The Opportunity

The National Association for Environmental, Health, Safety, and Sustainability Management (NAEM) seeks a strategic, visible, and growth-oriented Chief Executive Officer to lead a highly regarded professional association serving corporate EHS&S leaders.

NAEM is widely recognized for its trusted peer-to-peer community, cross-industry insight, and leadership development platform. As the needs of EHS&S leaders continue to evolve, NAEM is uniquely positioned to expand its influence, modernize its engagement model, and deepen its value to a growing and increasingly dynamic professional community.

This is a pivotal leadership moment and one defined not by challenge, but by opportunity. The next CEO will build on a strong foundation, aided by a lean, high-performing organization with strong potential to scale, to accelerate growth, expand NAEM’s reach, and enhance its role as the premier association for EHS&S leadership.

This position is remote within the United States, with preference for candidates in the East Coast time zone.

About NAEM

Founded in 1991, NAEM is widely regarded as the premier association for corporate EHS&S leaders, known for its trusted environment, candid dialogue, and practical insights that drive real-world performance. NAEM is empowering corporate leaders to advance environmental stewardship, create safe and healthy workplaces, and promote global sustainability.

Core offerings include:

• National conferences and regional events
• Research and benchmarking
• Webinars and digital programming
• Peer learning forums and member communities
• Corporate membership and affiliate partnerships

NAEM operates with approximately $2.2 million in annual revenue and a staff of five.

Organizational Context and Strategic Imperatives

Through extensive stakeholder engagement, several key themes have emerged that will shape the CEO’s agenda:

Membership Growth and Retention

While NAEM continues to attract new participants, retention and deeper engagement across corporate memberships remain areas for focus, particularly beyond the primary organizational contact.

Financial Sustainability and Revenue Diversification

Strengthening and diversifying revenue will be a top priority, creating an opportunity to build on NAEM’s core offerings while developing new revenue streams that support long-term growth, resilience, and member value.

Evolving Member Engagement Model

NAEM has an opportunity to evolve its engagement model to reflect how members increasingly learn, connect, and participate, expanding access through more flexible formats, broader touchpoints, and approaches that resonate across career stages.

Preserving the “Secret Sauce”

NAEM’s highly valued peer-to-peer, trust-based community is its defining strength. Growth and innovation must reinforce, not dilute, this culture.

Operational Maturity and Scale

NAEM is well positioned to strengthen its operating infrastructure and use of metrics in ways that support growth while preserving its agile, relationship-driven culture.

The Chief Executive Officer Role

The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the overall leadership, strategy, and performance of NAEM. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the CEO serves as the primary steward of the organization’s mission, culture, and long-term sustainability.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Governance

• Partner with the Board to refine and execute NAEM’s strategic direction, ensuring alignment
• with mission, market realities, and long-term growth objectives.
• Translate strategic priorities into actionable plans with clear metrics, accountability, and timelines.
• Serve as principal advisor to the Board, supporting effective governance and informed decision-making.
• Lead through a period of transition, balancing continuity with thoughtful evolution.
• Ensure alignment across Board, staff, and key stakeholder groups, including the Affiliates Council and volunteer leadership.

Financial Leadership and Business Model Evaluation

• Strengthen NAEM’s financial position.
• Drive revenue diversification beyond traditional membership and in-person events, including research, partnerships, and new program models.
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning with a focus on sustainability and growth.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators tied to revenue, engagement, and organizational health.
• Bring a disciplined, data-informed approach to resource allocation and investment decisions.

Membership and Market Growth

• Expand and deepen membership across corporate, individual, and affiliate segments.
• Strengthen retention by increasing engagement within member organizations and across career stages.
• Develop strategies to better engage emerging and next-generation EHS&S leaders.
• Enhance NAEM’s value proposition to reflect evolving professional and organizational needs.
• Leverage data and insights to understand member behavior, participation trends, and drivers of engagement.

