was a very healthy turn-out for a membership body of this size. I am delighted to have this opportunity to serve The OR Society as president and I look forward to working with current president John Hopes, the board and everyone at The OR Society over 2019 and into my 2020-2021 term’.
Current President of The OR Society John Hopes had this to say of the result:
'Given some of the key issues we face it will be extremely valuable having a president with Edmund’s talents, together with his high standing in the academic community. I would like to thank both candidates for having stood and for having contested a well-fought election. Having two such strong candidates, representing the diversity of the society, is a good demonstration of the vibrancy and passion of our membership. Both candidates were well supported and we appreciate the membership’s participation in our first presidential election in more than 30 years!'
The role of president is the most high profile and arguably most impactful non-executive position within The OR Society. This person serves as the voice of the society at public and internal events, chairs board meetings, leads the strategy and business planning process, ensures clarity of strategic direction and cultivates relationships with key individuals, other learned societies, industry and government.
We’ll be hearing more from Professor Burke in upcoming issues of Inside OR. In the meantime, please join us in welcoming him into his new role.