The national board of directors for the American Teleservices Association (ATA) named Robert Kobek to serve as interim president as part of the Board’s succession planning involving the announced departure of its current CEO, Tim Searcy.
“Bob Kobek has been a part of the fabric of the ATA for the past seven years and has a long history of contact center experience at all levels,” says Board Chairman, Phil Grudzinski. “Currently, he and his team are responsible for the successful operations of our annual conventions. As interim president, Bob will continue with convention operations with the added responsibilities of managing our daily operations. We retain the highest confidence in our management team and staff that facilitate all of the daily activities of the association. The ATA experiences a high-level of engagement from our members and we will continue to serve the needs of our members while advocating the value of customer communication channels.”
“We will certainly miss Tim,” Grudzinski continued, “and we wish him and his family all the best as he pursues his new career opportunity. Tim has made tremendous contributions to our industry and for the advancement of the American Teleservices Association. His vision and oversight of the association has been instrumental and he has been a great leader with a superbly dedicated staff that engages our association with a passion. Tim will continue to be a part of the Association and will serve many key transitional roles throughout the convention. He has personal plans to remain as a valuable member of our community and will continue to add his unique insight as an advocate of the industry.”
In 2009, the association reported steady growth and solid event attendance despite the country’s difficult economic atmosphere. Currently, the ATA remains on track with more services and initiatives including, contact center compliance seminars, local Chapter events and annual events that get attention from executives from around the world. Last year, the ATA unveiled efforts to establish a professional designation initiative that will be a leading education program for our members. The association plans to release new details about this program and other exciting updates during the Annual Convention, March 13-16, in Phoenix, Arizona.
The ATA is proud to continue serving and advancing the needs of our members and has been since 1983.