Olson selected to head ASAE.

ASAE has selected association management professional Michael S. Olson, CAE, as its new president and chief executive officer. Olson will succeed R. William Taylor, CAE, who is retiring after 17 years at ASAE's helm, on August 18 following ASAE's 78th annual meeting and exposition, August 15-18, in Nashville, Tennessee. Olson began work at ASAE on July 1 to facilitate a smooth transition.

"We have found a worthy successor to Bill Taylor who will lead us well into the 21st century with full knowledge of the tremendous traditions and accomplishments that have occurred at ASAE over the past two decades," remarked ASAE Chairman David N. Parker, the president and chief executive officer of the American Gas Association, Arlington, Virginia. "We have high hopes and high expectations."

During the six-month search for Taylor's successor, the search committee looked at "a significant number of highly qualified candidates," said Gene N. Fondren, CAE, who chaired the committee. "We found that Olson's proven record of success as an association leader, both professionally and as an ASAE volunteer, fit that bill and matched the attributes developed for the position by ASAE's Board of Directors," said Fondren, a past ASAE chief elected officer and the president of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, Austin.

"The opportunity to serve as ASAE's president is especially rewarding, as it represents a calling from peers and colleagues in the profession at a time when our profession is being recognized and respected more than at any time in our history," said Olson.

Since 1974, Olson has been president and chief executive officer of Olson Management Group, Inc., a Raleigh, North Carolina, association management company responsible for 30 state, regional, national, and international associations. Prior to that, he was executive vice president of the Carolinas Association of Professional Insurance Agents, Inc., Raleigh, where he was named chief executive officer at age 23. Olson chaired the ASAE Board of Directors in 1985-1986, and he is a past president of the Association Executives of North Carolina, Raleigh. To get further information, visit ASAE's Web site at www.asaenet.org/newsroom.