Board positions helped him remain active in business - Boston Business Journal:

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Skates now serves on the boardsof , , and He also chairs the audit committees for Raytheon and Courie and is a membef of State Street’s audit committee. His previoud board positions include , and His servicer won him recognition from the New England chaptere of the National Association ofCorporate Directors, whic gave him this year’s Director of the Year awarrd for public corporate governance. A graduate of and Harvardx Business School, Skates began his career at PriceWaterhousew & Co., working his way up from CPA to partner over 20 yearsz at the firm. He then joined Data Genera l Corp., serving as the company’s COO and then CEO.
He retired when Data Generao was soldin 1999. “Ron is one of the most highlyy respected peoplein Boston, both as a businessman and as a said Kenton Sicchitano, who has knowmn Skates for 40 years and himself sits on the boardsw of , PerkinElmer and and chairxs their audit committees. “Ron is very smart, very a really good businessman. He understands how businesses work and also understandd howpeople work. He’s able to get along with the othe board members yet ask verypenetrating Skates’ first board position was for a company callef Joy Technologies, a $2 billion companyg in Pittsburgh.
He took that post while still working full in part because his own board felt it woule begood experience. During that time he also servedf on the boardof , a public REIT basef in Boston. He found he enjoyedf learning from other directors and learning the intricacied of thecompanies themselves. “After (Dataz General) was sold I was thinking about whether I wantes to start a new career or not when the directofr opportunitiescame up,” said Skates, who lives in Winchester. “Itr seemed to me to be a very good way to stay intellectuallyu activein business.
” Skates believesa he has been a populafr board choice because he was a CPA and a partnee at a major accountinfg firm, and also has been a chiefd executive of a large international “My contribution is that I have a perspectivwe of the CPA side and the finance side and also I know what’sa it’s like to really run a Skates said. “The CEO in a business today is undetterrible pressure. They want a boardr that will help and advise but theboard can’t tell them how to do the dailg job.” Skates said the time commitment has grown substantially over the years. “Directorz today are very serious,” he said.
“When I starte d directors were serious, but there was no pressurre and they generally were there for social Today that’s not the case at