SCIP Changes Name to Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals

[Bonnie Hohhof]

The SCIP (www.scip.org ) Board of Directors voted to officially change the 25 year-old non-profit organization’s name from “Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals” to “Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals. This modification reflects the developing evolution of the competitive intelligence (CI) profession to support executive decision-making and firmly acknowledges the relationship between competitive intelligence and strategy.

"This name change executes on the next phase of our strategic growth plan by emphasizing the importance of the CI profession to an organization's direction and success,” said SCIP Immediate Past Chair, Martha Gleason of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. SCIP Vice-Chair Scott Leeb of Prudential Retirement commented, “This name change acknowledges and formalizes what CI professionals have known for some time -- strategy and competitive intelligence are inextricably linked.”

“SCIP has evolved to become the global association for a broad range of professionals who directly support and influence strategy. To reflect this change in SCIP’s name is only logical. Strategy anticipates and prepares our future and SCIP is a proud anchor for anyone who lends their skills and passion to it," said SCIP Board Member Jens Thieme of Lonza Group Ltd Switzerland.

The change to “Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals” will assist SCIP in a number of ways:

• Support an added focus on strategic decisions, one of SCIP’s principal goals.
• Include individuals who both work with and are customers of intelligence practitioners.
• Increase the connection of senior decision makers with their intelligence effort.
• Emphasize both the tactical and strategic orientation of our members.
• Create a unique value proposition by combining strategic and competitive intelligence.
• Maintain the SCIP acronym to preserve our 25 years of brand development

SCIP membership consists of private sector intelligence practitioners who provide skilled analysis on the competitive environment which enhances business decision-making and organizational performance. With the pace of technological development and the growth of global trade, today's business environment changes more quickly than ever before, so executives require additional informed analysis to make strategic business decisions.