05/10/2021
CIBO Announces Alex Stoddard as New Exec Director, Replacing Long-Time Leader Bob Bessette
Washington, D.C. – The Council of Industrial Boiler Owners (CIBO) today announced that Alex Stoddard will replace long-time head Bob Bessette as its Executive Director. Bessette, who has led CIBO for 27 years, will formally retire as Stoddard takes the helm.
“Alex has incredibility big shoes to fill,” said CIBO’s Chairman Fred Fendt. “Bob has been a great friend, steady fixture and strong voice for CIBO in Washington. CIBO has a well-earned reputation as an important source for high-quality, knowledgeable and unbiased information pertaining to industrial boilers and industrial energy more broadly because of Bob’s leadership.”
“But now is a perfect inflection point as we face aggressive long term carbon reduction goals,” he added. “With Alex in charge, CIBO will maintain its focus on the importance of sustainability and carbon management in the industrial energy space, offering technology expertise toward practical solutions with respect to manufacturing power needs.”
Stoddard brings extensive experience to CIBO as a long-time government relations professional in Washington representing private sector/U.S. manufacturing, including 18 years representing a packaging and specialty chemicals company MeadWestvaco (now WestRock). Prior to that, he also worked at the American Forest & Paper Association. In addition, Stoddard has a number of years of service in government, including working on Capitol Hill and most recently at the Department of Commerce, where he served as Director of Legislative & Intergovernmental Affairs for the International Trade Administration.
As CIBO’s new Executive Director, Stoddard is working to enhance its policy engagement efforts, while steadfastly maintaining the organization’s technology-focused and solutions-oriented approach to key energy and environmental policy issues of importance to CIBO’s membership.
“I am honored to follow the outstanding service of Bob Bessette here at CIBO, and I look forward to identifying and applying CIBO’s voice to current and future energy-related challenges,” Stoddard said. “As government policymakers continue to advance initiatives advocating a decarbonized energy future, a huge on-going challenge will be to craft policies that assure the future competitiveness and viability of U.S. manufacturing.”
The Council of Industrial Boiler Owners, a 501c(6) trade association, is dedicated to ensuring that its membership, consisting of non-utility industrial, commercial and institutional energy producers, can continue to provide safe, cost-effective and reliable energy system solutions.
