TORONTO – CSA Group today announced that Shawn Paulsen, Manager of Conformity Assessment, CSA Group, has been elected as Vice President of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and Chair of its Conformity Assessment Board (CAB). The election took place the week of October 8, 2017, in Vladivostok, Russia, during the IEC Annual General Meeting.

The IEC is the world’s leading organization for the preparation and publication of International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. The IEC CAB is the body responsible for the management and supervision of the IEC’s conformity assessment activities, including oversight of the four IEC conformity assessment systems (IECEE, IECEx, IECRE, and IECQ).

The position will be held by Mr. Paulsen for a three-year term, commencing January 1^st, 2018. Paulsen is the first Canadian to be elected into this role. 

“I am honored to serve the IEC membership as Vice-President and Chair of the IEC CAB,” said Mr. Paulsen. “As technology becomes more complex, it is increasingly vital to ensure that products and services meet the requirements of a standard or specification, which is where conformity assessment comes in. I am pleased to have the opportunity to serve as chair of the IEC CAB with its ongoing focus on setting the IEC’s conformity assessment policies, monitoring conformity assessment activities, and more.”

Mr. Paulsen has a wide breadth of experience in both technical and policy standards work in Canada and internationally. He has served as a member of the IEC Conformity Assessment Board for the last six years, and he has substantial working experience with the IECEE-CB Scheme, sitting as a member on many working groups and with Canadian National IEC committees.

In addition to being elected as IEC Vice-President and Chair of the Conformity Assessment Board, Mr. Paulsen was recently awarded the IEC 1906 Award for his outstanding commitment to international standardization in the area of conformity assessment.

Mr. Paulsen, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick, will continue in his role as Manager of Conformity Assessment at CSA Group while serving as IEC Vice-President and Chair of the CAB.

About CSA Group

CSA Group is one of the largest standards development organizations in North America, conducting research and developing standards for a broad range of technologies and functional areas. CSA Group is also a global provider of testing, inspection and certification services for products in many market sectors, and a leader in safety and environmental certification for Canada and the U.S.