Karen Evans, Ira Hobbs among those running for IAC executive committee seats

With nine candidates competing for as few as six positions on the Industry Advisory Council’s executive committee, among those who stood out at a membership meeting on May 25 were two former appointees in the George W. Bush administration: Karen Evans, former administrator for e-government and information technology at the General Services Administration, and Ira Hobbs, former chief information officer for the Treasury Department.

Seven candidates and two representatives for absent candidates each made three-minute statements at the meeting.

Hobbs, now a consultant, was one of the first to speak, invoking the council’s “lofty goals” and his own personality. “You know me. I have a passion for dealing with people,” he said.

Evans, who is a partner in a small business, immediately followed, jokingly saying that “my Number One rule is to never follow Ira Hobbs. I am voting for Ira Hobbs,” she added.

Several candidates mentioned the limitations of the three-minute speech. “I’m a Southerner,” said Crouse Powell, a director of Accenture. “Three minutes is difficult for us.”

In addition, Judy Douglas, client industry executive with HP Enterprise Services and Dale Luddeke, executive vice president of corporate business for development for CACI, are the two candidates for the position of council executive vice chair.