Association of Association Executives (AAE)

What Association of Association Executives (AAE) does

The Association of Association Executives (AAE) is a UK-based, non-profit membership community serving CEOs, executives, and professionals who run associations, societies, and federations, primarily across Europe. Founded in 2013 (with its awards programme tracing back to 2006) and operating from London with a 16-person team, AAE is structured as an unincorporated association managed by Professional Community Services Ltd (Company No. 15313455) and AAE Services Ltd (Company No. 17099977). The organisation runs free individual and organizational memberships for association professionals, alongside a paid supplier membership tier for companies that sell into the association market.

AAE's core product surface spans six interlocking lines: (1) events — the flagship Associations World Congress (positioned as Europe's premier conference for association leaders), Association Executive Forums in London and Brussels, the Association Technology Showcase, and the Association Leaders Symposium; (2) training — scheduled masterclasses (e.g., £149 per session) and bespoke in-house courses on facilitation, conference chairing, and event speaking; (3) awards — the International & European Association Success Awards (€96–120 per nomination) and the UK Association Success Awards; (4) assessment tools — the Community Impact Wheel for member engagement benchmarking and an AI Readiness Check; (5) content — a Resource Centre, the Associations Unpacked podcast, eBulletin, and Association Insights magazine; and (6) a Supplier Directory and job board serving the association employment market. The underlying technology stack is a ReadyMembership-powered platform, with Pixl8 as design/development partner and GoCardless handling payments.

Revenue is generated through six streams: paid supplier memberships and event sponsorships (recurring), event registration fees, training course fees, award nomination fees, job advertisement fees, and in-house training contracts. The GTM motion is hybrid — community-led for individual members (free, content-driven), event-driven for delegate acquisition, and sales-led for supplier memberships and sponsorship packages. AAE markets through its website, email communications (eBulletin, magazine, training and content emails), podcast, webinars, and a network of European city tourism/convention bureau sponsors (Hamburg, Graz, Netherlands, Lagos Region).

Name

Association of Association Executives (AAE)

Legal name

Association of Association Executives

Website

https://associationexecutives.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Association of Association Executives (AAE) is a UK-based non-profit membership community serving CEOs and professionals running associations, societies, and federations across Europe through events, training, awards, and assessment tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Membership and Events

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

Keywords

• Association management services
• Professional membership community
• Industry conferences events
• Executive training masterclasses
• Association awards program

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: AAE offers free membership to association leaders and employees, with paid supplier membership options for companies wanting to promote services to the association executive community
2. Event Registration Fees: Revenue generated from paid events including Association Executive Forums (7 CPD credits), masterclasses, and the Associations World Congress. Delegate participation fees vary by event type and membership status
3. Training and Education: Masterclasses and in-house training courses such as Confident Event Speaking, Conference Chairing and Facilitation skills. Pricing at £149 for non-Leader Level Members
4. Award Entry Fees: International & European Association Success Awards generate revenue through nomination fees: €120 for non-members, €96 for members, with discounted rates for members with additional paid plans
5. Supplier Membership and Sponsorship: Supplier membership packages and event sponsorship provide branding, profile-raising, and promotional opportunities aligned with supporting associations
6. Job Advertisement Fees: Careers section hosts job vacancies from member associations, with third-party organizations posting positions to the AAE community

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

AAE is a non-profit membership community serving leaders and employees of associations, societies, and federations across Europe. It delivers paid events, training masterclasses, awards programmes, a member-engagement assessment tool, a resource library, a supplier directory, a job board, coaching, and a podcast, anchored by the Associations World Congress flagship conference. Individual and organisational membership is free, with revenue earned from paid supplier memberships, event registrations, training fees, award nominations, sponsorships, and job advertising.

Product overview

AAE is a membership organization serving association, society, and federation leaders through a platform-plus-services model. The core offering centers on events (Associations World Congress, Association Executive Forums, Association Technology Showcase, Association Leaders Symposium), professional development (Masterclasses, In-house Training, Coaching), and recognition programs (International & European Association Success Awards, UK Association Success Awards). Supporting services include the Community Impact Wheel assessment tool, Resource Centre content library, Supplier Directory, Job Vacancies board, and the Associations Unpacked podcast. The organization also provides AI guidance resources and expert advisory panels to address emerging technology needs for members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Associations World Congress: Europe's favourite conference for association leaders and executives
• Association Executive Forum
• Association Success Awards
• Community Impact Wheel

