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With the imminent departure of CEO Julie Coons, the Tech Council of Maryland is gearing up for something it hasn't had to do much in its 22-year history: Find a new president.

Coons, who said this week she is leaving the Rockville nonprofit at the end of November to become president and CEO of the Electronic Retailing Association in Arlington, Va., is only the third permanent president the Tech Council has had. Dyan Brasington led the technology trade group from 1994 to 2004, while Walter Plosila held that position from 1986 to 1994.

Harvey Kushner was chairman of the steering committee — not president — of the group for its first few months in 1986.

The staying power of Tech Council leaders is attributable to the clear mission of the organization, Coons said. Since forming as a Montgomery County organization, the council has been committed to creating a more robust technology-led economy not just in the county but throughout Maryland, she said. 

"From the beginning, the Tech Council was focused on advocating for that technology-led economy at the state level," said Coons, 47. "Clarity of purpose, mission and objectives has been key to the success of the council over its many years."

Coons herself has been a tremendous advocate for Maryland's technology and biotech communities, said Edward M. Rudnic, Tech Council chairman and founder of Germantown biotech MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals.

"I will personally miss working with her," Rudnic said. "She leaves in place a top-notch professional staff and organization that will continue to represent and serve Maryland's fastest-growing sector very, very well."

Coons has done an outstanding job in increasing the value of the Tech Council through a merger with MdBio, an advocate for the state's bioscience industry, and other steps, said Kathleen T. Snyder, president and CEO of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. The council and chamber were involved in an alliance this year that helped overturn the new state sales tax on computer services before it could take effect in July.

"She really helped those organizations come together as one union," Snyder said. "She gave the tech community a stronger voice. She updated the organization and grew its networking. She will be missed."

Coons' international perspective has benefited both the Tech Council's and Maryland's economic development goals, said Georgette W. "Gigi" Godwin, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. "We all very much enjoyed working with her and wish her every success," Godwin said.

The campaign to repeal the technology services tax is among the highlights that stand out in her four years with the organization, Coons said.

"I was terribly proud of the council and its work, but also proud of the community for stepping up to make their voices heard," she said.

Moving to the retailing organization provides an opportunity to lead a national and global organization, Coons said. The nonprofit trade organization represents more than 400 online, television and radio retailers in about 40 nations.

That group has a larger budget, with revenues of $6.0 million in fiscal 2007, compared with the Tech Council's revenue of $1.7 million, according to the nonprofits' federal tax returns.

Barbara Tulipane, former CEO of the Arlington, Va., association who became CEO of the National Recreation and Park Association in July, had a salary of $308,104 with the retailing group in fiscal 2007. Coons' salary with the Tech Council that year, which ended June 30, 2007, was $230,000.

The retail association is pleased with its new leader, said Edwin Garrubbo, immediate past chairman, who led the search committee. "Ms. Coons' government affairs background and convention experience make her the perfect candidate" to head the trade group, he said.

Building partnerships

In leading the 550-member Tech Council, Coons has worked on building partnerships with other tech councils in the state and region, including the Greater Baltimore Technology Council. In 2005, those tech groups formed a partnership to work on education, networking and advocacy initiatives. A more recent collaboration has been an online job board.

The partnership has worked well to benefit members of both organizations, said Steve Kozak, executive director of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council. He said he has met with Coons regularly to strengthen their organizations' bond.

"She has been a great advocate personally and professionally," Kozak said. "We realized our two organizations should be working together since we are similar organizations. Our members really want greater access to programs, and this partnership has helped us give them greater access."

The organizations based in Rockville and Baltimore had a more tense relationship about a decade ago. In 1997, after the Rockville group's name changed from the Suburban Maryland High Technology Council to the High Technology Council of Maryland, Don Hutchinson, then president of the Greater Baltimore Committee, told The Gazette that some people in Baltimore considered the change to be "a slap in the face."

The Rockville group was initially called the Montgomery County High Technology Council before going through some name changes.

Also under Coons' leadership, the council has doubled its operating budget, created a charitable foundation and established an investment fund. In addition, the council has worked to strengthen ties between the tech business community and state academic institutions.

The council has also worked to promote regional ties among industry leaders, having most recently co-hosted the 2008 Mid-Atlantic Bio conference last week in Chantilly, Va., which attracted more than 700 executives, investors, attorneys, educators and other industry participants. The conference included a keynote talk by David M. Mott, former MedImmune CEO and now general partner at Bethesda's New Enterprise Associates, as well as many panel presentations and venture funding presentations by representatives from Maryland bioscience companies.

Before joining the Tech Council, Coons was executive vice president of PCIA — The Wireless Infrastructure Association. She also was an international trade specialist with the Office of Japan International Trade Administration in the U.S. Commerce Department.

Coons earned a bachelor's in Japanese language and literature and a second bachelor's in economics at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

While she is excited about the new opportunity, Coons said she does have mixed feelings about leaving.

"It's a bittersweet feeling, because I have great passion for the Tech Council and the staff here," she said. Staying power

The Tech Council has had only three permanent presidents/CEOs in its 22-year history:

-Julie Coons, 2004-08.

-Dyan Brasington,

1994-2004.

-Walter Plosila, 1986-94; Harvey Kushner was chairman of the steering committee for the group's first few months.