Global Membership Council Profile: Kevin Skauge.

Kevin Skauge (right) at the Global Membership Council meeting in 2014.

Kevin Skauge, Vice Chair of the ICC Global Membership Council, is quick to say, "I'm not a building official, but I'm the building official's biggest fan" — and his personal and professional activities over the last 30 years have certainly substantiated that statement. Skauge began his career as the Trade Commissioner to the Canadian Consulate General in Sydney, Australia, in 1985. Over the course of six years, his job was to help Canadian companies develop trade relationships for products and services in Australia. Since many of the products were building components, he learned about the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS), the national professional building surveying group, and developed an appreciation for the building official's role in communities. In 2006, he joined AIBS as its CEO. Over the course of his six-year tenure, he managed the day-to-day operations of the business and helped raise the profile of the organization in Australia and internationally. Through AIBS, Skauge got to know ICC and subsequently, was asked to join the ICC Global Membership Council. With regard to the Global Membership Council, he quips, "We put the international in the International Code Council. Buildings don't have borders and life safety is a global issue." Kevin is a passionate advocate for global building codes and building officials. He firmly believes few people really understand and appreciate the importance of a building official in our day-to-day lives. "Often, even building officials don't realize what a gem they are to the community. Every day, they impact the life safety of communities and first responders," he adds. His interest in helping communities took him back to his home country of Canada in 2012, where he accepted a position of District Regional Manager in Saskatoon for FirstOnSite Restoration, Canada's leading disaster restoration company. In this role, he saw firsthand the importance of the building official, further reinforcing his commitment to helping develop a truly international building code. Today, Skauge is the regional manager for the Saskatchewan/Manitoba region of Badger Daylighting Inc., a provider of mobile non-destructive hydrovac excavation services. While this may not seem to have a clear building component, Kevin argues that he's now part of an organization that is focused on delivering safe and efficient subsurface solutions that become the foundations for safe structures down the road. Skauge also is the president of the Canadian Condominium Institute — Saskatoon Chapter, a volunteer organization to help educate and inform condominium owners and users of laws and regulations that effect condominium owners.

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