Before there was Community Brands, there was the dynamic duo of AMS Fest & theNIRD, leading the conversation about M&A, investments, and consolidation in the association technology market. For more than 14 months now, we’ve been informing association executives on how high finance affects the association technology landscape before anyone thought it mattered, and we’re just getting started.
Our next collaboration is coming up November 13-14 at AMS Fest in Washington, DC. We’ve convened an all-star panel of CEOs to discuss how different financial models affect their customers, and ultimately, their customers’ members. Expect a spirited debate as privately-held and private equity backed AMS CEOs go toe-to-toe on provocative questions about their financial posture. The panel includes:
- JP Guilbault, President of St. Petersburg-based Community Brands. The blockbuster Community Brands deal, which consolidated four leading AMS platforms in March 2017, lent new energy to the M&A and investment conversation that AMS Fest and theNIRD started. Community Brands is backed by private equity firm Insight Venture Partners. And JP is excited about it, too (see his recent Facebook post).
- Charlie Vinal, CEO of Euclid, a privately-held company based in Bethesda, Maryland and purveyors of the ClearVantage AMS. Euclid boasts that “90% of the company is owned by Euclid employees. This means that Euclid answers to its clients, not venture capital or private equity firms, many of which put short-term profitability ahead of long-term client satisfaction.” How’s that for an opening salvo?
- Sarah Asterbadi, CEO of MemberNova, a relatively new entrant to the AMS market, based in Toronto. MemberNova is privately-held, with backing from a successful parent company, Club Runner, that specializes in club management software. I was recently introduced to Sarah by phone, and — hang on — after our conversation, I’m convinced she’s a firecracker who’s going to light a spark that’ll blow the lid off of this conversation.
But wait, there’s more!
We’ve also got an association CEO on our panel to bring the perspective of how “the big cheese” should be thinking about M&A and investments.
- Mark Dorsey, CAE is CEO of the Construction Specifications Institute, based in Alexandria, Virginia. Mark brings a well-rounded perspective to the panel as a CEO who has experienced the effects of M&A and investments on associations he has headed, and negotiated the sale of a business owned by his association employer. He’s also highly respected in the association management field, and an ASAE Fellow.
Hold on! Still more electrifying goodness to share: During the session, we’ll reveal the results of a survey on association executives’ attitudes towards the various funding models at work in the association market. You can take the three-minute survey now, if you haven’t already.
Register for AMS Fest now — there are only a few seats left — to catch this panel discussion and other cutting-edge sessions on blockchain, EU data privacy laws, digital transformation, and Uberization. Plus a few you’ll-never-guess surprises.
Register now. Seriously; you’ll regret not attending.
