Russell Hamblin Boone, CEO of the Civil Enforcement Association – the Professional Trade Association CEO

In this episode we talk with Russell Hamblin Boone, who is CEO of the Civil Enforcement Association. The Association deals with civil enforcement for local authorities & government bodies and represents bailiffs.   Here we talk about the challenge the industry has around bailiff reputation and particularly since austerity and the cost of living crisis. Often people that don’t know too much about what they do have a strong opinion of them. Russell alludes to why its good for associations to bring in experienced professional trade association experts, rather than industry-experienced individuals. When he went for the interview for the role he said, "If you are looking for a Yes Man, I am not it, because I will challenge positions, in order to move the organisation forwards. Never did I think I needed to be a master of diplomacy, but its true - as a CEO you do. You have wide opinions and voices across the membership and Board.  Associations often need to show their value to the membership trough an issue, not only might they have to deal with external issues, but also internal challenges within the sector". Russell set up the Energy Retail Association which went onto to be Energy UK. He also shares his experiences at the Finance and Leasing Association through the credit crunch.  We round up by talking about managing crisis and why the Professional CEO has to often be the face of the issue. Navigating around member key stakeholders and communicating the right message is essential for the CEO. If you want to follow Russell on Linkedin, you can reach out to him here This episode is sponsored by global membership events app RD mobile RD Mobile | Virtual Event Platform and Member Engagement App (resultsdirect.com)