Programs, Products and Thought Leadership

• Oversee NAEM’s portfolio of conferences, research, and learning programs.
• Evolve program formats to include a mix of in-person, regional, and digital experiences.
• Ensure offerings balance high-quality content with meaningful networking and peer exchange.
• Expand research capabilities as both a member value driver and revenue stream.
• Position NAEM as a leading voice in EHS&S leadership, sustainability, and business performance.

External Relations and Brand Leadership

• Serve as the primary ambassador and public face of NAEM.
• Strengthen relationships with corporate members, affiliate partners, sponsors, and industry stakeholders.
• Enhance brand visibility and market positioning.
• Cultivate strategic partnerships that extend NAEM’s reach and impact.
• Demonstrate strong stage presence and credibility in member-facing and public forums.

Organizational Leadership and Culture

• Lead, develop, and support a small, high-performing staff team.
• Maintain and build on NAEM's existing culture of trust, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Provide structure and clarity while preserving flexibility and autonomy.
• Strengthen internal processes, communication rhythms, and operating systems.
• Ensure the organization is appropriately resourced and structured for growth.

Required Skills, Experience, and Desired Qualifications

• Proven leader with 10+ years of experience in a Chief Executive Officer, COO or senior-level position within an organization of comparable complexity and comparable or larger size.
• Demonstrated success leading and growing a membership-based or professional organization.
• Proven ability to drive revenue growth and diversification.
• Experience working closely with a Board of Directors and supporting effective governance.
• Strong business acumen, including financial management and operational oversight.
• Experience building partnerships, sponsorships, or revenue-generating programs.
• Track record of leading small teams and scaling organizations with limited resources.
• Familiarity with corporate audiences; EHS&S domain experience is helpful but not required.

Personal Qualities and Competencies

• Balances big-picture thinking with disciplined execution; able to translate strategy into measurable outcomes.
• Brings creativity and rigor to identifying and capturing new revenue opportunities.
• Skilled at navigating diverse constituencies and building alignment across members, Board, staff, and partners.
• Credible, engaging, and visible leader who can represent NAEM effectively across audiences.
• Comfortable using metrics and insights to guide strategy, assess performance, and drive accountability.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to execute, prioritize, and follow through.
• Collaborative and inclusive leadership style.
• Strong listener with the ability to build trust across stakeholders.
• Charismatic and relationship-oriented, with the ability to serve as the face of the organization.
• Charismatic, polished, and relationship-oriented, with strong presentation and communication skills and the ability to serve confidently as the face of the organization at webinars, on stage at events, and other public forums.
• Adaptable and forward-thinking, with openness to innovation and change.
• Grounded, pragmatic, and resilient in a resource-constrained environment.
• Leads with humility and respect, high integrity and a commitment to mission and community.
• Comfortable managing complexity, ambiguity, and organizational evolution.
• Able to inspire followership and mobilize volunteers and members.
• Importantly, the successful candidate will demonstrate the judgment to evolve NAEM thoughtfully, preserving the elements that make it distinctive while positioning it for future growth.

Measures of Success

First 12 Months

• Establish credibility and trust with Board, staff, and membership.
• Gain a deep understanding of NAEM’s culture, value proposition, and stakeholder dynamics.
• Strengthen financial performance and identify clear revenue growth priorities.
• Maintain visibility with members through active participation in programs and events.
• Establish a more structured, metrics-driven approach to organizational performance.

1–3 Years

• Demonstrate measurable progress in revenue growth and diversification.
• Improve membership engagement, retention, and growth.
• Successfully evolve NAEM’s program and engagement model.
• Strengthen organizational infrastructure, systems, and team capacity.
• Position NAEM for sustained long-term relevance and impact.

Compensation

A competitive compensation package will be offered to attract an outstanding candidate.

To Apply

To apply, please send a cover letter and current resume (Microsoft Word® format preferred) here. The cover letter should outline how your experience fits the requirements of the position as this will be an important factor in considering your candidacy.

Sterling Martin Associates is committed to providing equal opportunity for employees and applicants in all aspects of the employment relationship, without regard to race, religion, color, age, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, political affiliation, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.