High-tech association executive leaving job
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, July 26, 2006
SEATTLE – The head of Washington state’s largest technology association will step down at the end of the year, saying she’s accomplished what she wanted in 12 years at the WSA.
As president and chief executive officer of the WSA, known years ago as the Washington Software Alliance, Kathy Wilcox has helped the high-tech industry establish itself as a political force and raised its public profile.
Wilcox, 61, noted that when she took the WSA’s reins in 1994, tech companies tended to be much more centered around Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters. Downtown Seattle’s most notable CEOs headed banks, insurance companies and other traditional companies.
“Everyone thought of technology as being an Eastside enterprise,” she said.
That’s not the case anymore, as tech companies have sprouted and grown up since then in downtown Seattle and the greater Puget Sound area. The tech industry’s contribution to the state economy now outstrips that of the Boeing Co.
During her tenure, Wilcox said, the nonprofit group also has gotten more sophisticated about pressing its issues in Olympia and in Washington, D.C. The state’s tech industry even has worked to raise its profile internationally.
Overall, the WSA’s membership includes more than 1,000 companies, which translates into more than 50,000 employees.
“It’s so exceeded what I thought we’d accomplish. I think I’m leaving a good legacy, which feels good,” Wilcox said.
Michele Vivona, chairwoman of the WSA board of directors, said the nationwide search for a new CEO has begun. The group hopes to have that person named by the time Wilcox leaves.
With a variety of previous law and business experience, Wilcox said she hasn’t plotted what to do next. She sits on a number of public, private and nonprofit boards.
“We’re not using the ‘R’ word,” Wilcox said, referring to retirement, which is the one thing she’s decided she’s not ready to do.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or f etters@heraldnet.com.
