PROVIDENCE – In the latest move to unite the technology industry’s formerly disparate trade groups, the AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) have started talks to merge their organizations’ memberships and programs.
In the eyes of the boards of directors of both associations, a merger could give the technology industry a stronger voice in policy debates and a higher profile in the business community.
“Together, we would be the national technology association, unrivaled in size and clout,” declared Hank Steninger, the ITAA’s chairman and a managing partner at Grant Thornton International, the accounting and consulting firm. “With a new administration and Congress on the horizon in Washington, it’s critical for the industry to present a united front.”
Deirdre Hanford, AeA’s chairman and a senior vice president at Synopsys Inc., agreed. “Convergence, consolidation and the change brewing in Washington require us to speak with a louder, clearer voice,” she said in a statement.
“ITAA’s robust public-sector offerings would make a perfect fit for our programs in the government marketplace, and it offers signature commercial programs that would bolster our leadership there,” added AeA Vice Chairman Peter J. Boni, the president and CEO of Safeguard Scientifics Inc.
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ITAA Vice Chairman Gene Glazar said the benefits of a merger would include the combination of AeA’s successful commercial programs and the ITAA’s commercial public policy team. The groups said they also have complementary relationships with other groups in the United States and abroad.
The AeA, founded in 1943, describes itself as “the nation’s largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry.”
The ITAA, which merged last spring with the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association, has 350 corporate members.
Additional information is available from the American Electronics Association (AeA) at www.AeAnet.org and the The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) at itaa.org.
