CEO of American Cleaning Institute and 2023 Salute to Association Excellence honoree taps her scientific training

Melissa Hockstad's technical background is helping her solve advocacy issues for the American Cleaning Institute's members, who make soaps, detergents and other cleaning chemicals.

With a bachelor's degree in engineering science from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in materials science and engineering from Penn State University, she was prepared for a career at a global chemical company. Hockstad switched to the association world in 2001 based on the experiences of a friend. After stints at specialty chemical industry group SOCMA, the Plastics Industry Association and the American Fuel & Petrochemicals Manufacturers, she became CEO of ACI in 2017.

The chemistry of cleaning—what's effective, what's safe, what's sustainable and how products are tested—is an important part of ACI's advocacy and communications. 

"One of the things that makes us unique is the number of us on staff with advanced degrees in science or engineering," she told CEO Update in a Zoom interview. "We do a lot of research to advance understanding of our products and the ingredients."

Hockstad is being honored by Association TRENDS and CEO Update as the 2023 Association Executive of the Year. The Salute to Association Exellence awards event will be held March 17.

Hockstad learned "the fundamentals of an association" at SOCMA and was mentored by the late CEO of PLASTICS, Bill Carteaux.

"He was the one who gave me the opportunities to do more with advocacy, to continue to broaden my skillset with communications and even the management side," Hockstad said.

She learned well. During her tenure at ACI, she has added five staff, growing the workforce by about 20%. In addition, Hockstad became chair of the National Association of Manufacturers' Council of Manufacturing Associations this year, giving her a platform to work with other CEOs on regulatory and supply-chain issues.

Following are excerpts from the interview, edited for length and clarity:

CU: Your predecessor, Ernie Rosenberg, led the American Cleaning Institute for 17 years. What was it like following a longtime CEO?

Melissa Hockstad: I was fortunate to step into an established association that had a very effective and dedicated staff, as well as a long history of success. What I always appreciated is that the board of directors was very supportive of new ideas and changes to shape the organization as I envisioned it to help lead ACI into the future.

CEO Update: How has the association changed during your tenure?

MH: There's been an awful lot of change over the last number of years. Since I joined ACI in 2017, the industry and the world have fundamentally evolved, and so has ACI. During my tenure, we've increased our focus and resourcing on advocacy, communications, and outreach, to better meet the needs of the industry. We've also evolved by getting a lot more clarity around our overall strategy and how we prioritize where we engage.

CU: Strategic planning has become a greater focus. Why is that important?

MH: That's been a huge area of focus for ACI and for me personally. It has given ACI clarity on, "What does success look like?" That's a fundamental question we always ask. And once you get clear on what success looks like, what is it actually going to take to get there?

So, our plan has really allowed us to effectively prioritize our efforts, allocate our resources, align the members and the team with our goals, and then of course, making sure those goals that we're looking to achieve are backed by data and sound reasoning.

CU: You're starting your second strategic plan. How is it different from the first?

MH: Our overall strategy is around four core areas. Number one is business growth and innovation; number two is science; number three is sustainability; and number four is communication.

There are a couple shifts that we've made compared to our previous plan. One is what we do to foster growth and innovation. We do a lot in this space. For example, at our convention, we have multiple innovation showcases, where companies talk about the latest and greatest. We see our role as identifying new ways to bring the industry together on innovation, being that convener and also helping to promote new technologies.

The other thing that's sharper in our new strategic plan is what we do to continue to advocate for a fair and equitable legislative and regulatory environment. We'll be continuing to increase our advocacy focus, which has grown tremendously over the last several years, and our sustainability focus.

CU: Have you grown your advocacy staff?

MH: Over the last couple of years, with our board of directors' strong endorsement, we've added multiple new team members with expertise on Capitol Hill, at the state level and on the regulatory front. Several of our colleagues came to us from EPA or other agencies. That's given us fresh perspective on where we want to head with our advocacy efforts.

And we didn't have clear prioritization about what was most important. So, we activated an annual prioritization process with our members, so we really have clarity.

CU: You did a social media campaign with some influencers. Was that successful?

MH: It was extremely well received. Our college program is the Class of Clean, which entered its sophomore year last year. We know that college and university students, because many of them are doing cleaning or laundry for the first time, are at a pivotal moment for us. We saw from a training standpoint and an educational standpoint that we needed to make it fun and give them simple tips. It was a great opportunity for us to work with college athletes on helping spread the message.