Products and services

• Membership Program (Individual, Organisational, Supplier) Tiered membership programme providing association leaders and employees free access to resources, forums, networking, and events, and providing suppliers paid access to association decision-makers.
• Associations World Congress Annual flagship conference (marketed as Europe's favourite conference for association leaders) with agenda, participation fees, exhibitors, sponsors, and an awards ceremony.
• Association Technology Showcase Event showcasing technology solutions for association management and operations, with delegate and supplier participation packages.
• Association Executive Forum (London and Brussels) In-person advice days (7 CPD credits) covering CRM/AMS adoption, eLearning/LMS implementation, and flagship-event growth strategies, held in London and Brussels, with delegate and supplier participation tiers.
• Association Leaders Symposium Invitation-style leadership symposium for association executives with brochure request, booking fees, and previous-attendees information.
• Scheduled Masterclasses Pay-as-you-go virtual training sessions (e.g., Essential Conference Facilitation Skills) delivered via Zoom by expert trainers, with a defined per-seat price (e.g., £149 for non-Leader Level Members).
• In-house Training Courses Bespoke training delivered at the client organisation covering topics such as Confident Event Speaking, Building Confident Event Chairs and Facilitators, Creating Effective Committee Meeting Chairs, and Creating Purposeful Participants.
• International & European Association Success Awards Non-profit awards programme recognising success across international and European associations, with project and individual categories; nomination fees €120 (non-members) and €96 (members).
• UK Association Success Awards Awards programme recognising excellence among UK-based associations, with nomination categories and a UK-focused entry process.
• Community Impact Wheel Member-engagement assessment tool with case studies, pricing, how-to-use, and support pages, designed to help associations take the pulse of every community member and make data-driven engagement decisions.
• Resource Centre Digital library of case studies, guidance documents, articles, AI guidance, and other resources supporting association management professionals.
• Supplier Directory Directory of vetted suppliers and consultants to associations, organised into Consultants and Suppliers categories, used by member associations for procurement support.
• Job Vacancies Board Paid job-advertising service for member associations and third-party organisations to post vacancies to the AAE community (with separate Advertising-a-Vacancy pricing).
• Coaching Services One-on-one career coaching for association executives and professionals, delivered by named coaches including John Scarrott and Lisa Kretschmann.
• Associations Unpacked Podcast Audio content series exploring topics relevant to association executives and leaders.
• Expert Advisory Panels Peer advisory groups providing guidance on specialised topics for association professionals.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Professional Community Services LtdcoreOthersManagement company that manages the Association of Association Executives. Handles operational aspects including data protection compliance under UK Data Protection Act 2018. Registered in UK with Company Number 15313455.
• ReadyMembershipcoreTechnology or IntegrationMembership software provider powering the AAE membership platform for managing individual memberships, organizational memberships, and supplier memberships
• Strategic Event SponsorscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsors for Associations World Congress including Lagoa Congress Centre, Lagos Region, Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions, Hamburg Convention Bureau, Hamburg Messe und Congress, Graz Convention Bureau, MCG Graz, and Eventfolio
• Pixl8 (Event Sponsors)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic sponsor providing design and development services for AAE events and platforms
• RD MobileminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStrategic sponsor supporting AAE initiatives

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Association Forum: Association Forum is a Chicago-based membership community serving association and nonprofit professionals through education, networking, and recognition programmes. Directly comparable community-plus-events business to AAE.
• American Society of Association Executives (ASAE): ASAE is the leading US association-management membership body, offering conferences, training, awards, and resources to association executives. It is the closest direct functional analogue to AAE, with a broader scope and larger scale.
• Union of International Associations (UIA): UIA researches and convenes international associations and their executives globally, publishing directories and hosting events. Comparable to AAE in serving association-management professionals but with a global rather than European focus.
• Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE): CSAE serves association executives and suppliers in Canada through events, professional development, and a member community. Directly comparable to AAE's community-plus-events model but operating in a different national market.
• European Society of Association Executives (ESAE): ESAE is a Brussels-based membership community for European association professionals offering events, training, and knowledge resources. It is a direct competitor to AAE in the same European niche.

Broad incumbents

• PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association): PCMA is a global community for convention and business-event professionals, with education, events, and a media platform. Comparable to AAE in serving executives who run meetings and conferences, though on a larger commercial-events scale.
• Meeting Professionals International (MPI): MPI is a large global association for meeting and event professionals, offering education, certification, and conferences. It overlaps with AAE in serving event-producing executives but at a broader, more established scale.

Regional players

• BoardSource: BoardSource is a US-based nonprofit leadership organisation supporting board governance and executive leadership of nonprofits and associations. Conceptually adjacent to AAE's professional-development and training offerings, primarily for the US market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/assnexecs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Association of Association Executives (AAE)