New appointments at ZigBee Alliance

USA: The ZigBee Alliance, a global ecosystem of organizations creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, residential, commercial and consumer applications, announced that Bob Heile has assumed the new role of chairman Emeritus and chief technologist with Tobin Richardson being selected by the ZigBee Alliance board of directors to assume the role of chairman and CEO, previously held by Heile.

The move allows the Alliance to maximize its presence by having two strong, proven leaders advocating for ZigBee in the global marketplace.

Heile will represent ZigBee Alliance technical interests among other standards organizations and will continue to evangelize its merits on the global stage. Heile felt it was time to change roles after managing the day-to-day operations of the Alliance for the past 10 years.

Heile was a driving force behind the creation of the Alliance and served as the CEO since it was formed with just 15 members in 2002. During his tenure, he guided its growth into the worldwide success that it is today with over 400 members who have produced more than a dozen ZigBee standards and specifications that have spawned nearly 700 ZigBee Certified products.

“On behalf of the ZigBee Alliance Board of Directors, I want to personally thank Bob Heile for his outstanding contributions that have propelled ZigBee to its leadership position today,” said Ed Eckert, chairman of the board, ZigBee Alliance. “We’re very grateful that he will continue using his considerable talents towards furthering the Alliance’s mission of using ZigBee wireless technology to give everyone more control of their world.”

Since 2008, Richardson served the Alliance as the Director of Smart Energy. He has skillfully assisted numerous utilities, regulators, standards groups and companies considering how best to implement Smart Grid programs using ZigBee Smart Energy. ZigBee Smart Energy remains the first and only widely available advanced metering infrastructure standard and under Richardson’s leadership, has seen its adoption grow to over 50 million meters globally.

“For years, Tobin Richardson played a critical and effective role in advancing the success of ZigBee in the Smart Grid,” continued Eckert. “Through these efforts, Tobin has proven himself to be a resourceful and strategic leader capable of working with key stakeholders anywhere. The Board believes this makes Tobin ideal to lead the ZigBee Alliance into its next decade.”