News Detail

With Sincere Gratitude

3/1/2023

My term as ACI President ends at the conclusion of the Spring Convention in San Francisco, CA, USA, on April 6, 2023. What a year it has been in living up to the Institute’s tagline of “Always advancing!” Right on the heels of the creation of NEx: An ACI Center of Excellence for Nonmetallic Building Materials in 2021, NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete and PRO: An ACI Center of Excellence for Advancing Construction Industry Productivity were incorporated in 2022. The ACI Centers of Excellence (COEs) are setting a bold new direction for ACI, and their initiatives will help transform the concrete industry and further ACI’s leadership role.

My signature platform as President was to help expedite the acceptance of qualified new technologies for the concrete industry. I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring awareness to various technologies through my President’s Memos, Chapter meetings, and other activities. My platform dovetailed with the missions of the three COEs, as well as the ACI Foundation’s Concrete Innovation Council (CIC). It’s my hope and expectation that the various initiatives that are being undertaken and implemented by the COEs and CIC will help expedite technology acceptance in the concrete construction industry.

On the international front, my travels took me to Santander, Spain, for the ACHE Congress, and London, UK, for the 50th Anniversary of the Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT), a meeting with the Global Cement and Concrete Association, and an ACI International Roundtable with various chapters and the ICT. I also attended the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian Concrete Institute in early October. I finished off the year with a tour of the Gulf Region, attending the BIG 5 Event in Dubai, UAE, before traveling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for meetings with the Saudi National Building Code, the Gulf States Organization, and the leadership team at NEOM. The Gulf Region tour ended in Jordan where partner agreements were signed with the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan and the Iraqi Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, in conjunction with a workshop on “Assessment and Rehabilitation of Existing Concrete Structures” organized by the Jordan Concrete Association. The workshop was held at the Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman and was highlighted by a brief address from Her Royal Highness Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan of Jordan.

My last international trip was a schedule-intensive trip to Africa that started in Kigali, Rwanda, where Bernie Pekor, ACI Director of International Business Development, and I attended the 2023 Conference of the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO) before visits to Djibouti; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Johannesburg, South Africa, for various meetings and events with ACI’s International Partners. In an address to the FAEO delegates, I conveyed ACI’s commitment to collaborate with FAEO and the various member engineering institutions to improve the quality of concrete construction and, thereby, the durability and resiliency of concrete structures in Africa through certifications and access to ACI’s vast concrete knowledge. The visits to the Gulf Region and Africa resulted in new International Partner Agreements (IPAs)—a total of seven IPAs were signed and six more are pending from Africa. I’m particularly proud of these signings with the various African organizations. During these trips, one thing stood clear—ACI is well respected globally as the premier source for concrete knowledge!

One cannot serve effectively as ACI President without the support of many others and I’d like to express my sincere thanks to all who in one way or another were a part of my journey. First to my wife Rita, my son Christopher, my daughter Claudia, and my siblings for their support and prayers. Second, to Master Builders Solutions for supporting my presidency. To the Executive Committee and ACI staff, you are simply incredible! It’s been a pleasure to work with all of you.

As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus observed: “Change is the only constant in life.” Much has changed during my term, and much will change in the coming months. As Tony Nanni takes over as President, the 100th in the Institute’s history, ACI will also be getting a new Executive Vice President (EVP) because Ron Burg, the current EVP, will be retiring in early July 2023 after serving 13 years—the second longest ACI EVP tenure. On behalf of the Executive Committee and the Board of Direction, and the entire membership and staff, I’d like to thank Ron for his visionary leadership that has led to an expansion of ACI’s certification, engineering, and education programs, and the creation of the three COEs, and wish him the very best in his retirement.

It has been a pleasure to serve as ACI President, and I offer my sincere thanks to the membership for this honor. As a person of faith, I give all the glory and honor to God for being with me through this incredible journey. What a blessing!

Charles K. Nmai