APICS CEO Eshkenazi says his role is to focus on strategic planning; sees involvement as ‘critical responsibility' for association execs

Incoming ASAE chair Abe Eshkenazi says his role is simply to keep up the good work, building on achievements of his board predecessors and the group's staff.

Asked about possible new initiatives during his tenure, the nine-year CEO of $20 million-revenue APICS—The Association for Operations Management said ASAE is right where it needs to be.

"I don't know that there's necessarily new initiatives because when you're looking at an organization that has been as successful as ASAE you don't look at the turning-point opportunities. This is an organization that has been operating extremely well for a number of years," Eshkenazi told CEO Update at ASAE's 2015 Annual Meeting & Exposition in Detroit, held Aug. 8-11.

CEO Update interviewed Eshkenazi Aug. 10 on Periscope, an app that broadcasts video live via Twitter. Eshkenazi will become chair Sept. 1, at the start of ASAE's new fiscal year.

"This is about building on the legacy of previous chairs who have contributed to this field and have positioned this organization for success," Eshkenazi said. "We didn't get here overnight."

He credited current chair Susan Neely, CEO of the American Beverage Association, and her immediate predecessors Arlene Pietranton, CEO of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Joe McGuire, president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers and Tom Dolan, Eshkenazi's former boss, mentor and former CEO of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

"My role and responsibility is to make sure we continue to focus on strategic planning for the organization, identify areas to monitor and make course corrections when necessary as a board," Eshkenazi said.

Volunteering for ASAE is a matter of walking the talk for association executives like himself, he said.

"We ask our members to volunteer and contribute their time to our profession," he said. "It's a critical responsibility that we all have as we move on with our careers to give back to the organization not only by participating at the board level but in the (Diversity Executive Leadership Program) and ASAE's many other functions."