Over the coming weeks we will announce our new MemberWise Ambassadors who will champion their particular area of expertise. Introducing MemberWise Ambassador (Leadership), Richard Lambert, CEO at the National Hair and Beauty Federation (NHBF)

Richard has worked within the Membership and Association Sector for 24 years and has worked for organisations including the National Landlords Association, British Woodworking Federation and British Property Consortium.

His current association (NHBF) employs 14 members of staff and represents 6,800 members. As CEO he is responsible for Strategic, budgetary and operational management of the organisation, with a particular emphasis on strategic development, growing membership, representing the hair and beauty sector and raising the NHBF’s public profile.

We asked Richard how he ‘got into membership’ and he advised:

“I started my career as a parliamentary civil servant in the House of Commons, then went briefly and unhappily into commercial lobbying.  I eventually joined the British Property Federation in a policy role and found my niche in industry representative bodies.”

We also took the opportunity to ask him about his current goals/challenges from a membership perspective:

“The biggest challenge is membership growth, particularly retention.  The way the NHBF responded to the pandemic last year led more than 2,000 new members joining.  We need to make sure 2020’s recruitment success doesn’t become 2021’s retention crisis.”

Richard has been a Member and advocate of the MemberWise Network member/advocate since its inception and has drawn on its resources and insights. He has also advocated network participation to colleagues. He regularly attends our online and face-to-face events and has spoken at a number of conferences. He is a regular contributor on MemberWise Connect (our free online professional community) and is a MemberWise mentor.

We asked Richard how he will champion Leadership in his role as  MemberWise Ambassador:

“Throughout my career in membership, I’ve benefited from the expertise and generosity of others.  In the same way, I hope to pass on what I’ve learned over the years.”

Finally we asked Richard something unusual about himself and he replied:

“When I got the NHBF job, a friend reminded me that my hairstyle was once mentioned in a debate in Parliament.  It wasn’t a compliment …”

We welcome Richard on board as MemberWise Ambassador (Leadership) and we look forward to championing the critical task of strong leadership within the Membership and Association Sector.