On March 6, the board of directors of the National Fire Protection Association (www.nfpa.org) unanimously elected James M. Shannon president and chief executive officer of NFPA, effective June 1. Shannon will succeed George D. Miller, who will retire after ten years.
Shannon has been NFPA senior vice president and general counsel since 1991. Currently he oversees all the association's legal affairs, and has administrative and real-estate responsibility for the NFPA's properties. The NFPA says that Shannon has had visible roles in the organization's operations and government affairs, both domestically and abroad.
"I have every confidence in Jim Shannon's ability to further the NFPA's important work and to carry NFPA forward in its notable and most worthy mission," said Miller. He added, "My tenure as president of NFPA has been a highlight in a long career. It has been a great pleasure to work in support of NFPA's technical, educational, and research endeavors."
NFPA board chair Martin Reiss said the search committee "conducted a long and demanding search" before choosing Shannon, and "focused its efforts on identifying and recruiting a leader whose background, personal qualities, and skills set comprise the most appropriate fit for NFPA."
Shannon has served as Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was senior partner in the Boston, MA law firm Hale & Dorr, and served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985.
NFPA is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating scientifically basec consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. The NFPA published the National Electrical Code and hundreds of other codes and standards.