Looking Back, Looking Ahead

When I began my term as INFORMS president on Jan. 1, 2025, I had ambitious plans that included improving retention of early-career professionals, enhancing engagement with organizations to attract more practitioners and ensuring that solutions developed by INFORMS members are accessible to all – from small nonprofits to large corporations. We have made strides in all these areas, and I’ll discuss the groundwork laid this year later on in this column. However, let’s first reflect on the past year.

Reflecting on 2025

Twenty days into my INFORMS presidency, there was a change in the U.S. presidency. In reflection on 2025, the executive orders and policy changes emerging from Washington, D.C., significantly impacted the year as well as the activities of the INFORMS board of directors. I am proud of the response from both our organization and our community, particularly in three main areas.

1. Expanding opportunity and achievement

We decided to discontinue the use of the phrase and term “diversity, equity and inclusion” (or DEI) for reasons shared in an open letter to members and a member townhall. Although this term has been set aside, our core value of making sure every member of INFORMS feels welcome and has an equal opportunity to participate and achieve, remains stronger than ever. Thanks to the Ad Hoc Committee on Expanding Opportunity and Achievement, INFORMS has implemented policies all members can support. For example, we have a volunteer portal that allows members to explore and sign up for volunteer opportunities, encouraging greater participation across our community. The INFORMS Executive Committee, which approves most committee appointments, encourages committee chairs to use the portal, thus providing more members with an opportunity to participate.

2. Supporting members impacted by cuts to research funding or job loss

Some of our members were directly impacted by funding cuts, and others lost their jobs. The board took action to support members who were affected. Our second member townhall of the year covered this topic. INFORMS is offering to cover one year of membership dues for members and nonmembers who have been affected. We also established a Rapid Response Fund to help members with INFORMS-related activities facing funding challenges. This fund issued $35,000 in grants that enabled several groups to continue with events after they found their traditional sources were either cut or simply being more cautious with donations.

Supporting INFORMS members impacted by funding and job cuts has been a priority for the entire board this year. (Read more at https://www.informs.org/About-INFORMS/Supporting-Our-Community).

3. Expanding our global cooperation

We recognize the challenges that rising costs and visa concerns have on travel to the U.S., but we also recognize the importance of maintaining strong global collaboration in our community. Approximately 30% of INFORMS members live outside the U.S. in over 90 countries, with more than 2,100 in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC).

A key theme with the board this year, coined by INFORMS VP of Marketing, Communications and Outreach Tinglong Dai, was: “If our member can’t come to INFORMS, INFORMS needs to go to them.” I had the pleasure of attending a very successful INFORMS International Meeting in Singapore in July with 1,150 participants. The enthusiasm for INFORMS in the region left a lasting impression on me [1]. INFORMS Executive Director Elena Gerstmann and I have been continuing conversations with the APAC national society leadership about various ways we can work together to elevate operations research (O.R.) in the region. We are working to serve our members in the region and increase the footprint of O.R. in APAC – to benefit both INFORMS and the APAC national societies.

Although 2025 didn’t unfold exactly as I had planned, I’m proud of the work the board, our members and the INFORMS staff have done, and our collective achievements.

Looking Beyond 2025

I am incredibly optimistic about the future of INFORMS and excited to see where incoming President Mark Lewis and President-elect Wedad Elmaghraby will lead us. Some of the reasons I’m so optimistic include:

• Publications: A record-breaking 6 million INFORMS articles are expected to be downloaded in 2025. This is a staggering number that will only grow. The distribution partnership INFORMS has with EBSCO, announced last year by Past-President Julie Swann, will be fully implemented in 2026 [2]. The number of libraries that receive INFORMS journals will expand from about 2,000 to over 30,000 in more than 120 countries
• INFORMS Annual Meeting: This year’s meeting in Atlanta attracted 6,500 registered attendees – an impressive turnout given the headwinds of visa concerns and a U.S. government shutdown. The improvements in the meeting structure, with dedicated job talks and better management of parallel sessions, were highly successful and will only improve future meetings. Thanks to General Co-chairs Edwin Romeijn and Juan Pablo Vielma for implementing these much-needed changes.
• Emerging Fields and Technologies: INFORMS is advancing efforts in emerging technologies – especially artificial intelligence and quantum computing – to better support our members and promote their work. The board is discussing changes that will help INFORMS stay at the forefront of these and other emerging fields and technologies.
• Early-Career Members: VP of Membership and Professional Recognition Anahita Khojandi and Director of Membership Scharan Johnson have gathered information through early-career member surveys and focus groups that will support strategies to better serve this group. One item consistently heard was the desire for local meetings that provide networking opportunities at a lower price point. The Ad Hoc Committee on Collaborative Chapter Regional Conferences is designing how this might work.
• Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®): CAP continues to build momentum, including rolling out three levels – CAP Essentials, CAP Pro, and CAP Expert – as well as promoting the INFORMS Analytics Framework™. CAP is well positioned to help INFORMS connect with organizations seeking the best analytical talent. The INFORMS Analytics Framework will benefit both academia with educating their students, and industry for training their employees and implementing more successful projects.
• Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs): When I ran for president, my vision statement discussed that solutions developed by INFORMS members should be equally available to all. The Ad Hoc Committee on NGOs and NPOs is investigating how INFORMS can help connect analysts working at or supporting NGOs and nonprofits, providing them with best practices and facilitating the sharing of ideas.

More Great News

To conclude my final President’s Desk column on a positive note, I’m thrilled to announce that the INFORMS board of directors has approved a balanced budget for 2026 – our first deficit-free budget since the COVID-19 pandemic! The challenges we faced during this time, shared by former President Steve Graves, have left lasting impacts, but with your continued support through membership renewals, journal subscriptions and conference attendance, we have successfully navigated these hurdles [3]. Huge thanks to the INFORMS staff for the hard work of keeping costs in check and to the leadership of Treasurer Susan Martonosi and Finance Director Pauline Roberts.

Finally, I want to acknowledge that our accomplishments are made possible only by the incredible member volunteers of INFORMS and our devoted staff. This community achieves remarkable things together. I already knew this, of course, but have gained an even greater appreciation from the vantage point of president. It is this commitment to the science and practice of decision-making, and to INFORMS, that causes me to be so optimistic about our future.

Thank you for all you do for INFORMS! It has been my honor to serve as your president.

References

1. Hunt, David, 2025, “INFORMS’ Actions for a Shifting Global Landscape,” OR/MS Today, Vol. 52, No. 3, September 3, https://pubsonline.informs.org/do/10.1287/orms.2025.03.20/full/. 
2. Swann, Julie, 2024, “A New Season for INFORMS,” OR/MS Today, Vol. 51, No. 4, https://doi.org/10.1287/orms.2024.04.12.
3. Graves, Steve, 2021, “Financial Impact of COVID-19,”OR/MS Today, Vol. 48, No. 3, May 20, https://doi.org/10.1287/orms.2021.03.11.