Comparison · 13 material differences
Business Roundtable vs The Conference Board Councils
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
Professional association
Verified September 2026 Business Roundtable
Sitting chief executives of large US-headquartered public and private companies
Peer advisory
The Conference Board Councils
Senior functional executives and C-suite officers at large organisations, joining as individuals in a role-specific peer group
What the records say
- Role or title: Business Roundtable: Chief executive officer of a leading US company; The Conference Board Councils: A senior role matching the specific council: councils are organised by function and level, from CEO and CFO to chief of staff and functional heads.
- Geographic restriction: Business Roundtable: Company must be US-based; The Conference Board Councils: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues: Business Roundtable: Not publicly disclosed. Business Roundtable publishes no dues schedule. Its IRS Form 990 for the 2023 tax year reports about $63.4 million of programme service revenue on total revenue of about $64.5 million, which is consistent with dues funding but does not establish a per-member figure.; The Conference Board Councils: Not publicly disclosed. The Conference Board states that "Seats are available for individuals through an annual fee" but publishes no amount, and directs enquiries to a membership inquiry form..
Side by side
| Business Roundtable | The Conference Board Councils | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Professional association | Peer advisory |
| Founded | 1972 ("Since 1972, Business Roundtable has served as the voice of America's leading CEOs in Washington." The first chair, W.B. Murphy of Campbell Soup, took office in October 1972.) | 1916 (The founding year is that of the parent organisation, The Conference Board, established in 1916. The date the Council programme itself began is not publicly disclosed.) |
| Headquarters | Washington, United States | New York, United States |
| Geographic footprint | United States; members lead US-based companies operating across every sector of the economy | Councils are grouped by region: North America (including a set of Canada councils), Europe and Asia. The Conference Board has offices in New York, Toronto, Brussels, Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing. |
| Members | 200as of September 2026 | Council membership is not counted separately. The Conference Board reports more than 5,000 members in its global community, over 2,000 member companies including the majority of the Fortune 500, and more than 20,000 executives participating in its programmes each year. |
| Chapters | Not publicly disclosed; Business Roundtable has no chapters and operates from a single Washington office | 150 |
| Primary audience | Sitting chief executives of large US-headquartered public and private companies | Senior functional executives and C-suite officers at large organisations, joining as individuals in a role-specific peer group |
| Typical member | Members are the CEOs of leading US companies, drawn from every sector. Business Roundtable states that member companies support one in four American jobs and almost a quarter of US GDP. The published member list is dominated by S&P 500 constituents. | Each council is a group of roughly forty executives holding comparable senior roles across different industries. Councils exist for chief executives, CFOs, chief human resources officers, chief legal officers, chief operating officers, chief strategy officers, chief communications officers, chiefs of staff and many functional specialisms, including separate councils graded by company size such as a CFO Council for the Fortune 250. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Chief executive officer of a leading US company"Business Roundtable members are the CEOs of leading U.S. companies." No revenue, employee-count or index-membership test is published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | A senior role matching the specific council: councils are organised by function and level, from CEO and CFO to chief of staff and functional headsSome councils apply further filters, such as a CFO Council restricted to the Fortune 250 and separate divisional-CFO and Canada councils.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | Company must be US-based"Business Roundtable CEOs lead U.S.-based companies".verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | Not documented | Yes |
| Sponsor required | Not documented | Sometimes |
| Application process | Business Roundtable does not publish an application process, criteria or invitation mechanism. Its public membership page names no route in and directs visitors to the member list and board. | Prospective members apply for a specific council seat through The Conference Board's site, or are referred by an existing member through a referral programme. Candidates are vetted for fit against the council's role profile and the cap on seats. Council membership is one of four published membership types alongside Executive, C-Suite and Leadership Team memberships, which attach to a company rather than an individual. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed. Council size is capped at around forty and members are vetted, but no acceptance rate is published. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed. Business Roundtable publishes no dues schedule. Its IRS Form 990 for the 2023 tax year reports about $63.4 million of programme service revenue on total revenue of about $64.5 million, which is consistent with dues funding but does not establish a per-member figure.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed. The Conference Board states that "Seats are available for individuals through an annual fee" but publishes no amount, and directs enquiries to a membership inquiry form.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 |
| Membership term | Attached to the individual chief executive; not publicly stated whether membership is renewed annually | Annual fee per council seat; term length is not otherwise publicly disclosed |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | CEO-led policy committee work through the year; quarterly CEO Economic Outlook Survey | Councils meet regularly in person, supplemented by an online peer community; The Conference Board also runs 20+ events a year and 100+ webcasts |
| Peer forums | Standing CEO-led policy committees rather than confidential peer forums | Function-specific councils of roughly forty senior executives, self-governed on agenda, vendor-free, meeting under the Chatham House Rule |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed | All council meetings are held under the Chatham House Rule and group size is limited; a confidential online peer community runs alongside |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused | Forum-based, Event-focused, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | No | Yes |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | No | Partial |
| Online community | Partial | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Partial |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Yes |
| Leadership development | No | Yes |
| Retreats | Not documented | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | No |
| Investment discussions | No | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Partial | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | Medium | High |
| Social emphasis | Low | Low |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Business Roundtable · The Conference Board Councils