Twenty years ago this month,M&C
profiled five association CEOs to find out how they made decisions
in highly politicized environments. The cover featured Lee
VanBremen, Ph.D., CAE, then the executive vice president of the
American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Last
month, M&C checked in with VanBremen to ask how things
have changed since then.
In 1989, VanBremen became CEO of the
College of American Pathologists and retired in 2001. He now lives
with his wife in New Hampshire, serves on the boards of three
associations, and does volunteer and consulting work.
Regarding the challenge of being an
association CEO, VanBremen finds “there is no magic formula for
governance. To make rules that everyone should follow is crazy.” As
in 1986, he still believes consensus should be reached before
making decisions. The crucial challenge for a CEO today, he says,
is to be “more businesslike without turning the organization into a
business.”