Comparison · 18 material differences
Chief vs Chief Executive Network
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
Networking organization
Verified September 2026 Chief
Senior women executives with at least fifteen years of leadership experience, from C-suite officers to founders and independent operators.
Peer advisory
Chief Executive Network
CEOs, presidents and owners of privately held and mid-market US companies, grouped with non-competing peers in the same industry and revenue band
What the records say
- Role or title: Chief: C-suite route: CXO title at an organisation with 1,000+ employees, or a board seat at a public company; Chief Executive Network: Must be a CEO, President or Business Owner.
- Minimum company revenue: Chief: Builder route: US$2,000,000+ annual revenue or venture funding, or prior CXO/VP-plus experience; Chief Executive Network: Networks span roughly $5 million to $2.5 billion in company revenue.
- Gender: Chief: A network for women leaders; Chief Executive Network: No published gender.
- Geographic restriction: Chief: No published geographic restriction; Chief Executive Network: United States.
- Annual dues: Chief: Not published on Chief's own membership, application or FAQ pages. Reported figures for 2026 cluster around US$5,900 a year for the Executive Education and Executive Advisory tiers, with Core tiers reported higher; earlier reporting cited US$5,400 for vice-president level and US$7,800 for C-suite, and Fortune reported US$5,800 in 2023. Chief confirms none of these figures publicly.; Chief Executive Network: $5,500–12,280 a year.
Side by side
| Chief | Chief Executive Network | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Peer advisory |
| Founded | 2019 (Launched in January 2019 in New York by Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan.) | 1990 (CEN's own history page dates the launch to 1990, following work by Dr. Ronald E. Wiley leading CEO groups in the 1980s. CEN publishes no separate corporate address; the postal address in its own privacy policy is that of its parent, Chief Executive Group, LLC, 105 West Park Dr., Suite 400, Brentwood, Tennessee. Member enquiries route to a Lawrence, Kansas telephone number.) |
| Headquarters | New York, United States | Brentwood, United States |
| Geographic footprint | United States, with four physical Clubhouses (New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington D.C.) and virtual programming | United States: national industry groups meeting at airport-hub cities, plus local boards in roughly ten metro areas |
| Members | Not currently disclosed. Chief's site states members represent "10,000+" companies and 67 per cent of the Fortune 100, and that 44 per cent of members are in the C-suite, but publishes no current total. Wikipedia records 20,000 members as of October 2022. | 1,000as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 4 | CEN does not publish a total count of peer groups. Its 'By Location' page names local board markets and its 'By Industry' page names eight industry networks. |
| Primary audience | Senior women executives with at least fifteen years of leadership experience, from C-suite officers to founders and independent operators. | CEOs, presidents and owners of privately held and mid-market US companies, grouped with non-competing peers in the same industry and revenue band |
| Typical member | Chief describes four member journeys: C-suite (CXO title at organisations with 1,000 or more employees, or a public-company board seat), senior leaders and executives (CEO, CXO, VP or SVP and founders at mid-market to enterprise firms), and builders and navigators (solopreneurs, consultants and fractional leaders with prior CXO or VP-plus experience, or a business with US$2 million or more in revenue or venture funding). Chief states more than 60 per cent of members are sponsored by their employers. | CEN says most members run companies with roughly $10 million to $1 billion in revenue, with networks spanning $5 million to $2.5 billion. The industry concentration is in manufacturing, distribution, technology and software, architecture/engineering and construction trades. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | C-suite route: CXO title at an organisation with 1,000+ employees, or a board seat at a public companySenior Director titles at companies with 10,000+ employees are reviewed case by case.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Must be a CEO, President or Business OwnerCEN's 2026 member guide states the personal membership criterion verbatim.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | Builder route: US$2,000,000+ annual revenue or venture funding, or prior CXO/VP-plus experienceApplies to solopreneurs, independents, consultants, founders and fractional leaders.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Networks span roughly $5 million to $2.5 billion in company revenueCEN's guide says it "has networks from $5 Million to $2.5 Billion" and that most members run $10 million-$1 billion companies. There is no single published floor.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Gender | A network for women leadersChief describes itself as a community of women leaders.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published gender |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | United StatesCEN describes itself as a US-based network for US CEOs.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Industry restriction | No published industry restriction | Industry networks cover architecture, biotechnology, engineering, general contracting, lodging/hospitality, manufacturing, software/technology and sub-contractingCEN does not run an industry network for every sector.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Candidates apply online and Chief reviews the application against its published criteria. Qualified applicants are contacted for a 30-minute call, typically within a few business days, to discuss goals and Chief's offering. | Prospective members request a member guide and meeting agenda through the website or by phone, then speak with CEN staff about fit. CEN places the candidate in a group matched by industry, revenue band and region, checking that no direct competitor is already in the room. There is no published application form or committee vote. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. Chief states it "previously had a waitlist, but we've since moved to an application-based model"; Fortune reported a waitlist of 60,000 in 2023. | No acceptance rate is published. CEN says groups are "intentionally kept small" and that members are vetted for comparable scale and competitor-free status. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not published on Chief's own membership, application or FAQ pages. Reported figures for 2026 cluster around US$5,900 a year for the Executive Education and Executive Advisory tiers, with Core tiers reported higher; earlier reporting cited US$5,400 for vice-president level and US$7,800 for C-suite, and Fortune reported US$5,800 in 2023. Chief confirms none of these figures publicly.verified September 2026 | $5,500–12,280 a yearNational industry networks; CEN's own 2026 guide gives "$5,500 to $12,280 (Based on co size)". Includes benchmark research and a conference.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Chief does not publish pricing on its public pages; more than 60 per cent of memberships are employer-sponsored. | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 |
| Local chapter dues | Chief does not publish pricing on its public pages; more than 60 per cent of memberships are employer-sponsored. | $6,400–9,500 a yearLocal boards: "$6,400 for core membership ($9,500 option includes benchmark research and a conference)" per CEN's own 2026 guide.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual, with the option at renewal to switch between the Core and Coaching offerings | Annual |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Six guided Core peer-advisory sessions a year, or four executive coaching sessions, plus year-round events and summits | National industry groups meet twice a year for two days; local boards meet quarterly for half a day; plus national summits and online masterclasses |
| Peer forums | Core groups are curated by member journey (C-suite, Executive Leader, Builder, Navigator) and professional goals; a member testimonial on Chief's site describes a group of about ten. | Groups of roughly 8-12 non-competing CEOs matched by industry and revenue band, professionally facilitated |
| Confidentiality | Core sessions are described as confidential peer-advisory sessions; Chief does not publish its confidentiality terms. | CEN describes meetings as confidential with a strict no-sell rule and no vendors in the room |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Roughly four to six meeting days a year plus quarterly mentor calls, per CEN's published meeting cadence |
| Organized as | Clubhouse premises, Cohort-based, Virtual, Event-focused | Forum-based, Chapter-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | No | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Partial |
| Online community | Yes | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Partial | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | No | No |
| Investment discussions | No | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Low |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Chief · Chief Executive Network