Comparison · 11 material differences
Academy for Chief Executives vs The Alternative Board
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Peer advisory
Verified September 2026 Academy for Chief Executives
UK chief executives and managing directors of established mid-market companies
Peer advisory
The Alternative Board
Owners and leaders of privately held, growth-focused small and mid-sized companies.
What the records say
- Role or title: Academy for Chief Executives: Chief Executive or Managing Director, owner or employed leader of the business; The Alternative Board: Business owner or leader of a privately held, growth-focused company.
- Minimum company revenue: Academy for Chief Executives: Minimum £5 million turnover; The Alternative Board: No published minimum company revenue.
- Minimum employees: Academy for Chief Executives: At least 20 employees; The Alternative Board: No published minimum employees.
- Geographic restriction: Academy for Chief Executives: United Kingdom; The Alternative Board: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues: Academy for Chief Executives: Not publicly disclosed. The Academy never published membership fees and no reliable third-party figure was found.; The Alternative Board: Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally..
Side by side
| Academy for Chief Executives | The Alternative Board | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Peer advisory | Peer advisory |
| Founded | Not documented | 1990 (Founded by Allen Fishman, reportedly in St. Louis, Missouri, after his own experience of the value a board of directors provided when his company went public. TAB began franchising in 1996.) |
| Headquarters | Hedge End, United Kingdom | Westminster, United States |
| Geographic footprint | United Kingdom; the Academy ran regional groups led by franchisee Chairs but never published a public list of locations | Boards in 25 or more countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia, delivered through independently owned franchises |
| Members | 400as of January 2015 | Not disclosed as a current headcount. TAB's own FAQ states it has "supported more than 25,000 businesses worldwide", with "members representing over 1,100 industries" who "collectively generate $29.3 billion in gross revenue". Secondary sources report more than 4,600 current members globally; TAB does not publish that figure. |
| Chapters | 30 | 500 |
| Primary audience | UK chief executives and managing directors of established mid-market companies | Owners and leaders of privately held, growth-focused small and mid-sized companies. |
| Typical member | Vistage's acquisition release described Academy members as "U.K. based business leaders, Chief Executives or Managing Directors, owners or employed leaders of companies with a minimum of £5 million turnover and at least 20 employees". A 2015 trade profile put the member range at £2 million to £200 million turnover, so the threshold appears to have tightened over time. | Members are owners and senior leaders of privately held companies, recruited locally by the franchise owner who facilitates their board; competing businesses are excluded from the same board. TAB states members represent over 1,100 industries and collectively generate US$29.3 billion in gross revenue, and reports an average member tenure of 4.7 years. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Chief Executive or Managing Director, owner or employed leader of the businessPer Vistage's 2018 acquisition release describing Academy membership.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Business owner or leader of a privately held, growth-focused companyTAB publishes no revenue, employee or net-worth threshold.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | Minimum £5 million turnoverPer Vistage's 2018 acquisition release. A 2015 trade profile described the member range as £2m-£200m turnover, suggesting the published floor rose over time.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum company revenue |
| Minimum employees | At least 20 employeesPer Vistage's 2018 acquisition release.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum employees |
| Geographic restriction | United Kingdomverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Historically, prospective members were recruited by a regional Academy Chair, who ran the fit assessment and placed the member in a non-conflicting group. No public application portal survives; enquiries now route to Vistage UK. | Prospective members contact a local TAB board through the site's board finder. The local facilitator coach screens and hand-selects members, excluding competitors of existing members, and places them on a board. There is no central admissions process. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. The Academy published no acceptance data. | Not publicly disclosed. Secondary reporting describes TAB as effectively invitation-based, with most members joining through referrals from existing members; TAB does not state this on its own pages. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed. The Academy never published membership fees and no reliable third-party figure was found.verified September 2026 | Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally. |
| Monthly dues | Not publicly disclosed. The organisation no longer trades, so no current fee exists. | Not publicly disclosed. TAB states that membership dues are billed monthly with no binding contract and 30 days' written notice to leave, but terms and amounts are set locally by each franchise owner and no schedule is published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 | Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally. |
| Membership term | Not documented | Monthly billing, no binding contract; 30 days' written notice required to leave |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Historically monthly full-day group meetings hosted in rotation by members, plus a roughly two-hour one-to-one mentoring session with the Chair | Monthly board meetings of about four hours (described elsewhere on TAB's site as half-day sessions), plus a monthly one-to-one coaching call |
| Peer forums | Regional groups of non-competing chief executives and managing directors led by a franchisee Academy Chair | Boards of non-competing business owners, given as up to eight members on TAB's peer-advisory page and 8-10 on its membership page, each led by a TAB Certified Facilitator Coach. |
| Confidentiality | Groups were confidential; the organisation's public material stressed that members could raise issues they could not discuss with staff | Boards exclude direct competitors and operate as private advisory groups; TAB does not publish its confidentiality terms. |
| Time commitment | Historically about one full day a month plus a two-hour mentoring session | About four hours a month for the board meeting plus a monthly coaching call, with a commitment to at least 12 meetings a year |
| Organized as | Forum-based, Chapter-based | Forum-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Not documented | Partial |
| Online community | Not documented | Yes |
| Member directory | Not documented | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Partial |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Not documented | Not documented |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | No |
| Investment discussions | Not documented | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | Medium | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Low | Low |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Academy for Chief Executives · The Alternative Board