A familiar face at the top

Last month, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) announced that COO Dominique Stumpf would succeed Bob Rosenberg as CEO, news I was so happy to hear. I’ve known Stumpf for all of my 18 years at PCT and she’s hard-working and thorough, responsive and knowledgeable. She has extensive experience in many areas of NPMA, and with her expertise managing NPMA PestWorld, she is uniquely qualified to understand the special relationship the association has with both members and suppliers.

In interviewing members of the NPMA Board of Directors the day of the announcement, there was a sense of relief that a final decision had been made about the position. From what PCT heard, NPMA staff was ecstatic when she was named CEO, clapping and cheering at the news. There had been uncertainty at the NPMA office after an initial round of interviews, held last fall, did not result in a new leader being chosen, as was originally planned. PCT heard from sources that some staff had been “on edge” the past several months, knowing that they — and their projects — were in various states of flux.

When the dust settled from a second round of interviews conducted by the Succession Planning Committee, which included 17 phone interviews and seven in-person interviews, the list was narrowed to three candidates. In the end, Stumpf was the last person standing.

Russ Ives, NPMA president, said he learned a lot about Stumpf going through this process. “I knew her as part of normal member interactions,” he told PCT. “But in this process we asked all kinds of questions that we might not have had a chance to ask before. We got a sense of her vision and thoughts that extended beyond her current areas of responsibility.

“(The Succession Planning Committee) made sure we had done our due diligence. And out of all of that we affirmed the opinion that Dominique is perfect for this role,” Ives added.

Chuck Tindol, chair of the Succession Planning Committee, agreed and told PCT that Stumpf “grew under Bob’s mentorship. She is more detail-oriented than Bob, who is creative and consensus-building and Dominique is action-driven and gets things done.”

For Stumpf, the road to the CEO suite took longer than I’m guessing she would have liked. She was interviewed in the fall but not offered the job at the time. The Succession Planning Committee decided to hire an executive search firm, which scoured the industry and association world for Rosenberg’s potential successor. Stumpf was included in the second round of interviews and stayed positive while performing her COO duties. “I just saw not being hired in the fall as an opportunity to keep serving in my current role to make sure they felt I was a viable leader for the association,” she told me on the day of the announcement. “I felt like I was on an on-the-job interview at all times, so I always wanted to ensure I was doing my best. I was taking the opportunity to learn and create a role for myself.”

And Rosenberg couldn’t be more pleased. “NPMA is in a very good place right now but it’s time for a change,” Rosenberg said. “Dominique was the obvious choice and she’ll be great.”

WHAT ABOUT BOB? It’s been 27 years since Bob Rosenberg arrived at NPMA and as his retirement reverberates throughout the industry, it will be a change for a generation of PMPs who have never known him not to be around. His dedication is well known and from PCT’s perspective, there’s virtually no one we’d rather spend time talking to at a tradeshow or on the phone.

He won’t only be missed by PCT. He’ll be missed as an NPMA staffer and friend. “Bob has been a friend and colleague for 19 years. We’re in store for a lot of changes — not just me taking on his role, but staff learning to get by without Bob as a presence,” Stumpf said. “He is our friend and colleague and he will definitely leave a gap — not just in leadership but in our world.”

And Rosenberg kept working right until the end of his tenure. “Bob has been good about communicating to the board and executive committee about his intentions throughout this process,” Ives told PCT. “When the whole process took us past the date he planned to retire, his commitment to the association stood out and there was no complaining. He kept doing what he was doing, helped keep staff focused, exhibited great patience and reaffirmed that commitment to the association and members. He’s been a treasure.”

The author is editor of PCT.