Kevin, I don't know how to make this any clearer.
It is a conflict of interest to be certified by the group you are the president of...in both cases, the president should not be certified unless he was certified before he became president.
And, of course, you leave an out for the head of the ABO by making a claim that it's somehow different to be certified by the same group you're the head of so long as you were certified before you became the head.
I would make that distinction.
When Dr. Clarkson was certified he had no control over the process. I see nothing wrong with him becoming the President of the organization at a later date. I would suspect that whoever was the President would be certified.
I would expect Dr. Rand to be certified by his own board, in fact, I would find it odd if he was not. However, having control of such an organization requires extra scrutiny to make certain that all your I's are dotted and all your T's are crossed. As long as Dr. Rand has met the qualifications of the board at the same standards as all others who are certified from the board there is no problem at all.
As Cecilie has stated above none of this has anything at all to do with the job he is being "interviewed" for. One last thing, he is licensed by the state. One would be led to believe that as long as he is licensed he is qualified to do the job of the profession that he is in. Qualified and competent to do so.
Immie