Growth is not just a goal — it’s a journey. Here we grow.
We sat down with Zach Eisenman, CEO of Eisenman & Associates, for this Virginia CEO member profile to hear the story behind one of Richmond’s more unique leadership journeys. From interning in his dad’s office as a kid to completing a planned ownership transition in 2024, Zach talks growing a business with intention, surviving COVID, and what it really means to have a peer group in your corner.
As a second-generation CEO in Richmond, Virginia, Zach has spent the last year leading Eisenman & Associates, an association management and meeting planning firm his father founded in 1993. Through a carefully planned family business transition, an MBA from the University of Richmond, and a front-row seat to one of the most disruptive periods in the events industry, Zach leads with systems thinking, people-first values, and a clear vision for what’s next.
His journey reflects what we see in many Virginia CEOs: growth-minded leaders who never stop learning, evolving, and building impact.
Q. Zach, thank you for taking the time to tell us about you and your company. What do you do, who do you serve, and what makes your business unique?
Eisenman & Associates would traditionally be described as an association management company. We work with trade associations and professional societies. I like to think of our business in three buckets.
We have the association management side, full management, where we are the staff for these trade groups. Then a project-based aspect where we’ll do accounting, finance, that kind of thing. And then a big part of that is meeting planning. We have about 50 clients we do meeting planning for, everything from corporate, nonprofit, and association, from full plan-it-and-go-on-site to help with the trade show and selling booths.
The third bucket is site selection and hotel contracting. About 65 clients, many of whom have their own full staffs, but we’ll do their meeting and events contracting for them. Create the RFP, reach out to hotels, collect, negotiate, sign it, and turn it over to them.
Q. What inspired you to become a CEO? Was there a defining moment or motivation behind your journey?
The family business is obviously a huge part of that. I kind of grew up in this business, which has been a blessing and a bit of a curse. The company started in 1993, my dad started it, and I was born in 1992. Pretty much my entire life I’ve been interning in the office or at meetings.
My dad was pretty adamant about me getting outside experience first. So I went to the University of South Carolina, then worked for Sigma Nu Fraternity’s national office in some fundraising and consulting roles, traveling to different chapters. I did that for about four years, then joined Eisenman & Associates in 2018.
Around 2019 and 2020, we saw the business changing and my dad was looking at what a transition plan could look like. I think we did it right. We had a two to three year plan to elevate me, get me the skills I needed, get me in front of clients, and prepare me to buy him out. A huge piece of that was getting my MBA at the University of Richmond, really digging into business forecasting, planning, and the marketing side of things. The transition took effect January 1, 2024.
Q. What’s been your biggest challenge as a CEO, and how did you overcome it?
The biggest thing for me stepping into the CEO role was trying not to tackle every issue at once. I came in with a jolt of energy. We had some dated branding, dated marketing materials, systems that were a little out of date, and I wanted to do it all at once. You quickly realize how valuable your time is and how important it is not to stretch people too thin.
It’s really been that prioritization aspect. We needed a five-year plan, we needed some strategic directives. We’ve got a great team, a great business, a great client set. It’s working and it’s rolling. It’s been a process of chunking things into what’s most pressing, what can we handle now, and where can we involve other people.
Q. What’s one accomplishment you’re especially proud of in your business journey?
I don’t want to put this too lightly, but it’s kind of surviving COVID. Our business, especially the meetings and events side, was hammered. The world changed on a dime in March 2020. We had about 150 meetings on the books that weren’t going to happen as contracted.
We adapted pretty quickly. As the youngest one in the office, I became the Zoom expert. We pivoted and offered to run virtual annual meetings for associations that had never done one before. But the thing I’m most proud of is that we were able to keep all staff employed. We furloughed people maybe a few hours a week at the height of it just to manage costs, but nobody lost their job. Clients remember who was there when things were tough, and that built a lot of loyalty.
Q. How has being a member of Virginia CEOs (VACEOs) impacted your leadership or business?
The roundtable aspect has been huge, especially as a new CEO. Just having people around who knew what the seat looked like made a big difference.
There’s this analogy I keep coming back to: the duck on the surface. You’ve got to look steady on top, but these are people who can appreciate what’s going on underneath the water. Having an open forum to be vulnerable, to think through hard decisions with people who aren’t inside your business, that’s been invaluable.
We’ve bonded really well. I think we’ve had six or seven meetings now and we’re hitting our groove. The roundtable has really been a great forum for questions, for thinking things through, and for having a sounding board.
Q. How do you stay sharp as a leader?
I’m a huge podcast fan. I get a lot of the business podcasts and try to stay current. I read the Wall Street Journal and New York Times when I can.
But personally, the physical fitness piece has been big for me. I started working out in the mornings. I was doing it after work, but then I couldn’t leave at five because of a project and I’d end up late for dinner. I’m recently married, so that matters. A guy I work out with in the mornings always says: “Very few people need you at 6:30 in the morning. That can be your time. You’re not checking your phone, you’re not worried about a meeting.” It’s really about being more intentional, keeping the brain sharp, and making sure I’m taking care of myself physically.
Q. What’s something about your company culture that you’re proud of?
We’ve completely shifted away from a “butts in seats” mentality, the idea that time in the office equals productivity. We have an employee who just moved to Hilton Head. Four or five years ago, a non-Richmond-based employee simply would not have occurred to us.
We try to manage outcomes rather than hours. We have an employee with a young kid who asked to shift their schedule to be more productive in the evenings. Done. Adapting to what modern work looks like has opened up our talent pool, opened up our client pool, and made us a lot more competitive than we were.
Q. How do you define success for yourself and your business?
For me it’s growth as an umbrella, but that’s really about innovating our services. We’ve got a great core business, we understand what we do, we’re good at what we do. But what are the ancillary services? Where can we grow geographically? We’ve gotten much more into the corporate world, we’re doing meetings across the country, and we’re being more a la carte with our offerings in ways we never used to be.
At its core: sticking to our strengths and doing what we do well, but doing it in more flexible ways for more people.
Q. What’s your favorite thing about doing business in Virginia, or Richmond specifically?
The size of it, I find so intriguing but also just so unique. I recently had a potential client reach out who I played Little League with. How many times in business does that happen? I’ve known this person for 20 years and now we’re in a business context, and they remembered me and knew what I did.
The Richmond culture is just great. A lot of people who grew up here have left and come back. There’s a lot of energy, things are moving in the right direction. It’s got that small-town feel it’s always had while still growing, and that’s pretty special.
Q. What’s next for you and your company?
Continuing to expand what we do and how we do it. We’re hearing from more people who want pieces of our services they couldn’t get from us before: trade show support, back-office help, some marketing services. We’ve got clients in North Carolina and we’re looking further into the Southeast.
Q. Fun fact: What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I’ve never seen any of the Avengers movies. People find that very odd.
I also have a bit of a side dream. When I was at school in South Carolina, I fell deeply in love with boiled peanuts. It’s not as big of a thing in Virginia, but every time I go to a farmer’s market I think: boutique boiled peanuts stall. Cash money. That’s the personal business goal.
A Community Where Leaders Grow
Thank you so much to Zach for sitting down with us and sharing his experience. Zach’s story is one of preparation, resilience, and intentional growth, qualities shared by leaders across Virginia CEOs.
At the top, leadership can feel isolating. But it doesn’t have to be. Through confidential peer groups, roundtables, retreats, and meaningful connections, Virginia CEOs provides a place where leaders can grow together.
If you are a growth-minded CEO in Virginia looking for a trusted community of peers, we invite you to explore more Virginia CEO member profiles or learn more about membership.
Virginia CEOs. Here we grow.
