ECIA Announces 2025 Recipient of Northstar Award
Atlanta - ECIA announced the recipient of the association’s highest annual honor, the Northstar Award. This prestigious accolade celebrates individuals whose unwavering commitment, exceptional leadership, and tireless dedication have significantly impacted the field of electronic components and the ECIA community. ECIA President and CEO David Loftus announced the winner at the 2025 Executive Conference held in Rosemont last month.
“I'm honored to present this year's award to Mark Shiring, CEO Americas of ebm-papst,” he remarked at the conference. “Mark has led ebm-papst since 2015, where he has built, staffed, and optimized new manufacturing plants in the US, yet he has still somehow found time to invest significant time in ECIA. Mark served a full 6-year term on the EDS board of directors. He has served on the ECIA Manufacturer Council since 2018. Mark was voted onto the ECIA Board of Directors in 2019 and served as Board Chair for a 2-year term in 2023 and 2024.
“Under Mark's leadership, we saw the rejuvenation of EDS and Executive Conference, delivery of the Texas A&M study on the value of the authorized channel, record new member recruiting, the expansion of our PACE Training, our deepening engagement in advocacy with Department of Commerce and Bureau of Industry Security, and many other key initiatives,” Loftus continued. "I'd like to note that Mark and the ebm-papst team are also strong supporters of and contributors to FIRST Robotics. It is with tremendous pride and appreciation that we present our 2025 Northstar Award to Mark Shiring.”
"I'm quite honored, humbled and appreciative of this recognition...I got involved in ECIA because I wanted to do more than just sell, do more than my day job. And it's cliche but it's true. You get out what you put in. The amount of passion and time put in is rewarding," Shiring shared at the awards ceremony. "As I look forward, our challenge is to spark that curiosity like I had in our next group of leaders. ECIA has great programs like PACE, GIPC, panels with young professionals and more. We need all of those young people in our organizations with their ideas and their energy...Thank you very much for this recognition. It's very special and I very much appreciate it."
The ECIA Executive Conference is the premier event for industry executives. The conference is specifically tailored for senior management and executives in the industry's leading companies. The date for the 2026 Executive Conference is October 19-21, 2026, at the Westin O’Hare Hotel.
About ECIA
The Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) is made up of the leading electronic component manufacturers, their independent manufacturer representatives and authorized distributors. ECIA members share a common goal of promoting and improving the business environment for the authorized sale of electronic components. Comprised of a broad array of leaders and professionals representing all phases of the electronics components supply chain, ECIA is where business optimization, product authentication and industry advocacy come together. ECIA members develop industry guidelines and technical standards, as well as generate critical business intelligence. For more information, visit www.ecianow.org or call 678-393-9990.