CEO Departures

Balakgie announces retirement plans

The $10M-revenue National Automatic Merchandising Association announced President and CEO Carla Balakgie will retire from full-time association management by the end of the year. 

“Carla Balakgie has fundamentally changed NAMA for the better over the past 14 years,” said NAMA Chair Tom Steuber. “By transforming NAMA into a leading national trade association, the influence, visibility and impact of industry advocacy increased enormously, the financial position of the association dramatically improved, and the engagement and participation in association offerings grew and diversified significantly, expanding the size and makeup of industry members. Carla has set the table for the next CEO to build on a strong, dynamic organization with a proven track record of success.”

Prior to taking the helm at NAMA in 2011, Balakgie was CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association for nine years. She also spent 15 years at the National Association of College and University Business Officers, most recently as senior vice president and chief operating officer.

NAMA announced a search committee has been formed to find Balakgie’s successor. 

CEO Arrivals

Lyons to lead food suppliers group

The $346K-revenue Food Production Solutions Association (formerly the Food Processing Suppliers Association) announced the appointment of Chris Lyons as its new president and CEO. He succeeds Matthew Ott, who led the group for seven months following David Seckman’s transition to executive director of the group’s Food Industry Technician program. 

“Chris brings the perfect blend of association management experience and strategic vision that FPSA needs as we embrace this next chapter of growth,” said Brian Perkins, chairman of the board. “His track record of strengthening organizations and building collaborative environments aligns perfectly with our mission to create a sustainable future for the food industry.”

Lyons joins FPSA from information technology consultancy Dynamic Integrated Services, where he has spent the past nearly four years as director of enterprise optimization. Previously, he was chief operating officer of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy and CEO of the Society for Technical Communication. Earlier in his career, he spent nearly 15 years at IBM. 

He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in strategy and finance from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Staff Departures

National Restaurant Association—Hudson Riehle will retire as senior vice president of the $113M-revenue organization’s research and knowledge group in April. He has spent over 38 years with the group.

Staff Arrivals

American Retirement Association—Josh Oppenheimer has been named ARA’s senior director of federal legislative affairs. He joins the group from the U.S. Department of Labor, where he most recently was senior legislative officer and deputy oversight counsel. 

National Association of Manufacturers—Alexa Lopez has been named vice president of strategic communications and public affairs at $62M-revenue NAM. She previously was head of strategic communications and public affairs for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). She also served as senior manager of public affairs and media relations at the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Retail Industry Leaders Association—Ginger Gibson has been named vice president for media relations at $19M-revenue RILA. She spent the past nearly five years at NBC News, where she was the senior Washington editor.