John Penn

John Penn, of Scottsdale, Arizona, was elected to AARP's Board of Directors in 2010.

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Life Perspectives

"I was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and lived part of my boyhood in the town and also on a farm. Growing up on a farm gave me an appreciation for agriculture and how hard a farmer's work is. I went to school out East and lived in Minnesota for most of my business career, but now I'm moving toward retirement in Arizona.

"I began my career after graduate school by working for what became Anderson Consulting. Then I got recruited by a manufacturing company, and that started me down the path of being involved with manufacturing and distribution. I was with the company for a dozen years and then chose to work in other industries and found myself helping businesses through transitions.

"Sometimes I refer to myself as a harbor pilot. I take companies through troubled waters, sometimes out to sea and other times into dock. I really enjoy the challenge that comes with a changing environment and helping an organization through that period.

"I've given a lot of thought to the challenges facing health care. One of the organizations I helped was a health care provider. We were dealing with referring physicians, and frankly I was surprised at the gaps that occur between one physician's office and another physician's office.

"Manufacturing, because of competition, has been forced to find ways to make those connections very efficiently. Health care hasn't done that so well. There are a few exceptions where practices, particularly around some of the larger hospitals, are fully integrated, but there's a need to have that same kind of efficiency and attention to quality that occurs in manufacturing.

"About 10 years ago I became aware of a senior care organization, was asked to join the board, and ultimately came to chair that board. I found lots of challenges facing senior care because of the surge in population that's going to come to that demographic, because people are living longer and because of financial challenges that face the individuals and organizations involved.

"AARP's role is critical as we face these challenges. We are the organization that, more than any other, needs to pay attention to the welfare and the economic security of our members.

"AARP's members are like its shareholders. In any corporate setting, the Board of Directors' responsibility is to represent its shareholders or its owners. In a member organization, our members are our owners, if you will, so our responsibility as a board is to make sure that we're aware of what their interests are. We're working hard to get more input from the members and the volunteers, and then the board will bring forward its best judgment on how to deal with those interests and the challenges that face those members.

"The AARP Board is all-volunteer. It's a significant commitment on the part of the Board members. It means that people are doing it because they really care. Our goal is to make a contribution to the welfare of AARP's members and, even broader than that, to seniors in our society. You can just feel that commitment in the presence of the board members. They're not doing it for money; they're doing it because they care."

Expertise

Good governance and leadership, corporate transitions, business administration.

Education

M.B.A., Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College; B.A., Dartmouth College.

Experience

Currently, chairman and CEO, Intek Plastics Inc. Formerly, vice chairman and CEO, Satellite Companies; DEO and president, Centers for Diagnostic Imaging; CEO and president, Benson Optical Co.; president, Arctic Enterprises; consultant, Arthur Andersen & Co.; intern, IBM Corporation.

Volunteer experience

Boards: Serves on AARP Board's Governance and Compensation Committee, the National Policy Council Nominating Committee, and the AARP Services Inc. Board of Directors.

Other: Currently, chairman (and former director), Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society. Formerly, director, Good Samaritan Society Foundation; president, Cross View Lutheran Church.

Honors

Twin City Business Magazine, one of five Outstanding Directors; Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, one of 50 "Hardest Working Directors," 2007, 2008, 2009.

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