APS board of directors reboots executive director search

The American Philatelic Society’s board of directors is adopting a new strategy in its effort to hire a new APS executive director.

During a board meeting conducted Sept. 9 over the telephone, APS President Stephen Reinhard proposed the creation of a temporary committee to select a professional executive search firm to assist in the board’s effort to find candidates for the position.

Calling the process “the second iteration of the E.D. search,”Reinhard nominated APS Vice President Mick Zais, a member of the society’s Secure the Future Committee, to head the new search committee, reporting to Reinhard.

Zais has extensive nonprofit experience, Reinhard told the board.

“I think he is the perfect person to lead the committee,” he said.

The new search committee will be different from the APS Personnel Committee, Reinhard explained, but the Personnel Committee will remain involved in the process.

As reported in Linn’s issue of Feb. 10, the Secure the Future Committee recommended to the APS board that a new executive director be hired. The committee further recommended that the new position of APS chief operating officer be created, and that current Executive Director Ken Martin be offered that position.

The APS board agreed, voting in late January to look for a new executive director.

APS Immediate Past President Wade Saadi told Linn’s in July that some candidates for the position had been interviewed, but that the board planned to continue its search.

Some funds to cover the cost of hiring a search firm have been raised privately, Reinhard told the board, and efforts are underway to secure additional funding.

However, if a firm is hired, it is possible the society will have to pay some of the cost, Reinhard cautioned.

The motion to appoint Zais to lead the search committee was made by Saadi, seconded by Director-at-Large Dan Walker, and approved by the board.

Asked when he thought the board would be presented with a candidate ready to confirm for the position, Reinhard told the board that he would like to see the process of selecting a search firm, interviewing candidates and hiring a new executive director concluded within the next few months.

“We certainly would like to have this person in place by the end of the year,” Reinhard said.