SmithBucklin

SmithBucklin, based in Chicago, is the world's largest association management company, founded in 1949 with secondary offices in Washington, D.C.; Old Lyme, Conn.; St. Louis; Bethesda, Md.; and San Ramon, Calif.

William E. Smith started the company with nine client organizations—headlined by the Popcorn, Seed Pea and Frozen Potato Products Institutes—and just 22 employees. On July 24, 2004, Smith died at age 90.

On June 29, 2005, the company became employee-owned.

In 2011, SmithBucklin contracted for 111,081 square feet at Chicago's former IBM Building, 330 N. Wabash Ave., under a 15-year lease that was set to begin in 2013.

Acquisitions have fueled SmithBucklin's recent growth, including events firm Courtesy Associates (2000); public relations firm Tech Image Ltd. (2007); medical education provider The France Foundation (2011); content provider Information Inc. (2011); stakeholder-alliance firm Inventures Inc. (2013); ad-sales firm The Thompson Group (2015); and incentive-travel company SDI (2016).

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