Mary Ward-Callan
Until early 2024, Mary Ward-Callan was a Managing Director at IEEE responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of the staff supporting IEEE Technical Activities, responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of 39 IEEE societies and seven councils, with nearly 200 publications, 1,000 events, numerous standards, and various educational webinars, tutorials, and certifications. Ward-Callan also oversees IEEE Meetings, Conferences and Events, which plans almost 2,000 events per year. She manages a team of about 290 staff members.
In her 20 years as managing director, Ward-Callan has overseen the creation of IEEE Future Directions Directions initiatives to support technical communities while delivering new products and services. The initiatives have addressed the smart grid, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, 5G, big data, and other developments. Her team has coordinated its conferences into a successful line of operations, now representing more than US $180 million in revenue. She also helped launch IEEE’s award-winning Humanitarian Technology Challenge, which has become IEEE Smart Village, an IEEE Foundation priority initiative.
In 2017, Ward-Callan was chosen to receive the IEEE Eric Herz Outstanding Staff Member Award “for leadership of and service to IEEE volunteers, and for commitment and care in IEEE Technical Activities for the benefit of IEEE.”