When taking the helm at CEO Update nearly two years ago, I knew that I wanted to maintain its exceptional reputation as the No. 1 resource for senior association leaders. I was also committed to finding new ways to address the needs of our growing community.

Like many of you have done after becoming the new leader of an association, one of my first steps was to conduct a listening tour. Over the last year and half, I have had the privilege of meeting and speaking with many of you at our various events and have also sat down with more than 60 CEOs from the CEO Update Roundtable to learn more about your work.

I’ve appreciated your candor in sharing how you are navigating challenges at your associations, and your honesty in detailing what changes you’d like to see in CEO Update’s offerings. I’m grateful for every chance that I get to speak with you directly and I take your feedback to heart.

As a result of numerous conversations with readers and Roundtable members, the CEO Update team has made intentional strides toward elevating our events and tailoring our content to address the real challenges that association executives face.

In our April 2024 issue, for example, we published a story that included in-depth interviews with financial experts and CEOs on how much money associations should hold in reserve (“How big should your reserves be? Short answer: It depends”). The idea to pursue this story emerged from my conversations with multiple CEO Update members who were keen on understanding the reserve strategies employed by their industry peers.

Sitting down with executives and listening to you describe what challenges you are trying to solve has allowed us to have a more informed approach to covering the industry. Our goal is to keep new, seasoned and future executives connected, informed and equipped with the information they need to lead their associations.

I’ve also heard your calls to broaden the types of voices that we feature in CEO Update. I believe it's vital to have a range of viewpoints because there’s so much to be learned from people who are different from us. We may come from different backgrounds — and the organizations and industries you serve may be structurally different — but we all face similar challenges.

The CEO Update team is committed to highlighting a variety of perspectives in our publication. That’s why in the fall of 2023, we launched the “First-Time CEO” column, a feature where we profile executives who are leading an association for the very first time in their careers.

In the same vein, I am committed to enhancing the diversity of our CEO Update Roundtable by including more women, people of color and executives from associations of varying sizes. We recognize that change does not happen overnight, and we will continue to work toward this goal in collaboration with our members. 

While our weekly e-briefs and monthly print publications play a crucial role in keeping leaders informed, we know that the ability to convene, connect and learn from one another is crucial. In addition to our CEO Update Live events, COO and CCO Roundtable meetings and annual CEO Roundtable Summit, we are launching an all-new CEO Dinner series. My aim in launching this new series is to create safe, closed-door environments where CEOs can come together and talk through their challenges. Each dinner’s topic will be selected specifically at the request of members. Our first dinner, taking place on June 4, will cover the topic of running an association with connected for-profit organizations. We will continue to announce additional dates and topics throughout the year. 

It’s been a pleasure to get to know so many members of the CEO Update community and I hope to meet more of you. If I haven’t had a chance to connect with you, please reach out. I — along with the entire CEO Update team — want to hear from you. While we will occasionally solicit your feedback through formal surveys, please do not hesitate to contact us before then. 

I welcome your comments and suggestions on ways we can improve. When it comes to making changes, we may not always get it right the first time, but we are focused on continuing to evolve to meet the needs of our members.