By Adrienne Meyer
CSIA has been busy this summer working on infrastructure and activities to increase how you as a member benefit from your association, and I’m excited to provide an update!
Welcome to our new Director of Membership
I am pleased to announce that Kathy Cotter joined CSIA as its Director of Membership on August 10!
As CSIA continues to evolve to serve its mission of helping system integrators run better businesses, CSIA leadership recognized the importance of having a dedicated staff member focused on membership to provide a more personalized and responsive experience for every current (and future) member company.
In this new role, Kathy will serve as a dedicated advocate for members, helping them strengthen connections and take full advantage of CSIA’s opportunities for learning and business growth.
By using member feedback to adapt and improve CSIA’s services, Kathy will help strengthen the global community of system integrators and industry partners that makes CSIA a trusted resource for business success and industry leadership.
Kathy brings more than 20 years of association leadership experience to CSIA, most recently serving as Director of Programs & Services for the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA).
Throughout her career, she has led initiatives focused on membership growth and retention, professional development, events, benchmarking, strategic partnerships, and member engagement. She is known for building strong relationships and helping members connect with the people, resources, and opportunities that support their business goals.
In her new role, Kathy looks forward to getting to know CSIA members, learning about their businesses, and helping them maximize the value of their membership.
Outside of work, Kathy enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading (she’s an active book club member!), and working in her yard, where you’ll usually find her pulling weeds, planting, or trimming something. She also volunteers with a local therapeutic childcare center serving children with disabilities.
Be sure to introduce yourself and welcome Kathy when you see her at an upcoming CSIA event or online!
Welcome to our “new” Director of Marketing
Most of you already know Lisa Richter through your interactions with CSIA, whether through receiving her regular updates on the forum or LinkedIn, through SIG events, webinars, and the conference, or as the host of the Talking Industrial Automation podcast. I am delighted to announce that Lisa will help create CSIA’s next chapter as its new Director of Marketing. In this new role, she will lead the association’s marketing and communications efforts, increasing awareness of CSIA and its programs, strengthening the CSIA brand, and highlighting the value that member companies bring to the industrial automation industry. Working closely with Kathy and the rest of the CSIA team, Lisa will help ensure that CSIA’s communications efforts are aligned to deliver greater value to members.
Building a Stronger CSIA Together
These leadership changes are part of a broader effort to better align CSIA’s staff structure with the needs of a growing membership. By creating dedicated leadership roles for membership and marketing, members will have clearer points of contact, greater responsiveness, and stronger accountability.
Working alongside Carolina Casas Anzola, our Director of LATAM; Jill Gabbert, who serves as CSIA’s Director of Operations; and the rest of the CSIA team, Kathy and Lisa will help strengthen both regional and global member connections while ensuring that member feedback, programs, and communications are aligned.
Our goal is simple: make it easier for members to access the people, resources, and opportunities that help them get the most value from CSIA membership.
Your Feedback Shapes CSIA
On August 17, CSIA will launch its 2026 Member Survey, and we hope to hear from every member company. To respect your time, we’ve intentionally kept the survey short, focusing on just three substantive questions designed to get to the heart of what matters most to you and your business.
The survey will be sent only to your company’s designated primary contact, so please make sure that individual has the information and input needed to respond on behalf of your organization. (Not sure who that is or need to update your contact? Email us!) Your feedback will help shape CSIA’s priorities and ensure we deliver the programs, services, and opportunities that matter most to our members.
Why Wait for the Survey?
Speaking of feedback, why wait until the survey arrives? I’m currently exploring whether CSIA should host an informal Member Meet & Greet on October 19 in conjunction with PACK EXPO in Chicago. If you’re planning to attend the show, I’d love to hear from you. Would you be interested in joining fellow CSIA members and staff for a casual gathering to connect and catch up? Please take a moment to complete this short SurveyMonkey poll to let us know whether you’ll be attending PACK EXPO and if you’d be interested in participating in a CSIA meet & greet. Your input will help us determine whether there’s enough interest to make it happen.
Join Us for the CSIA Virtual Member Update
While you’re sharing your feedback and helping shape CSIA’s future, I also encourage you to join us for our upcoming CSIA Virtual Member Update to be held on November 5. This new interactive session is a chance to hear directly from CSIA leadership about key initiatives underway across the association, including many of those highlighted above, and to ask questions and share feedback in real time. We also expect the session to provide an opportunity for candidates seeking election to the CSIA Board of Directors to introduce themselves to the membership.
Whether you’re a long-time member or recently joined CSIA, we hope you’ll take an hour to connect with your association and fellow members as we continue building what’s next.
Looking Ahead to the CSIA 2027 Conference
One of the most exciting parts of serving a member-driven association is seeing the knowledge and expertise that members share with one another. As mentioned in the last newsletter, planning is already underway for the CSIA 2027 Conference, and the volunteer Conference Planning Committee and staff are hard at work shaping another outstanding event for our community.
We expect to open the Call for Abstracts by September and encourage our membership to begin thinking about the lessons learned, case studies, and best practices they can share with their peers. The CSIA Conference continues to be one of our industry’s premier opportunities to learn from one another, build relationships, and explore what’s next for system integration and industrial automation, and we want you to be a part of it!
Join Us for the CSIA Virtual Member Update
I’ll also be back on the road this month meeting with system integrators and industry partners, which remains one of the best ways for me to learn what’s working, what’s changing, and where CSIA can provide even greater value. If you have questions, ideas, feedback, or simply want to discuss your business and your experience with CSIA, I encourage you to contact me! Hearing directly from members helps us make better decisions and ensures that CSIA continues to evolve in ways that support the success of system integrators around the world.
Adrienne Meyer is CEO of CSIA.