At CEO Update, our mission is clear: Provide seasoned association leaders and those aspiring to leadership roles with the news, best practices, resources, research and programming they need to lead. 

Many of our CEO Update Live events focus on how to land a CEO position. And our private network, the CEO Roundtable, provides an opportunity for our 130-plus seasoned CEO members to convene. But one group has largely been underserved: first-time CEOs. These first years in the role are pivotal to both the executives and the associations they lead. Recognizing this gap in programming, we are pleased to announce the launch of our all-new event series for first-time CEOs. 

Our goal with the First-Time CEO series is to provide the opportunity for new CEOs to convene, network and learn from high-performing CEOs with many years in the seat. While many first-time CEOs have held impressive leadership roles, moving to the role of CEO creates challenges and opportunities that they likely never encountered in their prior positions.

In 2023, we launched a column in our publication where we profile first-time CEOs. When interviewed about her new role at the Healthcare Leadership Council, first-time CEO Maria Ghazal emphasized how having a supportive network of colleagues contributed to her success in the C-suite. “So much of life, and particularly Washington, D.C., is valuing your relationships, keeping up with your relationships and making sure that your relationships are on both ends, not just who can help you, but who you can help as well. It’s rewarding to see how much colleagues still appreciate that I was a good mentor and a good colleague,” she told us.

That is why the CEO Update team is focused on creating more events for first-time CEOs to connect with each other, and to share more about the challenges they are facing and potential solutions for overcoming them. We also want to provide first-time CEOs with opportunities to learn from veterans of the nonprofit association world, CEOs who have been leading one or more associations for 10, 20 or even 30 years. 

While open to any association CEOs, this series is targeted toward those with four years or less of experience at the helm. At our initial breakfast on Feb. 26 in Washington, first-time CEOs will hear from longtime leaders Don Erickson of the Security Industry Association, Anne Forristall Luke of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association and Veta T. Richardson of the Association of Corporate Counsel. Our moderator will be Matt Haller of the International Franchise Association, a first-time CEO who was promoted into the role from a senior vice president position almost four years ago.

If you are a first-time CEO, I hope to see you on Feb. 19. For leaders looking for an even deeper dive into leadership and peer connection, I encourage you to explore joining the CEO Roundtable, whose annual Summit will take place on May 7.