IPC Rebrands as Global Electronics Association: Interview With Dr. John W. Mitchell

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Today, following a major announcement, IPC is embracing the rapid advancement of technology with a bold decision to change its name to the Global Electronics Association. This name more accurately reflects the full breadth of its work and the modern realities of electronics manufacturing.

In this exclusive interview, IPC President and CEO Dr. John W. Mitchell shares the story behind the rebrand: Why now, what it means for the industry, and how it aligns with the organization’s mission. The new Global Electronics Association, he says, has an unwavering commitment to its members. “This is about doing more on behalf of the industry and really leaning into what’s happening.”

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Marcy LaRont: John, it's great to talk to you as always. This is an exciting time for our industry and for IPC. The announcement has just been made that IPC has changed its name to the Global Electronics Association. IPC was founded in 1957. In that time, the electronics manufacturing industry has changed so much. It sometimes feels like another universe. It seems the name reflects that. But John, what is the why behind this important shift and what all went into making this important decision?

John Mitchell: Thanks Marcy. Thanks for having me as well. As you say, the world has changed so much in the last seven decades. Even the shift in electronics or technology over the last just one decade has changed so much. And so, IPC has changed and grown to serve our members over this nearly seven decades.

I feel like the new name, Global Electronics Association, really reflects the work we do among all of the industry sub-sectors today. It's not just about boards. It's not just about one subsector. You really need an entire system to be effective. It's OEMs and primes. It's the semiconductor subsector, it's the EMS sub-sector, the harness sub-sector, the PCB subsector, the material subsector, the equipment subsector—all these folks are members of IPC and now members of the Global Electronics Association.

So, we worked with our global board of directors, which represents that industry to make this important change. Really, this allows us to be the voice. We've always acted as that, and so, as the voice of the electronics industry, we're expanding upon the great work we've done over the last several decades as IPC to better represent the electronics industry around the world.

We're championing our members through advocacy efforts that ensure access to global supply chains and encourage capital investment in regional manufacturing, additional industry intelligence, and data. Elevating our communications to ensure greater understanding and discussion about the importance of the electronics industry and the importance that the industry has to literally every other industry and to all nations.

LaRont: That is so true. Was there a point in time where you and your executive staff said, “IPC doesn't reflect who we are, who we've become, and we need to make a change?”

Mitchell: It wasn't necessarily something specific that happened, but as we talk with our members every day, as we talk with media or government officials every day, it became apparent that IPC as a nomenclature really wasn't representing what we were doing for the industry and for our members very well. Too often, if I ask people who know IPC, “What is IPC?” They says, “You’re the board association.” I'm like, “Well, yeah, we're that, and we serve all these other sub-sectors as well.” Too often within industry, the history tended to just narrow who they thought of us as.

Similarly, because IPC, the three letters, actually don't stand for anything anymore,

when we meet with government officials or media, we'd spend a lot of time trying to explain who we are. As we talked with the board of directors on this, we talked about who we really are today and who we will be tomorrow, what we're going to do differently. The Global Electronics Association really encapsulates that whole ecosystem.

Yes, we'll continue to do IPC standards. We'll continue to provide IPC certifications and do all the training that we've been doing. But in addition, we're doing things that we haven't really done on an expanded basis in the past. We've done some advocacy. We're enhancing our advocacy efforts. The world today demands it. Our industry demands it. Our members really need that in order to be successful in the businesses they're going. So, we're investing in that. We're investing in industry intelligence. We've been working with it, but now we're going to do more so that businesses can make better decisions. They can do that critical analysis with better information as they go forward. And then communications.

Every industry uses electronics, whether it's agriculture, AI, automotive, aerospace—insert an industry here. All of us, all of those industries, rely on electronics for their innovation, for their sustainability, for all of the things that help them grow and improve as they go forward.

Those are opportunities for our industry to become a more prominent player, for other industries to recognize, "Hey, we need to be having our electronic strategy as well." And so all of that. So yes, we're continuing to do the great work we've done, but we're also doing more and, different things to help the industry and our members continue to grow and thrive .

LaRont: What would you most want the industry at large, and then of course current IPC members, to know from you about this change? Change is hard. There are always different reactions to things, but what would you most hope that our members can take away from this?

Mitchell: You know, we've talked with members about this change to becoming the Global Electronics Association, and frankly, at the beginning, I was worried people wouldn't get it. That just hasn't happened. As we've talked with industry leader after industry leader, after industry leader, they're all like, “This makes perfect sense. This is exactly who you are. This is exactly going to allow us to be everything that we we've been talking about.” You know, I've been in the electronics industry for pretty much my entire career, and the changes this industry has experienced over the last several decades are astounding, and we need to be flexible to respond to those similar changes that we're gonna experience over the next several decades as well.

So, we've changed our vision. We encapsulated it before as Build Electronics Better. We've expanded it now so it's Better Electronics for a Better World. It's not just about manufacturing, it's about helping the world through electronics and expanding. It's a broader, more encompassing vision because, frankly, electronics are one of the most significant economic and capability factors to every single industry in the world.

LaRont: John, you've been the leader of IPC for 13 years.

Mitchell: For 13 years. Can you believe it?

LaRont: I think seems like just yesterday, right?

Mitchell: It feels like I just started.

LaRont: You have been the impetus behind a lot of expansion, globally, around standards and certifications, and advocacy. Now we've got the Global Electronics Association. What do you want your legacy to be?

Mitchell: This is absolutely a natural progression. Let's rewind for a minute. We're known for our roots, our legacy, and our history. We're dedicated to standards and certifications.

That's still going to exist and we're still going to lean into that. These are foundational to having a harmonized global supply chain, rounding the industry with a unified set of practices that ensure electronics are both effective as well as reliable. We've watched the global growth of the industry across new technologies and into new countries and regions.

So, as an association, we are committed to our members, the industry, and we recognize the need to be working with them, supporting them, and providing resources, data, and insights that ensure their success and growth. If anything, this is the legacy of the association, built by the members for the members, and will better allow our industry to work with governments as well as other partners.

LaRont: Very well said. John, as we wrap up, do you have any closing thoughts or words of wisdom around the now Global Electronics Association?

Mitchell: The electronics industry is defined by change. It's always changing, and because of that, there are always challenges. We are here to help the industry meet the challenges that don't squarely fall on their doorstep, or that, by collaborating together, we can do better together.

Standards falls into this. Certification falls into this. Developing a workforce falls into this. Meeting new needs of things like sustainability or advanced packaging and how do we take these higher technologies and put them into more and more complex systems and do so efficiently and effectively?

We just need to recognize that the world's always going to be changing and so this association with it, under a new name as the Global Electronics Association, will allow us as the representation and the voice of the electronics industry to better help the industry meet those changes and challenges together.

LaRont: Thank you. John Mitchell, CEO of the Global Electronics Association, formerly IPC. Very exciting news and I look forward to everything that comes next.

Mitchell: Thank you, Marcy. Appreciate the opportunity.