Comparison · 15 material differences
Chief vs Level 20
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.
Networking organization
Level 20
People working in European private equity and venture capital, with the mission focused on women in investment roles
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; Level 20: No published role or title.
- Minimum company revenue: Chief: Builder route: US$2,000,000+ annual revenue or venture funding, or prior CXO/VP-plus experience; Level 20: No published minimum company revenue.
- Gender: Chief: A network for women leaders; Level 20: No published gender.
- Geographic restriction: Chief: No published geographic restriction; