Description
Gary
LaBranche, CAE, FASAE, has held executive leadership positions at a number of
associations, including serving as president and CEO of Association Forum. Gary
joins Michelle to discuss his new book The Association CEO Succession Toolkit.
Contributors
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Michelle Mason, FASAE, CAE
President and CEO, Association Forum
Michelle Mason is the President and CEO of Association Forum. Association Forum is the “association of associations” in Chicago. Founded in 1916, it has nearly 4,000 members. Prior to Association Forum, Michelle served as a managing director at the American Society for Quality (ASQ). In this role, she concentrated on business development, membership, component relations, innovation, advocacy, social responsibility, and process improvement efforts. Prior to she was Vice President of Strategic and Future Focused Research at the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE).
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Gary LaBranche, FASAE, CAE
Gary LaBranche, FASAE, CAE, is the President & CEO of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI). As CEO, LaBranche provides strategic executive leadership to advance the NIRI’s mission and goals. He represents NIRI to regulators, lawmakers, the media and other audiences.
Before joining NIRI in March 2017, he was CEO of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG). ACG serves 90,000 investors, lenders, executives and advisors to middle market companies, including 1,000 private equity firms.
An association professional for 37+ years, LaBranche has served as CEO for three other organizations and as a senior executive at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining ACG, LaBranche was CEO for the Association Forum of Chicagoland. At the Forum and ASAE he was responsible for identifying, developing and sharing best practices, models and innovation in association management, professional development and meeting planning. At ASAE he was responsible for the 6,000 attendee “Super Bowl of Conventions,” launch of e-learning and modernization of the Certified Association Executive (CAE) program.
He was named an ASAE Fellow (FASAE) in 1995. He was the ASAE Key Award winner for 2007, the highest award in the profession. ASSOCIATION TRENDS named him the 2012 Association Executive of the Year. He is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Association Committee of 100 and is past chairman of the Chamber’s Institute of Organization Management. LaBranche has served on ASAE’s 4 governing boards and continues to serve on the board of ASAE’s for-profit subsidiary, ASAE Business Services, Inc. of which he is past chairman. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Kogod Cybersecurity Governance Center at American University.
He is the author of 300+ articles, podcasts and columns, including “The Association CEO Succession Toolkit” published by ASAE in 2018. He authored the chapter, “Managing the Complex Association Enterprise” in ASAE’s Handbook on Professional Practices in Association Management, 3rd edition. He has consulted/presented to 300+ associations.
LaBranche was profiled as an innovative leader in the book, Hope: How Triumphant Leaders Create the Future, by Andrew Razeghi. He has also been featured in Strategic Transformation: How Boards Achieve Extraordinary Change.