Reinaldo Figueiredo, senior program director of accreditation programs for products, processes, and services at the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), has been confirmed to a second term as chair of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committee on Conformity Assessment (ISO/CASCO). He begins his second term in Jan. 2022, for the 2022–2023 term.

Created in 1970 to develop standards and address issues related to conformity assessment, CASCO has 141 participating national member bodies and 24 liaison members. It functions by developing harmonized and internationally accepted policies on conformity assessment and liaising with industry sectors and intergovernmental agencies on conformity assessment activities.

As CASCO chair, Figueiredo’s responsibilities include guiding the strategic direction of the committee and achieving the committee’s main objectives. He also serves as the convenor of the ISO/CASCO Coordination Policy Committee (CPC) and is the chair of the annual CASCO plenary. Additionally, Figueiredo, together with the ISO secretary-general and CASCO secretary, is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF)–International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC)–ISO Joint Working Group. As CASCO chair, Figueiredo is also an observer member of the ISO Council.

For almost three decades, Figueiredo has dedicated his expertise to a variety of international conformity assessment activities. Since 1994, he’s held an active role in ISO/CASCO working groups, including participating in the revision of ISO/IEC Guide 65, “General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems,” and many other ISO/CASCO standards (e.g., ISO/IEC 17000, ISO/IEC 17011, ISO/IEC TR 17032). In 1998, he initiated a United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) program enabling IAF and ILAC to manage pre-peer evaluation in support of accreditation bodies in developing countries.

Figueiredo joined ANSI in 1999 as the manager of the Institute’s conformity assessment activities. In 2001, he was promoted to program director for product certification accreditation. His business-development acumen and technical knowledge helped ANSI to achieve the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Voluntary Conformity Assessment Systems (NVCASE) recognition as an accreditation body for telecommunication certification bodies.

In his current role as a senior program director at ANAB, Figueiredo manages operations, systems enhancements, and fiscal administration for multiple accreditation programs. He works with nearly 100 conformity assessment bodies and has garnered recognition from multiple government agencies and sector scheme owners. He has helped ANAB to achieve signatory status for IAF and PAC Multilateral Recognition Arrangements (MLAs), which are significant milestones for the credibility of ANAB accreditation.

In 2019, he was elected to serve a three-year term on the Executive Committee of the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC). APAC’s members include accreditation bodies and other organizations with an interest in accredited conformity assessment results.

Figueiredo received a degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Santos Dumont in Brazil. He launched his career as a standards specialist at INMETRO in 1982 where he provided critical input into the creation of the IAF, PAC, and the Inter American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC). He also served as the first IAAC chair, and in that role, as an IAF and ILAC regional member representing Latin America in regional cooperation activities.

“On behalf of ANSI and the U.S. standards and conformity assessment communities, we extend our congratulations to Reinaldo for his second term as chair,” says S. Joe Bhatia, ANSI president and CEO. “We are optimistic about the many excellent contributions we know he will make to enhance conformity assessment activities for another term.”