I don't know how many trade associations are working with influencers, but I think it's a great opportunity.

CU: Why are communications so important?

MH: An association could accomplish so many great things for members or stakeholders, but if they don't know about it, how did that even help advance the organization? We really place great emphasis on skillful, effective and targeted communications. Our members need to know what we're working on and how that work can be of benefit to them.

And then from an external standpoint, as Brian (Sansoni, senior vice president of communications, outreach and membership) always says, we want to be a reporter's first call, whether the subject is related to cleaning, or legislation, regulatory policy or even how to effectively remove wine stains from your clothing.

CU: You say science is the backbone of what you do. Why is that an important message?

MH: The purpose of ACI fundamentally is to serve the growth and innovation of the U.S. cleaning products industry by advancing the health and quality of life of people and protecting our planet.

The "how we do that" is all around that continuous commitment to sound science and being a credible voice. The technical team here does a tremendous amount of research every year. They co-author peer-reviewed research on science, safety, efficacy of cleaning products and their ingredients.

The other part of it is advancing the use of that science by people who are talking about us or making decisions about us. So, we also spend a lot of time raising awareness about the research with key stakeholders among legislators and regulators and the NGO (nongovernment organizations) community.

CU: You've said you want to grow the supply chain. How do you do that?

MH: We want to always make sure that we're maximizing our industry's ability to responsibly grow and thrive. We work with our members to look at policymaking that could help or hinder growth or innovation. And we advocate accordingly, whether it's at the federal or state level.

We also know supply-chain issues aren't specific to ACI. They're so much broader in the manufacturing community. It's been a great opportunity, especially over the last several years, to work with other manufacturing associations, including the National Association of Manufacturers, just because it is such a multi-industry issue.

CU: It's a good time for you to be chair of the board of NAM's Council of Manufacturing Associations.

MH: Timing is always everything, right? I just love the work of the Council of Manufacturing Associations (CMA). It brings together hundreds of manufacturing associations, and I really see it as this positive force for three things. One is that collective advocacy, whether it's supply-chain or regulatory issues we might be facing. The second is that industry thought leadership. And then of course, the third thing is association operations—helping us all run our associations more impactfully, more successfully.

The U.S. cleaning products supply chain is a vibrant part of that manufacturing sector. Collaborating with the broader manufacturing community really allows ACI to strengthen our voice.

CU: Do you have a role as an association in helping the industry's workforce?

MH: Yes, and I actually think this really ties nicely to the work of the CMA, because my role within the CMA can help enhance ACI's ability to effect positive change here. The NAM has a fantastic infrastructure to work broadly with many associations to address the workforce challenges. And one of the great examples that we engage with is NAM's Manufacturing Institute. Their sole focus is on growing and supporting the manufacturing industry, getting us the skilled workers to help advance modern manufacturing.

CU: What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced running ACI?

MH: First and foremost, leading the organization through a global pandemic. There were just so many unknowns, and of course, every day you'd wake up, and there could be a new challenge. What really served ACI well was the fact that we did have a strong strategic plan. I have a fantastic team here, and so we had to pivot quickly. We were able to do that. We were able to successfully deliver for our members, our stakeholders. And I think one of the positives that came out of the pandemic (is) it really redefined and showcased how critical cleaning products are, their chemistries are.

CU: What are some of the biggest risks you've taken?

MH: I would start with a big personal risk. Years ago, I was working for a multinational chemical company (now called LyondellBasell) and I moved to the association world. That was a big leap of faith. It was an absolutely fantastic decision. But when you're making a big career change, you never know exactly what you're getting into until you actually do it.

UP CLOSE WITH MELISSA HOCKSTAD

First job: Working for what is now LyondellBasell (a chemical company). I was a product development engineer. I've described the job as writing recipes for new materials and then working with our manufacturing facilities to scale them up.

Pivotal career moment: A very good friend of mine from undergraduate worked for SOCMA (the acronym now stands for Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates). I wasn't particularly familiar with associations at the time. I just knew she loved her job, met the most interesting people, traveled and worked on great projects.

Proudest achievement: Graduating from the University of Virginia with an engineering degree, because of the academics—and I also met my husband (Leif Hockstad) there.

Something most people don't know or would find surprising: When I worked in industry, I had a forklift operator's license. When you work in an R&D center, you need to know how to do that. Words of wisdom: Surround yourself with people who inspire you. They challenge you and make you a better person.

Words of wisdom: Surround yourself with people who inspire you. They challenge you and make you a better person.