ASAE’s Associations Governance Institute (AGI)
CEO Series is a set of curated sessions exclusively for association CEOs/Executive Directors navigating today’s complex and evolving leadership landscape. These sessions tackle the most pressing challenges CEOs face — from rebooting your leadership skills and navigating the critical CEO–Chair relationship to debating who really owns the hard decisions in your organization. Gain unfiltered insights from veteran CEOs in candid, unscripted conversation, explore the real dynamics of board governance, and connect with peers through hands-on exchange designed for leaders who understand the weight of the role. For experienced CEOs and those new to the role, AGI’s CEO Series offers honest dialogue, practical strategies, and forward-thinking perspectives to strengthen your leadership and your organization’s future.
Sponsored by Kenes Group
Please note that attendance is exclusively for association CEOs.
Sunday, Aug. 16: 1:30 – 3:00 PM
CEO Confidential: Ask Me Anything (AMA)
Association CEOs rarely get the chance to ask the questions they’re really wrestling with—especially in a public setting. This session is designed to change that.
We’re veteran association CEOs in the hot seat for a candid, unscripted conversation about leadership, governance, pressure points, and the decisions that don’t come with a playbook. To ensure authenticity, the panel will not see the questions in advance. No rehearsed answers. No polished talking points. Participants can submit questions anonymously, giving voice to the concerns that often go unspoken. What emerges is honest dialogue, real-time problem-solving, and unfiltered perspective from leaders who understand the weight of the role. Come prepared to ask the hard questions—and to hear answers you won’t find on a keynote stage.
Sunday, Aug. 16: 3:30 – 4:30 PM
Do your leadership skills need a reboot?
CEOs are challenged by an environment that is both demanding and constantly changing. Effective CEOs must consistently monitor and act on the changes in their environments, the trends in their industry, and the stresses on their staffs and members. Success requires growth, agility, resilience, humility, and vulnerability. However, this is easier said than done. The pressures CEOs face are immense, and there are few resources and guides to help us.
This session will bring together a panel of seasoned executive recruiters and coaches to share their insights on the leadership skills that define today’s and tomorrow’s CEOs, how established CEOs can adapt to these changes, and above all, how can CEOs sustain their mental and physical well-being. Explore strategies for navigating organizational complexity, uncovering blind spots, enhancing influence, and driving team performance.
Monday Aug. 17: 2:00 to 3:00 PM
Stop Pretending the CEO–Chair Relationship Is Easy
Every CEO knows it: your relationship with the Board Chair can be the engine that powers your association forward—or the anchor that quietly drags it off course—and, when mismanaged, the very thing that can sink the CEO’s tenure. With guidance of the most respected governance experts in our sector, this candid, CEO-only session will dig into the real dynamics of the CEO–Chair partnership—what it is, what it should be, and why it so often teeters between high-trust collaboration and polite dysfunction.
Monday, Aug. 17: 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
CEOs vs. Boards: Who Owns the Hard Decisions?
Association leaders spend plenty of time talking about governance challenges. This session takes the bolder step of debating them—out loud.
In this debate-style program, two teams step into familiar but often uncomfortable roles: one arguing from the CEO’s seat, the other from the board of directors’ chair. Together, they’ll tackle the real scenarios that keep association leaders up at night—strategy versus oversight, speed versus process, accountability versus trust. Each side will advocate for how decisions should be made, where authority truly lies, and what happens when expectations collide. No hedging. No abstract theory. Just honest arguments grounded in lived experience.
Tuesday, Aug. 18 9:30 to 10:30 AM
Learning from Each Other: A Peer Exchange for Association CEOs
This interactive, 60-minute session is peer-driven workshop—built for connection, not presentation. Rather than sitting and listening, participants will actively engage with fellow leaders across organizations of varying sizes, structures, and focus areas to exchange ideas, challenges, and practical approaches.
Through a series of facilitated “lightning rounds,” participants will self-select into small groups to explore a curated set of timely, high-impact topics facing association leaders today. Each topic will be briefly introduced with key framing insights and guiding questions before groups dive into discussion, sharing real-world experiences, strategies, and lessons learned.