INFORMS elects seven board members for 2027 term

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) has announced the results of its 2026 Board of Directors election, electing seven new members whose terms will begin on January 1, 2027. The incoming members are Sheldon H. Jacobson as President-Elect, Banafsheh Behzad as Treasurer, Rubén A. Proano as Vice President of Education, David Shmoys as Vice President of Emerging Fields and Technologies, Sandra D. Ekşioğlu as Vice President of Meetings, Burak Kazaz as Vice President of Publications, and John S. Hollywood as Vice President of Sections and Societies. INFORMS describes itself as the world’s largest association for professionals and students in operations research, artificial intelligence, analytics and data science.

Jacobson, a Founder Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been an INFORMS member since 1985. His prior organizational service includes serving as Board of Directors treasurer and as a member of the Fellows Selection Committee, in addition to other leadership roles. He is a recipient of the INFORMS George E. Kimball Medal, Impact Prize and President’s Award. INFORMS reports that Jacobson has authored more than 210 peer-reviewed articles and 670 publications, including contributions to outlets such as The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and The Hill.

Behzad, who will serve as Treasurer, is chair and professor of information systems at the College of Business at California State University, Long Beach. An INFORMS member since 2010, she has chaired the Professional Recognition Committee, served on the Finance Committee and previously served as president of Women in OR/MS. She is a recipient of the INFORMS Moving Spirit for Forums Award and the President’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement at Cal State Long Beach. Proano, the incoming Vice President of Education, is associate professor and graduate director in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. He has been an INFORMS member since 2007, previously served as president of the Minority Issues Forum and currently serves on the Strategic Planning Committee. He is a 2025 Minority Issues Forum Fellow and an INFORMS Senior Member.

Shmoys, elected Vice President of Emerging Fields and Technologies, is the Laibe/Acheson Professor and director of the Center for Data Science for Enterprise & Society at Cornell University. He has been an INFORMS member since 1995 and has served on the INFORMS AI Ad Hoc Committee, NSF Liaison Committee and U.S. Federal Research Engagement Committee. His listed distinctions include the INFORMS Kimball Medal, Optimization Society Khachiyan Prize, Wagner Prize and Lanchester Prize, and he was named an AAAS Fellow in 2024. Ekşioğlu, the incoming Vice President of Meetings, is the Hefley Professor in Logistics and Entrepreneurship in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Arkansas. An INFORMS member since 1997, she has served as president of the Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment Section and chaired the Railway Applications Section. She is an INFORMS Senior Member, an IISE Fellow and a recipient of the INFORMS Moving Spirit Award for Chapters.

Kazaz, elected Vice President of Publications, is the Becker Professor of Supply Chain Management and director of the Brethen Institute at Syracuse University. He has been an INFORMS member since 1995, has served on the INFORMS Publication Committee since 2022 and chaired the Committee for AI Guidelines. His listed honors include the MSOM Society Distinguished Award in 2026, the Wickham Skinner Prize and the INFORMS President’s Pick for best publication. Hollywood, elected Vice President of Sections and Societies, is a senior operations researcher at the RAND Corporation and previously taught strategic management, systems engineering and predictive analytics at the RAND School of Public Policy. He previously directed the National Institute of Justice’s Information and Geospatial Technologies Center, operated by RAND under a cooperative agreement, and managed RAND’s Center for Quality Policing. He is also a long-time member of the INFORMS Subdivisions Council and was founding president of the INFORMS Public Programs & Processes Section, now part of the Public and Societal Operations Research Section.

The newly elected board members will join a group of returning members that includes Wedad Elmaghraby as President, Mark Lewis as Past-President, Pelin Pekgün as Secretary, Tinglong Dai as Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Outreach, Pooja Dewan as Vice President of Practice, Gina Galindo as Vice President of International Activities, Anahita Khojandi as Vice President of Membership and Professional Recognition, and Les Servi as Vice President of Chapters and Forums. Elena Gerstmann will continue as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. The announcement concerns leadership selection and planned board service beginning in 2027; it does not report new scientific findings, experimental results or changes to INFORMS policies.

Subject of Research: INFORMS leadership election for the board term beginning in 2027

Article Title: INFORMS announces 2026 Board of Directors Election results

Article References: INFORMS announces 2026 Board of Directors Election results. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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Keywords: INFORMS, board election, operations research, professional association, organizational leadership, education, publications, emerging technologies, sections and societies, announces, Board, Directors