Thomas Coughlin, IEEE President-Elect 2023

Tom Coughlin will be 2024 IEEE President.

Tom thanks you for your vote, and thanks all of his campaign helpers!

"I stand for enhancing membership, stronger sections, more value to industry, and adventure!"

Tom Coughlin - portrait

I’m Tom Coughlin and I have worked over 40 years in the digital storage industry as an engineer, engineering manager and senior executive. My company creates reports on digital storage and applications and provides industry consulting services. I founded and organized major storage and memory industry events and I am a frequent invited speaker. I write about storage and memory for forbes.com. I have published >500 articles, book chapters, reports and a book. I am an inventor in 6 patents. I hold a BS in Physics, an MS in Electrical Engineering (from UMN) and a PhD in Electrical Engineering (Shinshu University, Japan). I am an IEEE Life Fellow, have three years on the IEEE Board and am a member of HKN. I have a long history of IEEE leadership and am also active in SNIA and SMPTE. I received an MGA Leadership Award in 2020. I am past chair of the IEEE Silicon Valley section.

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Key points for my career:

  • 40 years of industry experience, including as an executive
  • Extensive leadership experience in many IEEE organizational units and activities
  • Participation in several non-IEEE industry organizations

Key points for my campaign:

  • Enhancing the value of membership
  • Enabling active sections
  • Stronger connections to industry
  • A global and diverse IEEE

Video Testimonials

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My Latest Blog Posts

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Broadening the IEEE
We have talked before about increasing diversity in the IEEE. In addition to making the IEEE welcoming to people of different cultural and racial backgrounds as well as gender, there is a great opportunity to broaden the IEEE in terms of professional disciplines represented and embracing, encouraging and providing resources for multi-disciplinary careers. I believe […]
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IEEE’s Engagement in Future Technology
Technology gives us options for the future. IEEE is about technology and its applications. It makes sense that the IEEE fosters a Future Directions Committee (FDC) within the IEEE Technical Activities (TA) organizational unit. This committee supports technical initiatives on emerging and important technological developments that span multiple IEEE Societies and Technical Councils. The goal […]
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Imagine the Future of the IEEE
I grew up reading science fiction, and although some fantasy-oriented content also interested me, I was and continue to be, a big fan of hard science fiction. Back in college I was involved in local SF fan groups in Minneapolis, helped start an L5 chapter (of Gerard O’Neill’s L5 Society) and even published my own […]
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Testimonials

I have known Tom Coughlin for well over 20 years. His level of volunteerism in both IEEE and IEEE-USA goes well beyond that of anyone I know. Tom’s moral compass is shown by how he focuses his energy, including starting the IEEE Rising Stars Conference, chairing the R6 Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, establishing a chapter for the new Society on Social Implications of Technology, and chairing the 2011 Sections Congress. Tom’s good heart underpins everything he does, and that is an asset that anyone wishing to successfully lead IEEE must have. I heartily endorse his candidacy for IEEE President-Elect.

Brian Berg

IEEE Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley Director, R6 History Chair and Milestone Coordinator, and past Santa Clara Valley Section Chair

Tom has always been a force for positive change in his many roles in IEEE. As the prior president of IEEE-USA he did a great deal to promote an agenda of involvement and technology advocacy, including being a visible presence at critical international events such as the consumer electronics show. On a global level, if elected, Tom promises to provide sound leadership for our highly diverse organization during a period likely to be turbulent as the world slowly recovers from the crises of the past few years.

Barry C. Tilton

IEEE Region 2 Director (2021-2022)

Tom Coughlin has performed superbly as IEEE-USA President, IEEE Region 6 Director, and numerous other IEEE volunteer positions.  He’s a great leader, and I’m supporting the petition to add Tom to the IEEE President-Elect slate for 2021.

Brendan Godfrey
VP Communications, IEEE-USA

I have known Tom for several years and have been impressed by his dedication and wide experience as an IEEE volunteer and leader, his international attitude to IEEE membership, and his effective volunteering spirit.

Professor Tariq S Durrani
Past Vice President, IEEE Educational Activities Board

As IEEE President, I’ve worked with Tom in his role as Region Director, Chair of the IEEE Public Visibility Committee and as a key organizer for IEEE’s industry outreach. I always looked to Tom for advice. Tom challenged the status quo and offered innovative ways to improve IEEE across its many facets. Tom built teams to deliver solutions. Tom is a great leader.

Howard E. Michel, Ph.D.
IEEE 2015 President

Tom Coughlin has demonstrated great success as an Industry Consultant and IEEE Leader. His industry experience is centered in Silicon Valley but extends worldwide. He has demonstrated outstanding Vision and Leadership throughout IEEE with many elected and volunteer positions over decades of IEEE service, most recently serving as the elected IEEE-USA President. He firmly believes multi-disciplinary collaboration is key. I nominated Tom for the IEEE MGA Leadership Award which he won and will officially receive this award in July, 2021. Tom Coughlin is my choice for IEEE President-Elect!

T.Kim Parnell, PhD, PE
IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section Chair 2011; ASME Fellow

I am very pleased that Tom is running for IEEE President Elect for 2022. Tom is not only a great leader, but he also represents the most important scientific center in the world, and I know that he will be outstanding for our largest technical organization in the world. I am on the ExCom for the San Diego Section and gladly support Tom in becoming our future President of IEEE.

Dick Doyle
Past IEEE Region 6 Director, Past IEEE Reliability Society President, and Past IEEE Division VI Director 

I met Tom at the 2008 IEEE Sections Congress in Quebec. I was impressed by his passion, energy and zest for volunteering for IEEE. Since then I have worked with Tom in the MGA Board, the IEEE Board of Directors and in several IEEE committees. Tom works tirelessly for IEEE, staying away from politics and small talk, and always looking at the whole picture. He will do his utmost as IEEE President, and take necessary steps to meet the needs of IEEE members for now and the future.

Costas Stasopoulos
IEEE Region 8 Past Director, IEEE – Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Vice-chair

It's PC now to say you're committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), but from my conversation with Tom Coughlin, he lives DEI and believed in it before so many others did. Moreover, he's an introverted nerd (his description, not mine) as am I; he uses the Oxford comma. Tom has provided strong leadership to the IEEE throughout his career. How can I not vote for him?

Shira Lynn Broschat
IEEE Fellow, Professor and Diversity Coordinator, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Washington State University

A born technical leader with charisma, humility, and a sense of humor! Time and time again, Tom has demonstrated true leadership qualities that inspire others while encouraging strategic thinking and innovation. He is adaptive, resilient, focuses on the big picture, and builds trust among teams. With his open, transparent, and authentic qualities, he makes genuine connections with those inside and outside of IEEE.

A global organization like IEEE will benefit tremendously having a well-respected leader like Tom as the President!

Jeewika Ranaweera, PhD
Member of IEEE Future Direction and Digital Reality committees, IEEE Senior Member

The IEEE needs to demonstrate inclusiveness in all dimensions and aspects - to widen real participation. It's clear this is a top priority for Tom Coughlin, and I trust him to steer the IEEE to the right path.


Dr. Ronjon Nag
President R42 Institute, IEEE Senior Member

We need a new vision for IEEE and I am impressed with Tom Coughlin’s vision. Both ASME and IEEE must encourage multi-disciplinary collaboration and multi-disciplinary education. Our two organizations must cooperate on achieving these goals. 


Metin Ozen, Ph.D.

ASME Fellow, President Ozen Engineering


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2016 Region 4/6 Operating Committee Meeting – Las Vegas

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