Jill McClure Named Executive Director of APRO

July 6, 2017  by Larry Thomas in Executive Changes, Industry   

McClure, whose resume includes deep experience in advertising, trade shows and association management, is replacing Bill Keese, who retired June 30.

“The great thing about Jill was that she was always the number one candidate throughout the whole process,” said APRO Past President Mark Connelly, a member of the search committee. “From reviewing her resume and then all the interview rounds, she was unanimously the number one candidate for everyone on the committee.”

McClure most recently worked for the Texas Association of School Boards, and earlier spent seven years as chief operating officer of the Colorado Oil and Gas Assn.

She also is a former adjunct professor in marketing and convention and trade show management at Austin Community College, and she has experience as an ad agency director and corporate communications consultant serving Fortune 500 tech clients such as Dell, Motorola and Freescale.

McClure also has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation, and was named a 2013 innovator by the American Society of Association Executives.

“I really enjoyed my initial introduction to our members at APRO’s Fuse 2017 Convention,” said McClure. “I will spend the coming months on a listening tour – hearing about member goals, needs and challenges. We will take that information and begin forming a plan of work, and will soon begin developing our strategic plan.”

She was hired after a national search and selection process by the search firm Sterling Martin Associates and an APRO Search Committee consisting of Connelly, David Kraemer, Larry D. Carrico, Charles Smithgall IV, and Ed Winn III. Keese was also involved in the selection process.