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How do you persuade a member of Congress to give up elective office and to trade his or her oversight role over an industry for a top job representing that very industry? "It's not tough when they've been defeated or they're retiring, but those aren't necessarily the best candidates. It's a tall order," says recruiter Wendy Pangburn of the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

But it's not impossible. In January, her firm enticed Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., who was the No. 2 Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, to resign his seat to take the helm at the Managed Funds Association. He started work this month.

And so the revolving door between Congress and K Street spins again as a plugged-in politician swaps the perks and status of elective office for the big bucks of private-sector lobbying and advocacy.

The halls of Congress and the regulatory agencies are fertile ground for industry groups looking for future leaders. And top-flight recruiters, hired by trade groups, troll that territory in search of their clients' next chief executives.

Most high-profile Washington trade groups stock their rosters -- from the corner office to the government-relations, and public- and legislative-affairs departments -- with former government officials or Capitol Hill staffers. Those valuable names come in all political stripes, coveted for their inside-the-Beltway experience, their knowledge of the policy-making process, and their perceived access to current lawmakers.

"In trade associations, it's about access, knowledge of the process, and political experience," says John Graham, CEO of the American Society of Association Executives and its Center for Association Leadership. Serving in public office isn't a prerequisite for running a trade group, but more and more association chieftains seem to have followed that route.

Former Rep. James Greenwood, R-Pa., who was in Congress from 1993 to 2005, rose to become a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and he served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. He is now the CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

In his job interview with BIO, Greenwood says, "I told the board that I can learn enough microbiology to be a good advocate faster than a microbiologist could learn to deal with Congress. I've been on the receiving end of advocacy for 24 years, so I know what kind of information is valuable to me as a legislator, and I know what members of Congress want -- straightforward, understandable, and crisp presentation of issues."

Steve Anderson is another trade group leader who came up through politics. After he lost a run for Congress in 1980, he worked for a House member on the Hill. "I got into the world of association management, and it's ironic that most former officials now want to become trade association executives," says Anderson, now the CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the former chief of the National Restaurant Association and the American Frozen Food Institute.

A onetime congressman's political skills can be invaluable for a trade group, especially when an industry is on the defensive.

The Managed Funds Association, which represents hedge funds, faced an avalanche of legislation in 2007, as Democrats targeted the funds' tax shelters and threatened to assess stiffer levies on some of the industry's highest-paid managers. "I think there's a win-win here," says Pangburn, who led the search that brought Baker to the MFA. "The Hill needs to better understand how the alternative investment world works, and [industry needs] to understand how the Hill works, and Richard is the perfect mediator between the two."

To Public Citizen and other watchdogs, however, this is a worrisome trend. The group, which tracks elected-officials-turned-lobbyists, reports that from 1998 to 2006, 43 percent of retiring members of Congress became lobbyists for the industries and firms that once lobbied them. "It's a no-brainer for democratic governance that you want public officials that are not selling out our public policy and not giving up regulations or changing policies to buy favors to get a cushy executive position afterward," says Craig Holman, Public Citizen's Capitol Hill lobbyist. "There has to be a way to slow the revolving door."

Spending time on Capitol Hill is seen as a rite of passage for many who ultimately seek the lucrative rewards of K Street. "It's not a secret that a lot of associations pay pretty well for their senior leaders," says Leslie Hortum, managing partner in the Washington office of recruiting firm SpencerStuart. "So if leaders can bring their skills and relationships to the table, then that's often a marriage made in heaven."

The matchup -- finding a leader who fits an organization's mission and culture -- is an art form, says Nels Olsen, managing director of the Washington office of Korn/Ferry International, which was among the first recruiting firms to open a Washington practice in the early 1980s. Today, what was once the cottage industry of nonprofit searches based here has blossomed into a major sector for the "retained search" industry -- the firms that have exclusive contracts with associations and other nonprofits to find the "right fit" for their clients. Their fees are not small -- a CEO search typically costs a base retainer of $80,000, plus out-of-pocket expenses and one-third of the future leader's first-year pay. Even so, trade associations consider it essential to pay for the Rolodex and experience of a seasoned recruiter. "We certainly keep track of the best and brightest," Olsen says.

Don't look for a one-size-fits-all approach to finding the best executive leader, recruiters say. When hunting for a trade group CEO, for example, recruiters may first look to K Street's tried-and-true association chiefs. "The reality is that today's association executives are extremely well qualified and have terrific track records," SpencerStuart's Hortum says. "Here is someone who understands how to deal with volunteer leaders and build nondues revenue and who understands the nuances of leading a strategic planning process."

Some of these leaders have Capitol Hill experience, but most of them have worked their way up the ranks in nonprofit organizations.

The ASAE's Graham, for example, was at the American Diabetes Association for 24 years and became CEO in 1990. Under his leadership, the ADA's annual revenue rose from $50 million to $200 million. He also consolidated the nonprofit's many affiliate groups into a single nationwide organization.

David Rehr, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, says his job "is essentially running a $54 million business." His resume is typical for an association manager -- a career on the Hill, then a job as a lobbyist with the National Federation of Independent Business, CEO of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, and now top executive at the NAB.

The National Mining Association recruited Kraig Naasz to its top post just five months before the Sago Mine accident in January 2006. But he had learned crisis management in his previous jobs. He led the U.S. Apple Association in the aftermath of negative news reports about the apple-growing industry, and he later navigated the Fertilizer Institute through intense public scrutiny after ingredients used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing were found to be commonly available fertilizers.

A reputation as a good manager and advocate for other trade groups puts a candidate high on a search list. And what's the best way to get on that list? Eric Vautour, a recruiter with Russell Reynolds Associates, says, "Don't call us; we'll call you."

The author, an associate editor for CEO Update, can be reached at evans@ceoupdate.com.