Steve Anderson, Chris McEntee, Aric Newhouse, honored this year; three ‘exhibit the best in the association sector'

From left: Anderson, McEntee, Newhouse

CEO Update has announced the recipients of the 2016 Association Leadership Awards.

Honorees are:

• Trade Association CEO of the Year—Steve Anderson, National Association of Chain Drug Stores
• Professional Society CEO of the Year—Christine McEntee, American Geophysical Union
• Association Lobbyist of the Year—Aric Newhouse, National Association of Manufacturers

The three executives will receive the awards at a luncheon to be held in the fall.

Chosen by an independent panel of association experts, the winners come from a field of nominations submitted to CEO Update in late 2015 in response to a call to the association sector for candidates. The online nomination process generated submissions keyed to clearly defined association leadership criteria. Nominees were forwarded to the panel, which made the selection.

Association attorney Art Herold, selection panel chair, said, "The community continues to nominate worthy candidates to receive the award, and the 13-member panel had to focus in on what set each nominee apart. The three winners really exhibit the best in the association sector."

The panel convened by CEO Update included individuals who have many decades of experience in association circles to assist them in choosing this group of honorees.

In addition to Herold, partner at Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, the panel included:

• Phil Brady, former president, National Automobile Dealers Association
• Red Cavaney, former president and CEO, American Petroleum Institute
• Marv Fertel, president and CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute
• John Graham, president and CEO, ASAE
• Julian Ha, practice leader, Heidrick & Struggles
• Leslie Hortum, consultant, Spencer Stuart
• Madeleine Jacobs, former executive director and CEO, American Chemical Society and current president and CEO, Council of Scientific Society Presidents
• John Motley, owner, Policy Solutions
• Charles Tate, managing partner, Tate & Tryon
• Jeff Tenenbaum, partner and chair, Nonprofit Organizations Practice Group, Venable
• Stephanie Tomasso, practice leader, Russell Reynolds Associates
• Jim Zaniello, president and founder, Vetted Solutions

The Association Leadership Awards program, now in its third year, was designed as a best practice spotlight on CEOs and lobbyists in the association sector. The awards process is a complement to the continual work of CEO Update, which functions as a communication hub for its members, in print, online and in person.