Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) CEO Scott Belcher is going to step down at the end of the year as the industry organization crafts plans for a new leadership team.
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Incoming TIA Board Chairman David Heard will take on the role of interim CEO starting on December 1. Heard is a telecommunications industry veteran who has served as TIA's vice chairman for the past two years.
A 25-year telecom industry veteran, Heard previously spent time in executive roles at Viavi, BigBand Networks and Alcatel-Lucent.
TIA said that a national search for a permanent CEO has already begun.
Belcher became TIA's CEO in 2014. Besides working to provide more visibility for TIA’s annual trade show, which traces its roots back to the Supercomm show, Belcher served as an advocate for various telecom industry issues such as the ongoing TDM to IP transition, net neutrality and the FCC’s review of special access services.
Prior to coming to TIA, Belcher had most recently served as the president and CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America).
Earlier, Belcher held senior management positions at a number of prominent trade associations, worked in private practice at the law firm of Beveridge & Diamond PC, and at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Mark Walker, TIA’s current board chairman, said in a release that Belcher “helped the organization establish a strong operational foundation and strategic plan from which to grow” and “we will seek a new leader with strong industry knowledge and technology background.”
It appears that the transition of TIA’s leadership is part of the organization’s strategic plan for the coming year that it says will “accelerate our members’ business growth through policy, technology, innovation enablement and business connections.”