Credentials Committee (CC). 

Purpose. The CC is responsible for administering the Business Constituency’s membership requirements including (a) approval or rejection of new or amended applications, (b) conducting eligibility/status reviews when warranted, (c) suspending rights/privileges of a member or its Designated Representative(s), and (d) recommending permanent termination of a Member’s status to the EC.

Composition. The Credentials Committee will be comprised of the Chair and 4 Business Constituency Members (5 total) if there are sufficient volunteers; otherwise, composition will be the Chair and 2 Business Constituency Members. If more than 4 members of the Business Constituency volunteer for service on the CC, an open election of the Business Constituency membership will be held. Volunteers will be elected or affirmed by the membership for a term of up to two years with a single one-year term extension possible. The composition of the CC should endeavor to achieve geographic diversity.

Duties. The Credentials Committee will:

• Administer and enforce, where necessary, the Business Constituency’s membership eligibility provisions as provided in Chapter 5.0.
• Receive and review new Member applications and, if the information in the application is insufficient to warrant acceptance, notify the applicant and request additional information;
• Establish and monitor compliance with the new Member application process assuring itself of the qualifications of any applicant both at the time of submission, and at any time thereafter based on presentation of documented concerns about eligibility to the CC as described in §5.6.2-a;
• Accept and welcome new Members who qualify in accordance with this Charter;
• Coordinate with the Vice-Chair of Finance and Operations to ensure that a list (or database) of Members, including appropriate contact information, is maintained and published on the Business Constituency’s web presence(s);
• Determine the voting status of Members as defined in Chapter 5.0 including assessment of the number of geographic regions in which a Member is based as specified in §5.3.2;
• Conduct reviews upon request (see §5.6.2) or if there is a change in the circumstances of the Member that may impact on eligibility status or if the Member or any of its Designated Representatives allegedly engages in behavior inconsistent with this Charter; and
• Recommend amendments, when deemed appropriate, to Member eligibility criteria, voting status, the membership application form/process, the nature and amount of information necessary to evaluate Member eligibility/status, membership categories (§5.3.2), and any other provisions pertaining to Business Constituency membership.

The committee of three to five members would elect its own chair. Only current members of the BC in good financial standing are expected to serve on the Credentials Committee. Members currently serving on committees of the BC would not be eligible to serve on a third. This does not however apply to working parties as they are short termed in nature. The Vice-Chair for Finance and Operations shall serve as the committee’s liaison to the BC ExComm.

1	Zak Muscovitch		Chair
2	Vivek Goyal		Member
3	Roger Baah		Member
4	John Berard		Member
5	Kate Buckley		Member