NAID, PRISM International merge to form new association

The National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), Phoenix, has announced it will merge with PRISM (Professional Records and Information Services Management) International, a nonprofit corporation based in Chicago, to form the new industry trade association International Secure Information Governance & Management Association (i-SIGMA). The merger will combine services to yield a wider range of information management and data protection offerings and services from a single industry association, they say.         

Bob Johnson, CEO of NAID and i-SIGMA, explains the rationale for such a move as, “From the perspective of the marketplace, proper information and asset destruction is only one piece of the information management and data security challenge; this merger will create a unified mission.”

NAID President Angie Singer Keating, who also serves as CEO of Tyrone, Pennsylvania-based Reclamere Inc., notes that NAID members will retain membership in the NAID division of i-SIGMA and that NAID AAA Certification is still intact.

Keating says, “Companies and government entities should rest assured that NAID will continue to stand behind the strength of the NAID AAA Certification program, and PRISM similarly with Privacy+. These long-standing programs are platinum standards of the industry and aren’t going anywhere.”

NAID and PRISM International will carry on as the primary public-facing brands of the new umbrella organization.

Newly installed PRISM President Christopher Jones of Thomasville, Georgia-based Secure Records Solutions adds, “As a merged entity, we will have a stronger voice with policymakers, regulators and decision-makers. Together we’ll be able to share resources to help grow our businesses. And combined conferences and events will grow our presence worldwide that serves to reduce member costs. This simply makes sense.”

The NAID and PRISM boards of directors voted unanimously in February 2018 to adopt the new bylaws and merge the associations. However, in both instances, bylaws changes require ratification by the membership.

Following the publication of a document addressing all submitted member questions, the ratification decision was put to NAID active members by a third-party electronic ballot service between March 26 and April 6. In the end, 85 percent of all NAID voters favored ratifying the amended bylaws.

Similar to NAID, PRISM held a vote May 9 at its general membership meeting, conducted during the 2018 PRISM International Summit in Coral Gables, Florida. Members in attendance or via proxy voted to ratify the bylaws, merge with NAID and become part of i-SIGMA.

I-SIGMA says there are logistical components that will occur in the coming months to make the merger complete. An i-SIGMA interim board of directors, formed by the combined NAID and PRISM International boards, will lead the organization until such time as general elections are held in 2020. The current management team overseeing NAID will stay on as staff for i-SIGMA.

As NAID and PRISM International will maintain their separate identities after merging, interested parties can continue to reference their existing websites, available at www.naidonline.org and www.prismintl.com.