Associations of the Future: Reimagining the Workplace Post-COVID and Beyond

John Kilgour (CEO, Fire Protection Association Australia)
Nick Koerbin (Executive Director, Association Executive Services)
Anna Yerondais (CEO, Myotherapy Australia)

For many association leaders, the COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call. It quickly became clear that they needed to restructure their
organisation to remain sustainable. This panel will share their experiences of adjusting to a new working environment defined by working from home arrangements that necessitated huge readjustments for their workplace. Nick Koerbin will delve into lessons learnt from delivering secretariat services to more than 10 associations at a time. Nick will describe how outsourcing some aspects of your association using an integrated model can help streamline your operations.

John Kilgour, Chief Executive Officer, Fire Protection Association Australia

John joined Fire Protection Association Australia as Chief Executive Officer in February this year, following roles in senior leadership positions in the public and non-for-profit sectors. He spent a large part of his career in several leadership roles with BP in the downstream retail area, where he led an initiative to create the successful BP Highway Travel Centres in Queensland. He also served as the Oil Director – Vietnam and CEO of its subsidiaries BP Petco and Castrol Vietnam, which he transformed into a locally led and profitable manufacturing and retail lubricants operation. He then moved into asset management and property consulting, before being selected as CEO of the Committee for Ballarat, which gave him insights into longer term strategic planning that goes beyond election cycles delivering social and economic growth ahead of major population expansion predicted for the region. Most recently, John was the CEO of Civil Contractors Federation in Victoria (CCF), and President of the Victorian Civil Construction Industry Alliance (VCCIA), which represents 20-member based associations across civil construction industry delivering in excess of $22bn per annum of major infrastructure works in the state. John has brought his extensive experience to his role at the Association and is working on strategies to ensure its future sustainability and success.

Anna Yerondais, Chief Executive Officer, Myotherapy Association Australia

Anna Yerondais has many years of experience working in and with the complementary and allied health industry. During that time, she has successfully forged close networks across the industry, as a practitioner and practice-owner, industry association President, and industry in her current role as Association CEO for the Myotherapy Association Australia.

An accomplished and dynamic leader with extensive experience in community and professional development and events organisation, governance, professional development and statutory regulation of professional sectors. Anna is considered an ‘out of the box strategic thinker’ and often likes to challenge the status quo to influence best outcomes.

Nick Koerbin, Executive Director, AES

With over 30 years of management expertise, Executive Director and Founder of AES, Nick Koerbin is one of the most experienced NFP leaders in Australia. He has held positions as the CEO of Materials Australia, the National Parts Code, as well as senior positions in the Institute of Insurance, Australian Quality Council, the Financial Planning Association, the Australian Human Resources Institute, and the Furniture Industry Association of Australia. Nick created AES with a vision of creating a set of management practices that could be consistently followed to ensure success. Over his 30 years in the industry, he noticed that inconsistent management practices often impeded delivery of services to members, which in turn created issues with membership renewal. By establishing AES and creating the NFP Association Best Practice Self-Assessment, Nick has been able to assist leaders in becoming more confident and informed decision makers so that they can create more effective strategies and implementation plans.