Engineering plans to move FEI forward: Richard Schrader, CFO of engineering giant Parsons Brinckerhoff, takes over as FEI chair with a lot of experience under his belt and a carefully thought-out agenda.

It's very likely that Richard R. Schrader, who became FEI chairman July 1, is the only FEI chair to have graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. But Rich Schrader doesn't exude the hard-edged, command-and-control image people associate with military leaders. He's tall but genial, and his reputation in the organization is that of a modest but highly effective consensus-builder--though he can be a tough taskmaster and negotiator when his corporate hat is on.

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Schrader has held a series of influential positions with FEI, starting with the New York City Chapter, where he was membership chair, a director and later chapter president; as chair of FEI's Ethics & Eligibility Committee in 2001-2, as the scandals at Enron, Worldcom and other companies were breaking; Area Director for the North Atlantic Area; and then rotation into the Office of the Chair, beginning with Vice President at Large in 2004-5 and Vice Chair last year.

"Rich is an outstanding individual and a fine, thoughtful leader," says H. Stephen Grace Jr., FEI chair in 2003-4 and a predecessor as New York City Chapter president. "He has time and again provided valuable insight in his role as a member of the Office of the Chair and of the Board of FEI over the last three years," as well as his prior service in the New York Chapter and as an Area Director.

Schrader, 56, has been commuting to Manhattan for many years from his home in Westfield, N.J., to Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc., one of the world's largest engineering and construction firms. A 23-veteran of the privately held company, he advanced through a series of promotions to CFO and has been on the company board since 1992. Engineering is in his blood; his first duty post-graduation was with the Army Corps of Engineers, from 1972-1980 as a commander and battalion staff officer for engineer construction units in Hawaii and Germany.

But Schrader also has a background, and an interest, in teaching. He spent three years before joining Parsons Brinckerhoff as an instructor and assistant professor in international relations and engineering economics at West Point. He also obtained an MBA from Long Island University during that time, and earlier got a master's degree from the School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University.

As a product of the volunteer leadership track, Schrader says that, if he could accomplish one thing in the next year, it would be to "ensure that the volunteer and staff leadership pipeline remains reasonably full. Realistically, the impact any one chair can have on FEI is modest." He hails the national staff, saying, "We have a great staff, as strong as it's ever been."

The challenging goal of expanding FEI membership is one in which he'd like to gain further consensus, but Schrader says that "we need to think out of the box a bit. We're not looking for a least common denominator," or anything that could possibly hurt the value and prestige of membership. He says that there are plans to name a task force of members to study the issue, working with Andrej Suskavcevic, FEI's Vice President of Operations. The task force will be asked to develop a report by next January. As influential as FEI has been, Schrader says, "if it were able to grow more, it would be more successful."

Another of his goals: to come up with recommendations to enhance the FEI brand. "If there is one word or phrase we want people to associate with FEI, it might be 'ethics' or 'integrity,' 'honest opinions' or 'independent arbiter,'" Schrader says. And while the average senior financial executive has probably heard of FEI, if they haven't, he muses, "How strong is the brand? The brand is an asset. It has value today, and that value has linkages to membership and to influence, and how the existing membership feels about itself."

Schrader quickly acknowledges that the brand notion is "very intangible, and it's hard to measure except through perceptions." But if it can be measured, "it tells us if we are well-positioned."

Asked about FEI's influence on policy and thought leadership, Schrader says that FEI President and CEO Colleen Cunningham, FEI Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Technical Committees Grace Hinchman, FEI Canada President and CEO Isabel Meharry and the technical committees "do this very well already. FEI Canada has been quite successful with its Issues and Policy Group. We also have many volunteers serving on industry or regulatory body advisory groups.

"We will look for ways to reasonably and legitimately expand the influence 'envelope'--one thing I think we all agree on is that FEI will not cross the line and become a lobbyist."

Schrader is also committed to building on diversity efforts championed in recent years by 2004-5 Chair Mary Jo Green and by Cunningham. "Diversity plays into growth," he says. While the percentage of women members has been growing nicely, "FEI has done far less well with other groups," he notes. "One issue there is that the traditional FEI pool is harder to identify. Again, I think we need to think out of the box to create ways to improve diversity."

Attempts to grow FEI globally will continue to advance cautiously, he suggests. "We've been very successful at picking the low-hanging fruit, but how do you define success?" he asks. The transition from a largely North American organization to a truly global one in terms of membership would be "a huge leap."

Still, he says that "FEI has been increasingly active on the global stage and can be very effective in understanding, reporting and influencing the application of IAS (international accounting standards) and in development of individual country issues."

"There's an opportunity to be an issue leader" internationally, Schrader adds. He says he would love to see an influential group like FEI's Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR) develop a subcommittee devoted to international issues.

At this point, however, the association is probably best off moving carefully and using its resources modestly to "expand our influence where we can," he adds. He mentions discussions with organizations in Italy and Korea as potential affiliations to go with existing ones with Mexico and Australia.

Ethics will remain a core issue for FEI, he insists, noting that "FEI's stance on ethical behavior is embodied in its strong code of ethics. The scandals can be blamed largely on the lack of a strong ethical posture at the top of those organizations.

"Secondly, many would observe that there has been an over-reaction to the scandals in the degree of ensuing regulatory activity and political grandstanding. FEI can help by providing another voice, albeit with a U.S. business perspective, that can project a nonpartisan and more balanced view."

As an executive from a private company--although a very large one--Schrader says that FEI has recognized its obligation to increase services to private companies, now representing about half the membership. "We'd been paying a lot of attention to public companies, with their need to understand SEC regulations, but private companies need similar benefits," he says. "FEI has really responded very well to serve them better."

Indeed, Cunningham mentions his private company ties in saluting his work. "It has been a pleasure working with Rich over the past few years, and I am really looking forward to his tenure as chair," she says. "He is a thoughtful, calm leader who has some really terrific insight on enhancing our brand and membership. His private company background will also help us to focus on this growing and important piece of FEI's advocacy efforts."

Schrader still travels fairly extensively; in one recent week, he was hopscotching to Cincinnati, Chicago and London. His wife, Eileen, holds down the fort, while daughters Allison, 30, and Susanne, 26, are making their way in the world. Allison, in fact, gave birth to a grandchild two months ago, James Patrick. Schrader laughingly relates that his son-in-law is from Massachusetts, and the baby already has outfits for each of the archrivals, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

Asked about his personal aspirations for the future, Schrader says, "Post-current job, I would be very interested in service on both for-profit and non-profit boards. And, as time marches on, one recognizes all too well one's limitations and the trade-offs become more apparent ... Yet, it is still nice to have a few dreams to pursue."

He adds that "while it's healthy to have a lot of interests, being a 'dabbler' is not very satisfying." He says he would welcome the opportunity to bring his expertise to private company boards, and muses about being an adjunct professor at a university. Teaching finance? Maybe financial management, he says, also mentioning interest in general management, international business or negotiations.

In the meantime, as an ardent hiker and bird-watcher, there are mountains to climb, streams to cross and the chance to see his family continue to grow. And, in the coming year, the opportunity to build on an already impressive legacy of service to FEI.