Jack Blount Will NOT be Joining OCLC as New Pres/CEO, Jay Jordan Will Postpone Retirement

UPDATE (9:20 PM): OCLC has released an official statement about tonight’s news. It doesn’t provide much more info (vs. what’s posted below) about why Jack Blount will not take over as president/CEO of OCLC and Jay Jordan will postpone his retirement.

The OCLC Board of Trustees believes Mr. Jordan’s strong track record, his skills as a leader, and his ability to identify and navigate emerging trends, make him uniquely qualified to serve the nearly 72,000 institutions that use OCLC services.
Board Chair Larry Alford said, “The Board of Trustees has complete confidence in the global management team and the 1,250 employees, who are working diligently to serve libraries around the world and fulfill OCLC’s mission and goals.”
Mr. Alford also said, “The Board is committed to an orderly transition of leadership and will be assessing its succession planning process as it moves forward.”

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That was fast!
12 days ago we posted the news that Jack Blount had just been named the new President/CEO of OCLC. Blount was set to replace the retiring Jay Jordan.
Tonight, we’ve learned that Blount will NOT be joining OCLC and Jordan will be postponing his retirement.
Here’s the Full Text of a Letter to OCLC members about the change in plans. It is signed by Larry Alford, Chairman of the OCLC Board of Directors:

Dear OCLC Members,
The OCLC Board of Trustees has concluded that rather than moving forward with the appointment of Jack B. Blount as its President and CEO, it is in the best interest of OCLC to have Jay Jordan continue serving in these capacities. Mr. Jordan has agreed to postpone his retirement to continue leading OCLC.
The OCLC Board of Trustees believes Mr. Jordan’s strong track record, his skills as a leader, and his ability to identify and navigate emerging trends, make him uniquely qualified to serve the nearly 72,000 institutions that use OCLC services.
The Board of Trustees has complete confidence in the global management team and the 1,250 employees, who are working diligently to serve libraries around the world and fulfill OCLC’s mission and goals.
The Board is committed to an orderly transition of leadership and will be assessing its succession planning process as it moves forward.
Sincerely,
Larry Alford
Chair, OCLC Board of Trustees

More details as we learn them.

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