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From Vision to Results: How Naylor's COO Turns Strategy Into Non-Dues Revenue

Posted Oct 20, 2026 | Views 5
# Executive leadership
# Digital transformation
# Artificial Intelligence
# AI-powered human-led
# first-party data strategy
# Community building
# Product development
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Speakers

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Heather Holst-Knudsen
CEO @ H2K Labs

Heather Holst-Knudsen is a distinguished figure and expert in the events, media, marketing and technology sectors. Using her extensive experience, she guides clients in adapting to structural economic and market changes, seizing the chance to innovate and evolve. She specializes in digital and data disruption and opportunity, exploring how these overarching factors can impact revenue growth,customer-centricity, operational efficiency, profit margins, and the overall valuation of companies in both public and private markets. Her journey began at her family business, Thomas Publishing Company, where she honed her skills. She further expanded her expertise by holding positions at early industry giants Miller Freeman, Reed Elsevier, and IDG. Returning to Thomas Publishing, Heather founded and spearheaded Manufacturing Enterprise Communications, an integrated media portfolio connecting buyers and sellers in the manufacturing and technology sectors. Starting in 2015 and spanning the next seven years, she leveraged her expertise as a revenue and business leader in various SaaS businesses, including Feathr, Gleanin, Brella and Edflex. Heather is deeply passionate about digital innovation, data monetization, and AI and how these strategies fuel revenue growth, profitability, and company valuation. To serve and create value for clients in these areas, she launched H2K Labs, dedicated to generating and leveraging value through data for media, business information, events, and adjacent technology and service markets.

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Laura Taylor
COO @ Naylor Association Solutions

Laura Taylor is chief operating officer at Naylor Association Solutions, where she partners with associations to drive operational excellence across their member engagement and non-dues revenue programs. With 17 years at Naylor leading revenue operations, client services, and product operations, Laura brings deep expertise in helping association clients scale their programs efficiently while maximizing value for members and partners.

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SUMMARY

In this episode of The Revenue Room™, host Heather Holst-Knudsen sits down with Laura Taylor, Chief Operating Officer at Naylor Association Solutions and a Revenue Room™ CXO member. Laura rose from advertising sales to COO over nearly 18 years at Naylor, and today she owns the operations that turn strategy into results across revenue operations, client services, and the systems that power multiple revenue motions.

Anchored in Naylor's newly released 2026 Association Benchmarking Report, which found non-dues revenue to be associations' top challenge and AI adoption nearly tripling, Laura breaks down what it really takes to close the gap between vision and execution: building trust in data, assigning clear ownership, testing new revenue streams fast, and cutting costs without breaking the client experience.

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CONTENT & TRANSCRIPT

What you'll learn: [00:00] Why non-dues revenue is associations' #1 challenge, and why the data roles built to solve it remain understaffed.
[02:28] Laura's non-linear path from ad sales to COO, and why "with change comes opportunity."
[03:57] How understanding both sales and operations reduces friction and lifts productivity.
[06:39] Where a data-driven vision meets friction on the ground, and why trust in data matters more than the data itself.
[08:14] Inside Naylor's multi-revenue business model: media, events, career centers, software, and association management.
[11:14] Why non-dues revenue matters more than ever as membership loses its "default" value.
[14:22] AI use tripled in a year, so why are associations still underinvested in data and strategy talent?
[16:18] The untapped data goldmine associations are sitting on, and what it takes to turn it into insight.
[18:10] How lean teams can "test and fail fast" to diversify revenue without big risk.
[20:29] Running two timelines at once: separating quick wins from multi-year builds.
[22:18] Sponsored content, microsites, and member creators as low-lift revenue plays.
[24:17] How career centers can compete with Indeed and LinkedIn by leaning into membership value.
[27:15] Managing operational discipline in a matrix organization with clear ownership and the RACI model.
[29:40] Where to look first if you had to cut operating costs by 15%, and why AI is a capacity play, not just a cost play.
[32:56] Why culture and people are the real engine behind results.
[33:54] Rapid fire: sticky notes, puppies, and a Grand Slam bucket list.
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