On Monday, October 15, 2007, the American Numismatic Association Board of Governors fired Executive Director and Legal Counsel Christopher Cipoletti. News reports said that the unanimous decision by the Board to “terminate with cause” came in closed session following an undisclosed one-hour presentation by Cipoletti. An arbitrator will help settle the termination of Cipoletti’s contract, which runs through December 2008.

Cipoletti was placed on administrative leave by the new Board of Governors during their first meeting at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last August. His leadership has been questioned as well as his handling of the ANA budget, which ran with deficits the last five years that caused the association to tap into its endowment funds. Cipoletti was a lightning rod for criticism and his work became a campaign issue in the last ANA elections in which all incumbents were voted off the Board.

Now that the ANA is looking for a new executive director, the Board should consider a competent individual who is experience with running a non-profit, membership supported organization would be best for the ANA. It would be wonderful if the new executive director was also a collector, that should not be a priority.

Should the ANA be looking for suggestions, the Board may want to consider interviewing the previous director of the US Mint Henrietta Holsman Fore (now a senior official at the State Department) and the current director Edmund Moy. Fore is from Nevada, which may be a welcome relief from Washington at the end of the administration and Moy is a collector. Both have proven management skills, know the numismatic community, and will be out of a job soon.

It’s just a thought.

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