Smithbucklin’s Co-Presidency Model Tackles the Association Technology Mandate

CHICAGO – November 02, 2026 – In the rapidly evolving landscape of professional services, the tension between technological modernization and high-touch client advisory has reached a breaking point. For decades, non-profit associations and professional societies have relied on singular executives to guide both their overarching strategic visions and their back-office operational engines. However, as the digital demands of membership organizations grow increasingly complex, the traditional single-leader model is showing signs of strain.

Recognizing this industry-wide pivot, Smithbucklin, a stalwart in the association management space for over 75 years, announced today a structural paradigm shift. The firm has appointed Stephanie Yanecek and Jeremy Van Ek as co-presidents of its Association Management business unit. By bifurcating leadership into two distinct but collaborative channels—one focused on client strategy and the other on technological and operational excellence—the 650-employee firm is signaling a new era in how management companies scale innovation without sacrificing personalized service.

The move highlights a broader trend across the professional services sector: the realization that the sheer velocity of technological change requires dedicated executive oversight, completely decoupled from the day-to-day demands of board relations and member engagement.

Splitting the Helm: The Logic Behind Co-Leadership

The adoption of a co-presidency model is a notable departure from Smithbucklin’s recent historical structure. As recently as January 2023, the Association Management unit was led by a single president, Jim McNeil, who navigated the company through the immediate post-pandemic recovery. However, as the association marketplace has continued to fragment into highly specialized digital and operational needs, the firm recognized that a dual-executive structure could better address the dichotomy of modern non-profit management.

Under the new framework, the two leaders will share ultimate accountability for client satisfaction and growth, but their day-to-day mandates are strictly delineated. Van Ek is tasked with leading the firm’s association management centers of excellence. His purview covers the critical infrastructure of modern organizations: the expertise, tools, technology, and operational processes required to deliver scalable, high-quality performance. Yanecek, conversely, will lead the core association client teams. Her focus remains squarely on the human element, working directly with executive directors and volunteer boards to translate aspirations into measurable outcomes.

"Our association management clients need a partner that understands their ambitions and can bring the right people, expertise and resources together to deliver," said Matt Sanderson, Smithbucklin president and CEO, in a statement addressing the leadership transition. "Jeremy's strengths in operations, technology and organizational change complement Stephanie's deep association expertise and longstanding client relationships. Together, they will help us anticipate associations' emerging needs and act with agility while preserving the quality and care that define our work."

According to an independent governance consultant familiar with the association management landscape, this division of labor is a necessary evolution. "You simply cannot ask one human being to be an expert in deploying enterprise-grade data analytics and simultaneously hold the hands of a nervous non-profit board navigating a rebrand," the consultant noted. "By splitting the role, Smithbucklin is acknowledging that operational modernization is a full-time, executive-level job."

The Modernization Mandate in a Digital-First World

To understand the necessity of Van Ek’s newly defined role, one must look at the immense technological hurdles currently facing professional associations. The mandate to modernize is no longer a luxury; it is a survival imperative. Associations are battling for the attention and dues of a younger, digitally native demographic that expects seamless online experiences comparable to leading consumer brands.

Van Ek, who previously served as Smithbucklin’s chief operations officer of association management and held the COO role at the American Marketing Association, is stepping into a landscape fraught with digital challenges. Associations are under immense pressure to overhaul legacy systems. This includes implementing robust data analytics platforms to track member engagement, deploying predictive AI to personalize educational content, and fortifying cybersecurity protocols to protect sensitive member data.

Furthermore, the permanent shift toward hybrid event models and remote work has forced organizations to rethink their technological infrastructure from the ground up. Van Ek’s centers of excellence will serve as the incubator and deployment engine for these solutions. By centralizing the management of tools and processes, the firm can ostensibly test emerging technologies—such as advanced community platforms or automated financial management systems—and roll them out efficiently across its portfolio of clients.

This centralized approach to technology allows associations that might otherwise lack the capital to build bespoke digital infrastructures to benefit from enterprise-grade tools. It is a classic economy-of-scale play, but one that requires an executive whose sole focus is on operational friction and technological deployment.

Preserving the Human Element: Strategy and Engagement

While the technological overhaul is critical, software and processes alone cannot sustain a membership organization. The other side of the co-presidency coin relies on Stephanie Yanecek’s deep expertise in product development, branding, and marketing strategy.

Yanecek previously led the firm's marketing, content, communications, creative, and editorial teams. In her new role overseeing core client teams, she is tasked with ensuring that the technological capabilities developed by Van Ek’s division are actually utilized to drive revenue, deepen member engagement, and strengthen market positioning.

The challenge for modern associations is often not a lack of data, but a lack of actionable insight. Executive directors and boards frequently struggle to align their strategic priorities with the realities of their operational bandwidth. Yanecek’s mandate is to bridge this gap. By working directly with organizational leadership, she can help boards set realistic goals and then pull the necessary levers—whether that means launching a new certification program, rebranding a legacy publication, or overhauling a membership tier structure.

This high-touch advisory role is the lifeblood of client retention in the industry. Technology can easily become commoditized, but trusted strategic counsel cannot. By freeing Yanecek from the burdens of software procurement and operational process mapping, she is empowered to act as a pure strategic partner to the associations she oversees.

A Blueprint for Professional Services

Smithbucklin’s structural pivot carries significant implications for the broader competitive landscape of association management. As major players like ASAE, MCI, and Kellen compete for a shrinking pool of large-scale association clients, differentiation is paramount.

The co-presidency model offers a compelling narrative to prospective clients: the promise of a boutique, highly personalized strategic advisory service backed by the technological firepower of a massive operational engine. It is a difficult balance to strike, and the success of this dual-leadership structure will depend entirely on the collaborative synergy between Yanecek and Van Ek.

If the two executives can avoid the common pitfalls of co-leadership—such as siloed communication or misaligned priorities—they may well establish a new operational blueprint for the professional services industry. As associations continue to navigate the turbulent waters of digital transformation, the firms that can offer both cutting-edge technological infrastructure and empathetic, strategic guidance will ultimately dictate the future of the market. The industry will be watching closely to see how this two-headed approach translates from structural theory into tangible client outcomes.