NCCCO CEO Graham Brent Transtions to a New Leadership Role
Mr. Graham has been responsible for steering the fledgling organization over the past two decades into an organization that has provided significant value to the industry, including administration of over 1.2 million written and practical examinations, and has issued more than 425,000 ANSI-accredited and OSHA-compliant certifications.
“Graham has been an invaluable industry advocate and friend,” said Kris Koberg, CEO of DICA. “We wish him well as begins a new journey leading the NCCCO Foundation.”
(NCCCO) Graham Brent will step down as CEO of the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) effective July 1 to take up leadership of the recently formed NCCCO Foundation.
Brent, who has led the non-profit certification body virtually since the inception of NCCCO certification programs in 1996, will be succeeded as CEO by NCCCO board member and immediate past president Thom Sicklesteel. Sicklesteel is currently general manager USA of Leavitt Cranes, based in Tacoma, Wash.“NCCCO would not be the organization it is today without the leadership and guidance of Graham Brent,” said NCCCO president Kerry Hulse. “While his expertise and knowledge will be missed at NCCCO, we are excited about his accepting the CEO position of our newly formed NCCCO Foundation. We are certain he will expend the same energy and commitment to its success as he has done for NCCCO.”
As the executive director and, later, the CEO of NCCCO, Brent has overseen a 30-fold increase in candidate volume, steering the fledgling organization over the past two decades into a market leader that now offers 27 credentials in 12 major certification programs. Since testing began, NCCCO has administered over 1.2 million written and practical examinations, and issued more than 425,000 ANSI-accredited and OSHA-compliant certifications.
“It’s been an extraordinary journey, one that has seen NCCCO emerge as the leader in the certification of crane operators and other personnel,” Brent said.
That the number of crane-related fatalities and injuries had declined as a direct result of this initiative was a validation, he said, of the original vision of NCCCO’s founding fathers and a testament to the millions of hours of hard work and expertise donated by industry volunteers in fulfilling NCCCO’s mission.
After 23 years at the helm, Brent noted that it had been “an honour and a privilege” to have been a part of that success.