ASAE Board Chair Announces Formation of CEO Search Committee

National Search for President and CEO will commence on October 1, 2020

WASHINGTON— Today, Stephen J. Caldeira, ASAE Board Chair and President & CEO, Household & Commercial Products Association, Washington, DC, announced an 11-member search committee that will oversee the search process to hire a permanent CEO effective September 1, 2021. Currently, Susan Robertson, CAE, is serving as ASAE President & CEO on an 18-month contract that will end August 31, 2021.

“The successful search for a transformational CEO will be paramount to achieving ASAE’s organizational goals on behalf of our members, volunteers, industry partners and other key stakeholders,” Caldeira said. “With a new strategic plan due for completion in November, ASAE’s Board of Directors is committed to identifying an exceptional leader who can guide the association through an increasingly complex public health, political, economic, and social climate.”

Immediate Past Board Chair Patricia V. Blake, FASAE, CAE, President & CEO of the Heart Rhythm Society, Washington, DC, announced back in March that “the board has a responsibility to ensure the most efficient, effective transition possible, so we will perform our due diligence and retain professional, outside assistance to conduct a national search for ASAE’s next president and CEO, beginning on October 1, 2020.”

“ASAE’s future is dependent on strong CEO and staff leadership, and it is the board’s intent with an executive search to prudently safeguard ASAE’s stature and ensure the organization is positioned for long-term growth and success,” Blake added.

Caldeira will chair the search committee and he will be joined by:

  • Steven C. Anderson, FASAE, CAE, IOM, President & CEO, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Arlington, VA, and Chair-elect of ASAE, and Chair, ASAE Research Foundation;
  • Patricia V. Blake, FASAE, CAE, President & CEO, Heart Rhythm Society, Washington, DC, and Immediate Past Chair, ASAE;
  • Shawn E. Boynes, FASAE, CAE, Executive Director, American Association for Anatomy, Rockville, MD, and Past ASAE Board member;
  • Rita Chen-Fujisawa, MBA, CAE, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, California Association of Health Facilities, Sacramento, CA, and ASAE Board member;
  • Julie Coker, President & CEO, San Diego Tourism Authority, San Diego, CA and ASAE member;
  • Michael Dominguez, CHSE, President & CEO, Associated Luxury Hotels International, Plano, TX, and ASAE Board member;
  • Thomas R. Kuhn, CAE, President, Edison Electric Institute, Washington, DC, and Past ASAE Board Chair;
  • Lynda J. Patterson, FASAE, CAE, President & Owner, AMPED, Madison, WI, and Past ASAE Board member and current member of the ASAE Business Services, Inc. Board;
  • Stefanie Reeves, MA, FASAE, CAE, Executive Director, Maryland Psychological Association, Columbia, MD, and ASAE Board member; and
  • Lakisha Ann Woods, CAE, President & CEO, National Institute of Building Sciences, Washington, DC, and Secretary-Treasurer, ASAE.

Currently, a short list of questions for search firms interested in this opportunity are posted on ASAE’s website, and responses must be submitted to ASAE by September 18 to Robert Skelton, ASAE Chief Administrative Officer at rskelton@asaecenter.org

The Search Committee will announce the selection of an executive search firm on the ASAE website and in CEO Update in late September.

MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Vest, CAE, 202-626-2798, cvest@asaecenter.org

About ASAE

ASAE is celebrating 100 years of making society smarter, better and safer. The Centennial anniversary represents ASAE’s role as a leader and supporter of progress and innovation in the association industry. ASAE is a membership organization of more than 48,000 association executives and industry partners representing 7,400 organizations. Since it was established 100 years ago, its members have and continue to lead, manage, and work in or partner with organizations in more than a dozen association management disciplines, from executive management to finance to technology. With the support of the ASAE Research Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity, ASAE is the premier source of learning, knowledge, and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession and provides resources, education, ideas, and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association and nonprofit community. Visit ASAE at asaecenter.org.