In our 2023 annual report and in our recent State of the Society speech at the 2024 ISA Automation Summit & Expo, we outlined the last several years of landmark growth that the International Society of Automation (ISA) has achieved, including financial performance, membership growth, thought leadership and so much more. ISA has seen a tremendous turnaround in so many ways.  

For this update from the ISA President, I have invited our CEO and executive director, Claire Fallon, to join up with me and explain the many improvements we have been working on over the past several years.  

Turnaround: Membership Growth 

Let us begin with membership. We are currently in our third consecutive year of growth with a really encouraging upward trajectory. We are already well over 16,000 members as of the end of August, which is the highest number we have seen since 2015. 

We will not rest in our pursuit of continuing to increase membership globally. It is interesting to note that many of our peer professional societies have not enjoyed the same growth that ISA has seen in recent years. Many of them are struggling with a membership decline that took a hit during COVID and never recovered — but we are grateful that our membership is strong, vibrant and growing.  

We are also grateful that our members find such value in being a part of ISA. Our guiding purpose is to continue to deliver that value. That is how we continue to grow membership: by being the place that automation professionals want and need to be.  

Turnaround: Financial Performance  

We have much to celebrate regarding our financial performance. 2023 marked the largest-ever operating margin on record for the organization, primarily driven by 2.5 million USD in revenue growth from 2022 to 2023.  

2023 was also our second consecutive profitable year, and only the fourth profitable year since 1999.  

In 2024, we are once again on track to outperform our budget.  

We have been so successful for a few reasons.  

First, we have Board and staff leadership in place that are committed to prioritizing financial stability. We are not comfortable being the type of organization that draws regularly from its reserves — we want to instead build those reserves.  

Second, we are proud to deliver the products, services and programs that the automation community wants.  

Organizational Culture  

ISA is a society that is stronger and better than ever. We are proud that, for the first time in 2024, ISA was selected as a top-rated nonprofit by the organization Great Nonprofits. That recognition is driven by feedback and reviews offered by our members and volunteers, so it really means so much to all of us.  

Being a better, stronger organization has many facets. But perhaps the most important is the continued work we are doing to improve the ISA culture.  

Volunteers, members, customers and staff alike deserve a positive and productive environment. We all care very much about this organization and its mission. Sometimes, preserving an organization's overall health means having hard conversations, making difficult decisions and holding our colleagues — and, in many cases, friends — accountable for their conduct.  

We are proud that we are making great strides in making ISA an amazing place to be engaged and a fulfilling, rewarding place to work. The partnership between the Executive Board and staff leadership is stronger than ever, and we continue to focus on culture as a leading aspect of our growth and development. 

A Unifying Message 

Right now, it is more important than ever to underscore that automation depends on people. With so much inflammatory rhetoric out there about robots and AI, it is our responsibility to step up and emphasize the importance of automation… and most critically, of automation professionals.  

We are proud that ISA is the leading professional society for automation.  

We are proud that we work hard to advocate for the value of automation and for the skilled, knowledgeable and experienced professionals like each of you who are making the world better each day.  

Thank you for entrusting us with this responsibility.  

About the Authors 

Prabhu Soundarrajan 

Prabhu Soundarrajan has 20 years of experience in automation and ESG. He currently serves as ISA president and has served in ISA’s executive board since 2017 and has held several leadership roles in the society. He is currently operating partner at Kingston Capital and has held senior leadership positions at both Honeywell and Republic Services. He loves Golden State Warriors basketball and golf.  

Claire Fallon 

Claire Fallon is CEO and executive director of the International Society of Automation. Prior to joining ISA, Ms. Fallon held leadership positions with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). A mechanical engineer by training, Ms. Fallon has also worked as a design engineer for Bechtel and served on the board of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and appeals board for Underwriters Laboratories (UL).