Associations provide more ways for CEOs of member organizations to interact at exclusive events or take on advisory, advocacy roles

Susan Dreyfus consults a new "radar" to help her do her job as CEO of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities.

A CEO Council, with 20 top executives representing a cross-section of member organizations, got started in January. Its multiple missions include providing Dreyfus with feedback and information from the field.

"It's a wonderful way for the board to stay focused on its role of governance, but to be assured that when I'm bringing them my recommendations and perspectives, that I'm doing so with a lot of engagement from the network," Dreyfus said.

Dreyfus

Pickering

Many associations have long known that CEO councils or roundtables can be excellent ways to engage and provide value to top executives, while also advancing the group's mission. Some of the councils give advice, participate in high-powered advocacy, or even raise funds for events and projects. Other councils focus on networking and information-sharing benefits for participating executives.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sponsored its Association Committee of 100 for more than 50 years. Both ASAE and the Association Forum of Chicagoland offer CEO-level memberships, with CEO-only programming and higher dues. A number of associations are entirely comprised of CEOs as members, including Business Roundtable, Financial Services Forum and The Business Council, which just named Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as its new chairman.

Groups recently starting CEO or C-level councils include CompTel, Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access and the Motor & Equipment Remanufacturers Association. The American Heart Association launched a CEO Roundtable in July with 21 corporate CEOs to promote health and wellness in the workplace.

The National Hydropower Association created a council in 2009 with three functions, said Executive Director Linda Church Ciocci: to make recommendations directly to the board, to support advocacy and to solicit industry funding for specific projects, such as a national opinion poll on hydropower.

"As leaders of the industry, they're much better at fundraising than our staff would be," Church Ciocci said.

NHA has a very hands-on board that meets five times a year, Church Ciocci said. Senior executives don't always have the opportunity to serve on a board, but can bring a broader, high-level view to discussions through a council, she said. The NHA's council, currently 40 people, is open to all CEOs or top hydro executives at member companies.

"When you bring senior leaders together to talk about the emerging issues in your industry, it's just a very different conversation," she said.

Chip Pickering re-established an advisory council at CompTel when he became CEO in January. He tapped about eight CEOs from small, medium and large companies to provide advice and assistance—and firepower on Capitol Hill.

"Policymakers want to hear directly from CEOs," said Pickering. "The more I can facilitate the relationships and encourage direct communication with policymakers, the more successful our association is going to be."

The Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access started a CEO Council in January specifically for advocacy. The group, representing more than 1,000 hospitals, is fighting to protect a drug discount program. The council has 28 C-level members so far.

CEOs have been deployed mostly locally so far, such as writing op-ed pieces for local media, said Randy Barrett, vice president of communications.

"These folks are on tap if Congress does something, if a bill drops," Barrett said. "I've got their emails. I've got their phone numbers. That's very valuable to us. We haven't had to use (the council) like that, but we anticipate we are probably going to."

The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities recently streamlined its governance, consolidating several boards into one and reducing the number of board members. The group's members include nearly 500 "human-serving" nonprofits.

The new CEO Council members created a charter, in partnership with Dreyfus, spelling out their roles and responsibilities, meeting frequency, term limits and the nomination process for new members. Dreyfus makes the selections: "They are my advisers. … I ask them to serve."

To maximize the council's impact, Dreyfus has her executive staff attend the meetings, which also include speakers and high-level thinking and learning.

Dreyfus also reaches out to council members collectively and in smaller groups for input. The council weighed in on a new name and logo for the Alliance. (It had been the Alliance for Children and Families until Oct. 15.)

Council members also serve as ambassadors for the Alliance, attending events and meetings and engaging with peers.

"They are our eyes, ears and visibility," Dreyfus said.