Mark D. French

Mark D. French is President of Leading Authorities, Inc., a speakers bureau and event design firm in Washington, D.C. He also owns and publishes CEO Update, a monthly newsletter that covers trade associations and nonprofit executive careers.

Career

French founded Leading Authorities in December 1990. He previously served as senior vice president of development of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and executive vice president of the ATA Foundation.

From 1979-1987, French held positions in the membership and development areas of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He was the Chamber’s leading national account manager in 1981 and 1982. In 1982, he was director of the Chamber’s Spirit of Enterprise Capital Campaign to restore the Chamber’s headquarters.

French serves on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and has served on the board of directors of the International Association of Speakers Bureaus (IASB), the Associate Alliance of the American Society of Association Executives, and a special IASB-National Speakers Association (NSA) task force.

His commentary on the speaking industry has been featured in numerous media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, and NBC News.

French is a member of the American Society of Association Executives, the City Club of Washington, and Meeting Professionals International.