Gary A. LaBranche, FASAE, CAE, is President and CEO of NIRI. 

LaBranche previously served as the President & CEO of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG). ACG serves 90,000 investors, lenders, executives and advisors to middle market companies, including 14,500 global members and 1,000 private equity firms. A global organization with 59 chapters, ACG’s annual revenue is $26 million.

Since he became CEO in 2008, ACG expanded chapters and membership, created Middle Market Growth magazine, started a European conference, added member benefits and grew services to chapters. ACG also launched efforts to educate policy-makers on private capital investment in the middle market, including the creation of the Congressional Caucus on Middle Market Growth, ACG’s Private Equity Regulatory Task Force, the ACG PAC and GrowthEconomy.org. He represents ACG to members, media, lawmakers, regulators (including the SEC) and other stakeholders.

An association professional for 36+ years, he has served as CEO for three organizations and as a senior executive at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining ACG, LaBranche was CEO for the Association Forum of Chicagoland. At the Forum and ASAE he was responsible for identifying, developing and sharing best practices, models and innovation in association management, professional development and meeting planning. At ASAE he was responsible for the “Super Bowl of Conventions,” launch of e-learning and modernization of the Certified Association Executive (CAE) program.

He was named an ASAE Fellow (FASAE) in 1995. He was the ASAE Key Award winner for 2007, the highest award in the profession. ASSOCIATION TRENDS named him the 2012 Association Executive of the Year. He is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Association Committee of 100 and is past chairman of the Chamber’s Institute of Organization Management. LaBranche has served on ASAE’s 4 governing boards and continues to serve on the board of ASAE’s for-profit subsidiary, ASAE Business Services, Inc. of which he is past chairman. He serves on three Advisory Boards: Business Dynamics Research Consortium at the University of Wisconsin; National Center for Middle Market at The Ohio State University; Kogod Cybersecurity Governance Center at American University.

He is the author of 300+ articles, podcasts and columns, including “Managing the Complex Association Enterprise” in ASAE’s Handbook on Professional Practices in Association Management, 3rd ed. He has consulted/presented to 300+ associations.

LaBranche was profiled as an innovative leader in the book, Hope: How Triumphant Leaders Create the Future, by Andrew Razeghi. He has also been featured in Strategic Transformation: How Boards Achieve Extraordinary Change.