British Mensa Committee

Until 2006, the title of the governing board of directors of British Mensa Ltd, each of whom was also a representative elected to govern the society. The Board ceased to title themselves by this style in 2006 in order to clarify their role as board members.

History

The BMC was chaired for 17 years by inventor Sir Clive Sinclair (See also wp:Clive Sinclair.) until he decided to stand down in 1997. As a well-known media personality and "Knight of the Realm", Sir Clive's position was unassailable at election time. Although traditionally the Chairman of British Mensa has a seat on the IBD, Sir Clive appointed a "permanent proxy" to take his place in the person of fellow boardmember David Schulman. During the latter part of Sir Clive's chairmanship, British Mensa's membership underwent considerable growth due to a marketing campaign by Chief Executive Harold Gale, who had the incentive of a commission for each new member he recruited. The scale of this commission later became the subject of controversy for the BMC, culminating in Harold's dismissal in 1995, which some people hold to have been politically motivated. Around this time there was disquiet from some members who felt the BMC to be a posh self-perpetuating oligarchy, a situation heightened by the stance of Mensa Magazine editor Simon Clark who was considered to fete VIPs and present an imbalanced image of the society within the Magazine.

Following Sir Clive's decision not to restand for a further term in 1997, British Mensa experienced political times which have been called a power vacuum. The faces on the board all changed, and the board saw many new faces who often did not complete their elected term. Latterly things have settled down and the current board is generally comprised of people who have a "grass roots" background in the society.

See also

Board of British Mensa

Members, past and present, of the Board of British Mensa