By Adrienne Meyer

I’m thrilled to be writing my first post to the membership!  As I am drafting this, Jose Rivera (the former CEO) is on his third consecutive RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, during which he will ride 500 miles over 7 days. Amazing.

Thank You, Jose

Since I started in this position on June 30, Jose has taken great care during our shared time here to ensure he has provided the information needed to build on the incredible work he has done for the association over the past decade. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with him, and I know that all of us associated with CSIA wish him the best in his next chapter.

2025 CSIA Conference

Even though I didn’t officially start in this role until June 30, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the entire 2025 CSIA Conference in San Diego in early June, and wow!  With every leap, there is always going to be some trepidation about whether it was the right thing to do, but almost immediately on arrival at the conference, any apprehension disappeared.

From l to r: Rosie McQuilkin, Brittany Smist, Christine McQuilkin, Adrienne Meyer

What I found was an engaging, curious, and passionate group of members who were overwhelmingly warm, welcoming, and kind.

I was impressed with the knowledge and breadth of the speakers, the genuine interactions I saw at the networking events, and the size of the expo, all tied together with polish by the staff. With 522 attendees, it was an impressive event!


About Me

During the conference, I was able to talk with several members, but if you weren’t one of them, let me introduce myself.

My name is Adrienne Meyer, and I am coming to CSIA from the overlapping worlds of industrial automation and association management.

For the two decades prior to joining CSIA, I worked for ODVA, a membership association and standards development organization that creates and manages a set of control network technologies. Through a progressive collection of roles there, I gained experience in pretty much every facet of managing an association, in addition to being immersed in the trends and challenges in industrial automation.

I have deep appreciation and love for both: industrial automation for the keen minds and cool applications I have seen, and associations for the power of collaboration and connection.

Go Blue!

For fun, I also enjoy bike riding (some things never change!), kayaking, traveling, reading speculative fiction, and attending any sporting event available. I’m a two-time graduate of the University of Michigan, and I wear my Maize and Blue proudly.

Luckily, I also live in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, area (home of the university and about 40 minutes from Detroit), so I’m able to take advantage of all the sports on offer here. If you’re in this area or come through, contact me!  I’d love to get together.

Upcoming Events

In addition, there are a range of upcoming CSIA activities at which we might meet. We will be exhibiting at Manufacturing in America on September 10 in Detroit, where you can talk with Lisa Richter and me at the CSIA table.

Two weeks later, CSIA is holding its Partner Meeting on September 23-24, right near the O’Hare airport in Chicago. This meeting is free and open to all members – SIs and partners alike – and is focused on discussing how CSIA can better serve its members. Like all CSIA events, it will provide lots of opportunities to network. Besides these events, we are working on plans for more activities over the next few months in both North and Latin America. Watch for announcements on the CSIA website, calendar and LinkedIn page where we will post them as they are confirmed.

Let’s Collaborate

I will also be taking advantage of any opportunity I can to meet with system integrators at their facilities to hear first-hand how the association can help them, so if my travels take me to your area of the world, you may receive an email from me with a request to meet!

As I’ve said elsewhere, in this period where it feels like so many things are working to pull us apart, associations not only help people and companies collaborate on what’s important, they also help keep us together.

CSIA is an extraordinary organization, and I’m excited to help its members work together to build better businesses for themselves and a better industry together.