The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) announced today, July 24, that Michael P. O'Brien will become president of the organization effective Aug. 11.

Michael O'Brian O'Brien has been chief operating officer of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) for the past 10 years. Prior to that, he spent 10 years as assistant vice president, state and local affiliate services, at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). He succeeds Diane Swenson, who resigned in April after three months with the group.

O'Brien will be responsible for guiding NLBMDA's organizational performance, providing strategic leadership and serving as the Association's spokesperson on national legislative and regulatory issues. His primary objective is to work with the Federated members to develop NLBMDA's national policy agenda and grow the lumber and building materials dealer industry presence with key public policy lawmakers.

"Michael is a huge asset to the NLBMDA community. His leadership and decades of expertise in our industry willprove invaluable to our association as we continue to push our national agenda for America's building materialsuppliers," stated NLBMDA chairman Harold Baalmann.

"We welcome Michael to our team with open arms," said Paul Hylbert, NLBMDA's incoming chairman. "Through his previous work with MHI and NAHB, it is clear that he has the skills and knowledge to effectively lead our organization to serve our members' needs. His strengths are in government affairs and regulatory issues, and that will be his key focus with us.

O'Brien holds an master's degree in International Affairs from George Washington University and a bachelor of arts degree in political science and European history from the State University of New York at Oneonta. He is also a Certified Association Executive.