IEEE Life Fellow Manfred “Fred” J. Schindler has been officially elected as the 2027 IEEE president-elect following a competitive global ballot. In this pivotal leadership role, Schindler will spend the coming year preparing to guide the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Following his term as president-elect, he will officially assume the responsibilities of the IEEE presidency on 1 January 2028, leading an organization with hundreds of thousands of members across the globe.
According to the official election tallies released during the voting cycle, Schindler, who was nominated directly by the IEEE Board of Directors, secured a decisive victory by receiving 16,421 votes from the voting membership. His opponent in the high-profile election, IEEE Senior Member David Alan Koehler, mounted a strong campaign and garnered 13,874 votes. While the election results mark a clear mandate from the participating membership, the outcomes remain technically unofficial at press time. They will become fully official following the formal acceptance of the IEEE Teller’s Committee report by the IEEE Board of Directors during their upcoming meetings in November.
Schindler brings to the presidential office a deep and diverse background in both technical engineering and high-level organizational leadership. Widely recognized as an expert in microwave semiconductor technology, he currently works as an independent consultant. In this professional capacity, he lends his extensive technical expertise, conducts critical due diligence, and provides comprehensive project management support to a variety of corporate and institutional clients navigating complex technological landscapes.
Throughout a distinguished career spanning decades, Schindler has played a foundational role in driving the evolution of microwave integrated-circuit technology. His professional journey has been characterized by translating cutting-edge innovations from early-stage laboratory demonstrations into highly reliable, high-volume commercial products utilized across multiple industries. His contributions to the field are well-documented, comprising numerous technical publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, alongside 11 patents that underscore his inventive capabilities and practical engineering acumen.
Schindler’s corporate leadership experience is equally extensive, reflecting a deep engagement with the commercial semiconductor and electronics sectors. He previously served as the chief technology officer of Anlotek, where he helped steer the technological vision and strategic direction of the enterprise. Prior to that, he held prominent leadership roles within the industry, including serving as the director of the Boston design centers for both Qorvo and RFMD. His impressive corporate pedigree also includes serving as an applications manager at IBM, an engineering manager at ATN Microwave, and a laboratory manager at Raytheon, where he managed teams of talented engineers working on advanced defense and commercial systems.
Beyond his impressive commercial and technical achievements, Schindler is exceptionally well-known within the global engineering community for his decades of dedicated volunteer service to IEEE. Over a period spanning more than 30 years, he has taken on numerous leadership responsibilities at almost every level of the organization. Most recently, he served as the 2024 vice president of IEEE Technical Activities, a crucial role that oversees the vast network of societies, councils, and technical programs that form the intellectual heartbeat of the organization. Prior to that leadership post, he served as the Division IV director for the 2021–2022 term, representing a major segment of the broader technical community on the board.
Schindler’s governance experience within IEEE extends far back into the organization’s structural committees and societies. From 2015 to 2018, he chaired the IEEE Conferences Committee, guiding the organization’s expansive portfolio of global technical conferences through a period of modernization and growth. Long before taking on these broad organizational roles, he served as the president of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTTS) in 2003. His profound dedication to MTTS has been recognized with some of the society’s highest honors, including the 2018 Distinguished Service Award and the 2015 N. Walter Cox Award. Furthermore, his commitment to mentoring and communicating professional insights is evidenced by his award-winning micro-business column, which has been a staple of IEEE Microwave Magazine since its inception in 2011.
Demonstrating his ongoing commitment to the future strategic direction of the organization, Schindler also led the 2025 One IEEE to Enable Strategic Investments in Innovations and Public Imperative Activities adhoc committee. This specialized group was tasked with exploring ways to optimize IEEE’s resources, enhance strategic investments in emerging innovations, and elevate the organization’s public imperative activities to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing technological world.
In recognition of his extraordinary contributions and lifelong dedication to his fields of expertise and to the organization itself, Schindler holds several prestigious honorary titles. He is an IEEE–Eta Kappa Nu honorary life member, recognizing his academic and professional excellence, as well as an MTTS honorary life member. As he prepares to step into the role of 2027 IEEE president-elect and eventually take the helm as president in 2028, Schindler’s extensive governance experience, technical pedigree, and decades of grassroots involvement position him to guide the organization into its next chapter of global impact.
