Meet Your 2026 Member Elected Director Candidates

The Scrum Alliance Board of Directors (BoD) has a minimum of nine members. Of these, at least five are appointed by the board and known as Board Elected Directors, or BED. Three are elected by the membership of the organization and referred to as Member Elected Directors. One member is the current Chief Executive Officer of the organization.

Meet the finalists for 2026

We've petitioned community members to submit nominations for individuals to represent our vibrant community on the Scrum Alliance BoD. After careful evaluation of all candidates, our board has selected three top contenders based on a number of criteria, including how their backgrounds fit into our existing board’s skill sets, governance experience, agile experience, community involvement, diversity factors relating to identity, geography, and professional background, and more. No single factor is used to select any candidate.

Get to know the finalists:

Roger Chou

Roger Chou—Taiwan’s first and only Certified Scrum Trainer®—has field-tested a way for Scrum Alliance to grow: by earning scrum a place at the executive table.

If elected for this short term, Roger commits to two priorities. First, increasing the everyday value of a CSM®/CSPO® in the eyes of hiring managers and executives—because when leaders see what scrum delivers, every certified member’s career grows. Second,

Second, strengthening the relationship between the Scrum Alliance educator, coaching, and consulting community—through honest dialogue, financial transparency, and shared decisions on the work ahead. When our training community thrives, our global members get a better learning experience.

He brings tools the board will use. His PhD in strategic management and PfMP/PgMP credentials prepare him for long-term strategy, financial stewardship, and cross-program coordination. As an ICF-PCC coach and active member of the Scrum Training and Coaching Community, he is trained to listen, hold space, and respect governance—including recusing himself on Licensed Training Partner policy matters.

The work proves the thesis. Roger founded Taiwan Agile Tribe, Asia’s largest non-IT agile community (4,500+members), and Regional Scrum Gathering Taipei, setting back-to-back world records for attendance: 888 in 2022 and 1,111 in 2024. He has personally trained 300+ CEOs as CSMs and 100+ as CSPOs—evidence that scrum can move from delivery framework to board-level decision discipline.

This is the future of scrum, and it is everybody’s challenge.

Roger does not only teach scrum. He builds the demand—and the trust—that brings scrum back to where decisions are made.

Mark Palmer

Mark Palmer is a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), Certified Team Coach (CTC), executive coach, and founder of Great Fish Agility. Over 25+ years, he has trained more than 12,000 professionals and partnered with organizations from startups to global enterprises, including SWIFT, Capital One, State Street, and Phillips 66, to build healthier teams, stronger product capabilities, and more effective delivery systems.

Before founding Great Fish Agility, Mark served the federal government as a GS-13 management analyst supporting the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and Department of Transportation. That work shaped his understanding of how large, mission-driven organizations function, including stakeholder complexity, accountability structures, and the gap between strategy and execution.

Mark also contributes to nonprofit organizations, including Prison Fellowship and FamilyLife, reinforcing his commitment to stewardship and service.

His point of view is straightforward: Organizations rarely struggle because scrum lacks value. They struggle when team design, leadership alignment, product thinking, and organizational systems aren't aligned. His work focuses on those root causes, helping organizations build capability that lasts.

Mark is running for the Scrum Alliance Board because he believes the world of work can be healthier, more productive, and more fulfilling. He would bring a servant-leadership lens to Board service, with a focus on members, community, and the future of work.

Alex Sloley

Alex Sloley is a Scrum Alliance Certified Enterprise Coach and Certified Scrum Alliance Trainer, and author of "The Agile Community" (2022). His career began in the 2000s, with 15 years at Microsoft as a Scrum Master, Scrum of Scrums Master, and Product Owner. Since 2015, he's run a boutique agile consultancy from Sydney, delivering coaching, training, and facilitation to enterprise clients globally.

Alex says he is running because "our profession is at an inflection point." AI is reshaping how teams learn, work, and ship. He believes Scrum Alliance needs board members who help it evolve, listen openly to trainers, coaches, and members, and set strategy for what comes next.

He co-chairs the Agile Coaching Ethics Initiative at the Agile Alliance, is a former member of the Scrum Alliance Coaching Advisory Team, has advised and organized Agile Coaching Retreats globally, and has keynoted conferences from Sydney to Beijing.

His platform is built on five commitments: open board decisions, advocacy for trainers, coaches, and members, evolving the training model for member benefit, strengthening regional voice on a global board, and aligning decisions to the Scrum Alliance mission.

Alex said he is asking for your vote because he wants to use his community expertise and decades of leadership to help make things better for all of us.

Get ready to vote

Check your email inbox for your ballot! Starting June 10, 2026, all Scrum Alliance Scrum Certified Members, with an active certification and in good standing, will have the opportunity to vote on one candidate they feel will best represent our community on the Scrum Alliance BoD. The winning candidate will serve out the remaining term of the vacant seat, ending December 31, 2026, with the opportunity to be re-elected by the board for a subsequent three-year term commencing on January 1, 2027.