AEM announces successor to outgoing President Dennis Slater

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has announced that Dennis J. Slater will retire as AEM President, effective December 31, 2021. The AEM Board of Directors has selected AEM's Senior Vice President, Construction & Utility Sector Megan Tanel to succeed Slater and serve as AEM President effective January 1, 2022.

Slater, 63, joined AEM's predecessor the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association (CIMA) in 1982, becoming president of CIMA in 1998 and president of the newly formed AEM in 2002, after a merger between CIMA and Equipment Manufacturers Institute (EMI).  Slater led the transformation of the association, which has grown by 50 percent to more than 1,000 member companies, with revenue increasing nearly 700 percent to $60 million annually.

Tanel, 48, joined AEM in 1995 as an intern, becoming a full-time employee later that year. She quickly grew in leadership to her most recent position of Senior Vice President, Construction & Utility Sector. For many years Tanel led AEM's exhibitions and events initiatives and helped launch World of Asphalt in 2001, served as Show Director for The Utility Expo (formerly ICUEE) and CONEXPO-CON/AGG, North America's largest construction trade show. Through her leadership, she and the team she developed, grew AEM trade show revenue by 80 percent over 12 years, worked internationally to establish strategic relationships with our global partners in support of AEM services, and led the effort to extend key contracts for AEM shows, most notably CONEXPO-CON/AGG.

As President, Tanel will continue to bring the industry together, build relationships, advocate for pro-manufacturing policies, and deliver value for the association's more than 1,000 member companies.