World Future Society Elects New President: Timothy C. Mack

Tim Mack has succeeded Ed Cornish, the organization's founder, as president effective June 6, 2004.

(PRWEB) June 12, 2004 -- The World Future Society's Board of Directors has chosen Timothy C. Mack as the Society's new president.

Mack succeeds long-time president Edward Cornish effective June 7. The Society, whose headquarters are in Bethesda, Maryland, is the world's largest association of people interested in studies of the future.

A lawyer, Mack is a member of the New York and District of Columbia bars. He has been serving as editor of the Society's scholarly journal Futures Research Quarterly. Cornish, the Society's founder, will continue with the Society as a member of its board and editor of its magazine THE FUTURIST.

Cornish said the selection of Mack is a significant step in the development of the Society, adding: "Tim's proven abilities and relevant experience ensure that the Society will have outstanding leadership during the coming years."

Mack is taking the helm of both the Society and its new Future Generations Fund, which will provide resources, tools, and training for children and youth. In addition, he will assist the Society in tracking trends which affect a range of new constituencies, from municipalities to ethnic minorities.

Like the field of foresight, Mack's background is broad and eclectic. He has served as General Counsel for a number of nonprofit groups involved in trend analysis, social dynamics, and public policy. After holding research positions at the J.F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and the National Academy of Sciences, Mack joined the Budget Policy Task Force of the U.S. General Accounting Office, which serves as the analytical arm of the U.S. Congress.

As a change consultant, Mack has assisted the U.S. General Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense in developing strategic planning and change management strategies for such challenges as privatization of public services, Superfund cleanup and transportation planning. In addition, he
has managed global trade issues at the local, state, federal, and even global areas, working with clients in each continent including serving as leading trainer for the Institute for Global Chinese Affairs (ranked number one by the Foreign Experts Bureau in Beijing).

Mack will chair the Society's annual conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, D.C., July 30-August 1, 2004. At the same conference, the Society will launch Cornish's new book Futuring: The Exploration of the Future, a book that explains how people can anticipate future developments and plan their futures using techniques refined in recent decades by scientists and scholars.

The Board also elected two new members, Arnold Brown and Jack Gottsman. Brown is chairman of Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc., a New York-based management consulting firm specializing in trend analysis and the management of change. Gottsman, an engineer and businessperson by training, is president of the Clarity Group, a venture capital and strategic consulting group in Atherton, California.

Kenneth W. Hunter and Dennis Pirages were chosen to be the new co-chairs of the Board. Hunter is director of professional programs at the University of Maryland's Institute for Global Chinese Affairs. Pirages, also at the University of Maryland, is Harrison Professor of International Environmental Politics.

The new co-chairs replace William E. Halal, a professor of management at George Washington University, who has served as acting chairman of the board for the past several years. Halal led the Society through the transition with the assistance of Vice President Kenneth W. Harris.

The search for a new president began in the spring of 2003 when the board appointed a search committee headed by Clement J. Bezold, president of the Institute for Alternative Futures in Alexandria, Virginia. Other members of the search committeee included Halal and Marvin J. Cetron, president of Forecasting International in Falls Church, Virginia.

Graham T.T. Molitor, the Society's general counsel and one of its two vice-presidents, announced his retirement. A public policy analyst as well as a lawyer, Molitor long resided in Potomac, Maryland, but moved recently to Lafayette, Pennsylvania, where he is completing several books dealing with public policy issues and the longer-term future.

The World Future Society, a nonprofit scientific and educational association with 25,000 members in 80 nations, provides a variety of services for people interested in trends, forecasts, and ideas about the future. Besides publishing three print periodicals and an e-mail newsletter, the Society holds conferences and has a network of more than 100 chapters and representatives around the world.

Press contact:
Clifton Coles
tel 301/656-8274
fax 301/951-0394
ccoles@wfs.org