The Connectivity Standards Alliance Announces New Board Chair

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Mar 28, 2023, 09:00 ET

Bruno Vulcano of Legrand Passes Chair Position to Musa Unmehopa from Signify

DAVIS, Calif., March 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Connectivity Standards Alliance, an organization of hundreds of companies creating, maintaining, and delivering open global standards for the Internet of Things (IoT), is pleased to announce and welcome Musa Unmehopa from Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), as the new Chair of the Board of Directors, succeeding Bruno Vulcano from Legrand, who will become the Alliance Chair Emeritus. The changeover occurred at the Alliance's 69th Member Meeting held last week in Seoul, South Korea.

Newly Elected Connectivity Standards Alliance Board Chairman Musa Unmehopa from Signify

Under Vulcano's leadership, the Alliance saw marked growth and a fundamental evolution to a multi-technology Internet of Things organization, including the expansion to seven working groups to reflect the growing scope of the market. During his tenure, the Alliance also introduced the Matter standard, an inflection point for the Internet of Things, bringing the next generation of interoperable products that work across brands and platforms to market with greater privacy, security and simplicity for consumers.

"During Bruno's 3-year term as Chair, the Alliance experienced phenomenal member growth throughout the world, expanded the impact of Zigbee technology and introduced Matter and its certification program," said Tobin Richardson, President and CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance. "As an industry leading organization setting standards for the IoT, our member volunteers are the key to the advancement of our collective goals, and I want to thank Bruno for his principled leadership, commitment and dedication."

Unmehopa, who is the Head of Wireless Standards and Regulations at Signify, has been engaged with the Alliance for more than 10 years and has held previous Alliance roles including Treasurer, Chair of the Testing and Certification Oversight Committee, and Board Director. His other industry board participation has included the Open Mobile Alliance, Zhaga Consortium, The Connected Lighting Alliance, Emerge Alliance, and the Parlay Group.

"We couldn't be more excited to have Musa lead the Board at such a pivotal point in the life of the Alliance," said Richardson. "He assumes the position with not only a broad understanding of the Alliance and its goals and mission, but an enlightened view of the industry and the complexity in which our members are operating. As the Alliance and its members work to increase global adoption of our standards, tackle new challenges like privacy and security, and create a better, more connected world for consumers, Musa's experience and leadership will serve as a key to our success."

In addition to Unmehopa as Chair and Vulcano as Chair Emeritus, the other Board Officers of the Alliance were also seated at the close of the Seoul Member Meeting, including Kevin Kraus from Assa Abloy as Vice Chair, Jean Michel Orsat from Somfy as Treasurer, and Chris Daniels from The Kroger Company as Secretary.

About the Connectivity Standards Alliance

The Connectivity Standards Alliance is the foundation and future of the Internet of Things (IoT). Established in 2002, its wide-ranging global membership collaborates to create and evolve universal open standards for the products transforming the way we live, work and play. With its Members' deep and diverse expertise, robust certification programs, and a full suite of open IoT solutions the Alliance is leading the movement toward a more intuitive, imaginative, and useful world.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance Board of Directors is comprised of executives from Amazon, Apple, ASSA ABLOY, Comcast, Google, Haier, Huawei, IKEA, Infineon Technologies AG, The Kroger Co., Latch Systems, LEEDARSON, Legrand, LG Electronics, Lutron Electronics, Midea, Nordic Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors, OPPO, Resideo Technologies, Samsung Electronics, Schneider Electric, Signify (Philips Hue and WiZ), Silicon Labs, Somfy, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, Tuya, and Wulian.