Dennis J. Slater serves as President and Secretary of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the North American-based trade group representing the business interests of companies which manufacture and market equipment, products and services used worldwide in the construction, agricultural, roadbuilding, mining, energy, forestry and utilities industries.

As AEM President, Mr. Slater is the chief staff executive overseeing the operation of association programs, which cover areas including product safety and technical issues, statistical and market trends data, government representation, international marketing support, education programs and trade shows.

In the area of trade shows, this includes two expositions which are among the largest shows of any industry in the United States - the CONEXPO-CON/AGG international construction and construction-materials exposition and the ICUEE International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition (ICUEE).

Mr. Slater also serves on the Board of the International Association for Exposition Management (IAEM) and is 2004 IAEM Chairman. He is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Mr. Slater served as Co-President of AEM during its 2002 transition year, after the association was formed through the consolidation of the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association (CIMA) and Equipment Manufacturers Institute (EMI) effective January 1, 2002. He became President January 1, 2003.

Before being named AEM Co-President, Slater had served as President and Secretary of CIMA. He joined CIMA in 1982 and held a series of marketing and management posts with increasing responsibilities. In 1988 he was named Director of Membership as well as Director of Exposition Services. In 1994 he became Executive Vice President, and President and Secretary in 1998.

Prior to joining AEM/CIMA, Slater was News Editor of the Hartford (WI) Times-Press.

A resident of Franklin, Wisconsin, Mr. Slater is an honors graduate of Carroll College (Waukesha, Wisconsin), where he earned degrees in communications/ journalism, political science and history.