My Sincere Thanks

I am writing my last column in a mood of reflection about the past year. Most importantly, I never imagined that I would have the honor to be the president of INFORMS! I would like to thank all members for placing this immense trust in me to lead your professional organization. It has been an exciting year for me in many ways, and I have learned a lot in the process. Here, I would like to share some reflections, first about the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting and then about my year as president of INFORMS.

The 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Indianapolis

As the first fully in-person Annual Meeting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, #INFORMS2022 was truly a memorable one for all of us who were fortunate to attend. From the opening plenary by Professor Cynthia Rudin to the closing plenary by Professor (and Nobel Prize Laureate) Alvin E. Roth, and the many other wonderful plenaries and keynotes and thousands of technical sessions, it was a great learning opportunity for everyone at the conference – whether first-time or returning attendees. Of course, the best part of the event was the fact that we had more than 6,000 attendees, all excited to be back together for the first fully in-person Annual Meeting since 2019. The excitement and energy were palpable throughout the Indiana Convention Center and the meetings rooms at both the JW Marriott and Marriott Downtown.

For me personally, I felt privileged and honored to be at the helm of INFORMS as the 2022 president! From the Awards Ceremony on Sunday night to the Member Meeting on Tuesday, interspersed with many networking occasions to mingle with our wonderful members, I felt like I was floating on cloud nine! We had many opportunities to congratulate and celebrate the achievements of many members of our community. See the conference Awards Hall for a list of all the awardees at this year’s ceremony [1].

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Professor Sheldon Jacobson for his leadership as the general chair and the entire conference organization committee, meetings team and the tremendous INFORMS staff for pulling off this first in-person meeting in three years. Putting together an event of this magnitude is no small feat, and this year’s far exceeded expectations in terms of its size and excellence. I am grateful to the wonderful sponsors of this year’s event, who gave generously of their money, time and energy to make this event successful. I look forward to an even more successful Annual Meeting next year in Arizona.

Looking Back on 2022

As I mentioned earlier, this year has been a fantastic learning experience for me. I have seen firsthand the dedication of the many members who devote time, energy and passion to serve the INFORMS organization. I continue to be amazed at the incredible amount of work that goes on behind the scenes at the INFORMS headquarters. The Annual Meeting is just one example of the amazing work they do. I have appreciated working closely with Elena Gerstmann and the board on multiple projects throughout my term, and I admire their dedication, passion and thoughtfulness as we discussed complex issues. Needless to say, the life and blood of INFORMS comes from the many members who willingly devote time to help us achieve so many wonderful things for our organization. I wish to express my thanks to all the volunteer members for their dedication and service to INFORMS. (And if you aren’t yet volunteering, please consider it. Trust me, you will receive more back than you give.)

In particular, if you are interested in serving on the board, there will be three positions up for election in 2023: President-Elect, VP of Membership, and VP of Marketing, Communications and Outreach. For more information, you can visit informs.org/nominations.

As I look back on 2022, I must say that I have been fortunate to be president during two fully in-person meetings: the Business Analytics Conference in the spring and the Annual Meeting in the fall. Many thanks to my predecessors Pinar Keskinocak and Steve Graves, who steered our ship through two tough years of the pandemic and enabled us to start getting back to normalcy. Working together as one team (One INFORMS!), the board and the entire INFORMS staff has been focusing on some major initiatives, and I am proud of our achievements. A few highlights for me include:

• For the first time, INFORMS has laid out a five-year plan for its finances with a view to getting back to firmer footing after the effects of the pandemic.
• Making a dent in our publications backlog with a well-planned investment to address this issue. There are many wins in this area, including a record number of downloads of journal articles and total number of pages published.
• Continued efforts on the AI/OR initiative, which I have described in greater detail in my earlier columns [2, 3]. I will continue this effort next year as we plan a third AI/OR Workshop jointly with the CCC, ACM SIGAI and INFORMS.
• Exploration of ways to increase value to our members who work in industry. This is extremely important, and I look forward to continuing to work on this effort.
• Significant progress in our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, with increased participation in the DEI Ambassadors program and other activities. A major outcome in this area is the production and release of the “Unconscious Bias" video earlier this year [4].
• And, of course, the tremendous work that has gone into the Constitutional Amendment to modernize the INFORMS Constitution. Given the importance of this effort and the support we need from all of you for it to succeed, I am calling out some details about it separately in the next section.

Constitutional Amendment

All INFORMS members should have received a few emails regarding the Constitutional Amendment that is currently up for a membership vote. This is a very important step for our organization as we seek to modernize the INFORMS Constitution, which was adopted in 1995 and needs an update, from both a technology and operational standpoint. The details regarding the proposed changes as well as the process we will follow are documented on the INFORMS website [5]. In early November, all of you should have received an email from the INFORMS Election coordinator (Survey & Ballot Systems) requesting you to cast your ballot. With this message, I urge all of you to please review the process and cast your vote. Several board members and the INFORMS staff have invested a significant effort in formulating the amendments and getting approval from our legal counsel. The key remaining step is to get the required quorum of votes from our membership. As a reminder, changing the constitution requires 60% approval by at least 20% of membership, and voting must be done by “snail mail.” Please vote and encourage your colleagues and friends to do so as well!

My Final Thanks

In closing, I would like to thank Elena, the entire board and the INFORMS staff for their support during my presidency. I would like to thank the exiting board members for their dedication and service during their term. I also welcome the new board members for their commitment to INFORMS and wish them success in their role. To Laura Albert, our 2023 president, I wish you all the best and look forward to helping you as you lead INFORMS in the next year!

To all my dear INFORMS colleagues and the entire staff, I wish all of you and your families a wonderful holiday season and a very happy New Year!

References

1. https://meetings.informs.org/wordpress/indianapolis2022/awards-hall/
2. Kulkarni, 2022, “Shared Goals,” OR/MS Today, October 3, https://doi.org/10.1287/orms.2022.05.07.
3. Kulkarni, 2022, “Internal and Interdisciplinary Growth,” OR/MS Today, April 13, https://doi.org/10.1287/orms.2022.02.12.
4. https://youtu.be/d8pTEIq_lWo
5. https://www.informs.org/About-INFORMS/Governance/Constitutional-Amendment