The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) has announced the appointment of Heather Merchan, MBCI as a Director of the BCI. In a transition of leadership, Alice Kaltenmark has been appointed BCI USA Chapter Board President as her successor.

“It is an honor to be elected to the BCI board by my industry peers, and I very much appreciate the support received,” Merchan said. “The BCI has offered me invaluable opportunities to network and get involved in the industry, and I am thrilled to be able to contribute at the board level for the next three years.”

Merchan joined the BCI in 2008 as an MBCI. She became an active volunteer when she moved from the UK to USA in 2014 and is currently serving her fourth year on the BCI USA Chapter board, and second year as chapter president. She has represented the BCI at key industry events in the US, presented BCI thought leadership, contributed to the GPG refresh, and assisted with facilitation at BCI World in 2017 and 2018.

She is also an active member of ISO TC292, Working Group 2; contributing to the refresh of ISO 22301 and additional security and resilience standards. She has spent 13 years working in business continuity, crisis management and broader corporate security and resilience and has held both consulting and in-house roles.

Merchan is currently the Business Continuity & Crisis Management Lead for a global firm; setting policy requirements, providing guidance and training to their network of internal business continuity practitioners, and defining and driving the implementation of strategic projects.

Kaltenmark has served on the USA Chapter board since 2015, holding the position of Treasurer in 2016/17 and Vice President in 2017/18. She has a number of years of voluntary leadership experience, both with the BCI USA Chapter board and also as President of the Continuity Professionals of Ohio. Her appointment builds upon her many years of resilience practitioner experience at RELX Group/LexisNexis Legal & Professional.

“I am excited for the year ahead and am looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible as our paths cross over the coming months at industry events and on social media,” Kaltenmark said, “Your BCI USA Chapter Board is committed to doing our very best to provide value to you, our members, in everything that we do.”