[Ofa_boardplus] OFA Board Mtg Agenda 12/15

Coulter, Susan K skc at lanl.gov
Thu Dec 15 09:05:22 PST 2016


Thanx Bernard.
You state the concerns clearly - and I will accept the failure to review the agreement.
The first quarter was Jul-Sep, and therefore technically should have reviewed this in late Sep.
It was my job to insure that review happened and I did not make that happen.

My only other comment (before the discussion at 11Mtn) is:

Saying it is “illegal” may be too strong a word.
It definitely violates our 501c6 Charter - and therefore puts that designation at risk.
So this is a serious matter either way.

We can and will discuss this further.
Thanx again.


> On Dec 15, 2016, at 8:33 AM, Bernard Metzler <BMT at zurich.ibm.com> wrote:
> 
> All,
> 
> In preparation of todays call, let me communicate my view on the issue of funding the position of an Executive Director by a single member of the Alliance. During Board calls time is usual short, and it is not always easy to get the audiences undivided attention on conflictive issues.
> 
> With early retirement of Jim Ryan, there was the proposal of his by then employer, to create the position of an Executive Director. It was further proposed to have that position financed by that employer, if and only if Jim fills that position. We extensively discussed the merits and problems of having a company sponsoring the ED position on the 06/16 Board meeting and ran a voting on that proposal on the 07/21 Board meeting. The voting was about:
> 
> "Motion to accept funding at $35000/quarter to be reviewed every quarter for a total of 18 months pending legal review"
> 
> I had (and have) severe concerns with that proposal and abstained from that vote, expecting further evaluation results would appear at latest in 3 months from then. Others seemed to have at least mixed feelings as well (we counted 6 yes votes, 1 no, 3 abstains).
> 
> After asking at another Board meeting in fall, I learned the result of the legal review clearly indicated that it must be considered illegal to have a single member company funding a 'ED' position. There is now this to me somewhat disturbing idea, that we can hide (from ourself?) the fact that we accept funding from a single member company for the ED position, if we do some money reshuffling/laundering. I don't like that approach.
> 
> But, what I dislike even more is that we do not follow our own rules. There was no serious quarterly review of that decision/vote so far. Instead, the funding now appears very natural as a monthly income row in the 2017 budget planning. Do we want to sidestep open discussion and establish a de-facto standard, where a single member company decides upon the head of the Alliance..?
> 
> Please don't get me wrong. This is not against having an ED of the alliance. After all, it is against having a single member company deciding, or at least being able to disproportional influence, who takes that position. As an industry alliance, we shall take care to avoid that situation. If we feel we need an acting ED, then we should all contribute an equal share of the extra funding needed.
> 
> Thank you,
> Bernard.
> ---
> 
> <graycol.gif>Bill Lee ---12/14/2016 10:45:11 PM---Attached is the latest 2017 budget for discussion. Bill
> 
> From:  Bill Lee <Bill at Mellanox.com>
> To:  Paul Grun <grun at cray.com>, "Coulter, Susan K" <skc at lanl.gov>, "ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org" <ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org>
> Date:  12/14/2016 10:45 PM
> Subject:  Re: [Ofa_boardplus] OFA Board Mtg Agenda 12/15
> Sent by:  "Ofa_boardplus" <ofa_boardplus-bounces at lists.openfabrics.org>
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Attached is the latest 2017 budget for discussion.
> Bill
> 
> 
> From: Ofa_boardplus [mailto:ofa_boardplus-bounces at lists.openfabrics.org] On Behalf Of Paul Grun
> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 9:58 AM
> To: Coulter, Susan K <skc at lanl.gov>; ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org
> Subject: Re: [Ofa_boardplus] OFA Board Mtg Agenda 12/15
> 
> These have been distributed several times over the last few weeks/months, but here they are again for easy reference.
> -Paul
> 
> From: Ofa_boardplus [mailto:ofa_boardplus-bounces at lists.openfabrics.org] On Behalf Of Coulter, Susan K
> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 9:47 AM
> To: ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org
> Subject: [Ofa_boardplus] OFA Board Mtg Agenda 12/15
> 
> 
> Please see the attached document for the agenda and call-in information.
> 
> 11am Mountain[attachment "OFA 2017 Budget 161214.xlsx" deleted by Bernard Metzler/Zurich/IBM] _______________________________________________
> Ofa_boardplus mailing list
> Ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org
> http://lists.openfabrics.org/mailman/listinfo/ofa_boardplus

==================================================
Susan Coulter / HPC-DES
Network Capability Lead
(505) 667-8425
“Once in a while you get shown the light
    In the strangest of places if you look at it right”  Robert Hunter
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