PAC Chairman 2023
Having been in the industry for over 30 years, Mr Brown has spent 15 of those as part of the Phoenix Committee. He states he was extremely impressed by the group when he first joined and feels just as passionate about it now.
His committee journey has culminated in being nominated by his peers as Chairman for 2023, which he says makes him “very proud and honoured to have the committee members place such trust in me”.
As you can only be Chairman for a one-year term, (Erik Muijsenberg, Vice President at Glass Service now becomes 2024 Chairman) Mr Brown is wasting no time in trying to leave his own legacy. His goals for the year have included attempting to modernise and digitalise the Committee, while also promoting and protecting its history. This includes encouraging the Committee to work even more closely with the Corning Museum of Glass to focus on its archives, and also overseeing the publishing of a ‘50 years of the Phoenix Committee’ book which will be printed towards the end of the year.
“Unless we put effort in, the past will very quickly be forgotten,” believes Mr Brown. “We need to respect the past and acknowledge that many people have put in a lot of effort to make the Phoenix Committee what it has become today.”
The committee
Overall, there are 24 committee members, who all take part over a four-year cycle. Annually, six members are replaced. When someone has finished serving, they may be renominated, but only after a minimum of a year’s break.
Mr Brown explains that the members are generally a mix of company owners, CEOs and Sales Directors from all parts of the industry. He feels that those with a sales or technical background generally know more people in the industry who could be selected as a recipient of the award, through attending various meetings, conferences, exhibitions and the like.
Every year the committee representatives have just two tasks: to nominate one person for the Phoenix Award, and to nominate someone who could potentially be a future member of the committee. It is the committee’s primary job “to seek out individuals to be recipients of the award, finding people who have dedicated a lot, if not all of their lives to improving the glass industry and their companies”, says Mr Brown.
The process to find a worthy winner starts in November or December, when the Vice Chairman (who will become Chairman the following year) solicits nominations for a potential winner. In February a face-to-face meeting is held with committee members, normally in Miami, USA, to discuss the nominations before making a unanimous decision on that year’s recipient.
Once they have been picked, the Chairman will then physically go and see the person to officially congratulate them on their award, as Mr Brown did by visiting Prof. Dr. Kirman at the Şişecam Head Office in Istanbul, Türkiye last April.
The future
Mr Brown believes that the future is bright for the Phoenix Award. He says in all the time he has been on the committee, every recipient has been “blown away” by receiving the Award.
Furthermore, he feels that the committee can continue to have a positive impact on the industry because glass itself has an exceptionally strong future.
“Glass has impeccable qualities, whether it be as a packaging material in construction, in solar power generation or from the amazing scientific developments being made using glass. Glass is also 100% recyclable and has phenomenal sustainability credentials. Add this to the consistently high levels of innovation in our industry and the success of glass will only become stronger and stronger,” he maintains.
“I am sure there will be a lot of great individuals who will pop their heads up above the parapet for the committee to recognise, honour and celebrate, as the years go by,” he concludes.
Images: 2023 Phoenix Award Committee Chairman Lincoln Brown + PAC Committee members and dignitaries with Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kirman at the ceremony in Como, Italy.