by Bernie Murphy

It's Time

At the December Board meeting, I shared my intentions to retire as the PIRE CEO in early 2020. I will be 70 in April 2020 and have decided it is time. It is hard for me to believe that this journey is entering the 11th year. I have grown with the challenges and have built and enhanced profound professional and personal relationships. Today is not goodbye for me, but the beginning of a transition to the next phase of PIRE’s continuing evolution.

Board Chair Dick Clayton (see his article in this issue) and I have set in motion the preparatory work of the PIRE Board, which is responsible for hiring the next CEO. I intend to work closely with Dick and the Board to ensure a smooth transition.

Also at the December Board meeting, two new outside Directors were elected: Henrick Harwood and Jody Sindelar. The December meeting was also the first meeting for Pebbles Fagan, an outside Director. See the new Directors’ profiles in this issue of PIRE News. Matt Courser and Al Stein-Seroussi were elected to continue their service as Staff Directors for an additional three years. PIRE will have a full Board in 2018 with three of the seven outside Directors being new to PIRE. We also shared our deep appreciation to two parting outside Directors who have each served eight years on the PIRE Board—Harold Holder and Brian O’Neill. Thank you, gentlemen, for your service.

By sharing my intentions in advance, it is our plan to have the Board spend 2018 conducting a deep-dive into PIRE—learning about our rich history of work, our processes, culture, and traditions. PIRE is a unique, flat organization with six locations (Centers) across the country—an organizational structure that is not easily understood. A critical part of PIRE’s tradition, clearly stated in the “PIRE Principles and Standards of Internal Governance,” will be involving Staff. Specifically, I anticipate the Board will want to know how Staff view PIRE, the strengths and challenges, what PIRE should become, as well as the role of the CEO going forward. Opportunities for Board–Staff interaction and Staff input are being planned.

At the April 2018 Board meeting, the Center Directors will participate with the Board in a series of discussion groups. In July, the Board will travel to Oakland to meet with PRC Staff and learn about PRC’s portfolio, including the NIAAA Center Grant. Additional meetings are being considered as we involve Staff across PIRE in this process.

As PIRE enters this next phase of its 44-year history, we are in a strong position to support this transition.

1. Paul Gruenwald and the PRC Team recently secured the NIAAA Center Grant for 5 more years. (Read more in this PIRE News spotlight.)
2. The VA contract, David Rychener (PI), is in Year 3 of 5 years and very early discussions have started on a follow-on contract.
3. The InBev Foundation Award, Ted Miller and Chris Ringwalt (Co-PIs), is in place for 3+ years with additional follow-on awards pending.
4. We have multiple other awards and many proposals under review that contribute to our projection for 2018 revenues to continue a positive trend.
5. PIRE Net Assets exceed $6 million, a 52% increase since 2008.
6. Finally, all leases are short term (4 years or less, including early opt out options.)

Most importantly, PIRE has many younger Staff, our most important resource, who are competing and winning. We have strong support Staff in the Central Business Office, led by Gary Klig, our CFO. I also want to affirm my commitment to continuing to fulfill PIRE’s mission, increasing our revenues, containing expenses, and seeking new Staff to join PIRE.

The process the Board is about to undertake will sharpen their understanding and appreciation of the work you do. In anticipation of your contributions to this process, thank you. Additional details will be forthcoming. In the meantime, I would be glad to answer any questions you might have.