A global bookshelf – COVER STORY

Institutions have, traditionally, been dry and dusty affairs run specifically for the benefit of their members. It’s not without good reason that parallels have been drawn between institutions and ‘gentlemen’s clubs’. But times change and so too do institutions as they struggle to reinvent themselves in a fashion that makes them relevant. The institution serving the electronics industry has undergone radical change in the last few years. Once the Institution of Electrical Engineers, the organisation has evolved – broadening its horizons considerably along the way – to become the Institution of Engineering Technology (IET). And in a radical move designed to maintain – and even increase – this pace of change, the IET has appointed Robin McGill, a widely experienced businessman and Chartered Engineer, as its latest chief executive. “I’m not an insider,” said McGill, who rose within the ranks of the BP group to manage its Grangemouth refinery complex in Scotland. Having retired from that position, McGill was looking for something to occupy him. “I like the IET and I like this opportunity. The IET has huge ambitions and considerable resources and has already made strategic moves.”