PMI's CEO/executive director to retire

Business Wire

ROLLING MEADOWS - Plumbing Manufacturers International CEO/Executive Director Barbara C. Higgens announced she will retire,

Higgens will remain in her post at least through the end of 2017 and will be actively involved in the transition process.

Selected to lead PMI in 1998 from a field of 18 candidates, Higgens revamped the organization from her kitchen table as its first and only direct employee, hiring a dedicated in-house staff, securing office space and equipment, developing a strategic plan, restructuring meetings around key industry issues, and significantly enhancing the association's membership value equation, while enhancing revenues and reserves.

She co-founded the U.S.-based Plumbing Industry Leadership Coalition in 2012 in an effort to bring domestic plumbing groups together. The group held its fifth meeting in April 2016. She is regularly invited to speak at international conferences including the BMA-UK (British Manufacturers Association); CEIR (International Valve Association); and the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH). She has been an enthusiastic member of the International Emerging Technology Symposium (IETS) and the Plumbing Efficiency Research Coalition (PERC).

"I'm very proud of the progress PMI has made during the past 18 years. We have stepped up to proactively embrace and facilitate change and are well-established as a reliable and trustworthy resource," she said. "PMI is in wonderful shape with a myriad successes under our belt, enhanced industry visibility, great volunteer leadership, consultants and staff, a strong membership roster and strong financials."

The Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce named Higgens Business Leader of the Year in 2014. She received the 2011 Robert P. Atkins Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Vision Storehouse for her charitable efforts on the procurement committee, and in 2013, PMI received the Crystal Vision Award for similar work under her leadership. In 2016, Higgens was named Chair of the Executive Committee for the Crystal Vision/World Vision Storehouse. Ms. Higgens has also served as Chair of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Council of Manufacturing Associations (CMA) Council board of directors. She holds positions on a number of industry committees including the United States Department of Commerce Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC).