I'm a consultant too, and I go to HPWorld and IPROF to represent
my clients' interests.  They won't spend the money to send their own
people, and they are only too happy to say, "You're going anyway,
you tell HP what we need."  No, I don't own my own HP3000, but
when I talk to HP or Interex I am representing the interests of
several companies, large and small.

As far as consultants being SIG leaders, in many cases that is by
default.  Not many employers will spend the money or authorize the
time for an employee to become involved in a SIG.  You don't
usually see people competing to be elected SIG leaders; that job
falls to those of us who are willing to spend our own money and time;
and we are not earning any money when we are off at meetings or
working on SIG business.  You are obviously among the fortunate
minority with an employer who understands the value of a user group.

Cecile Chi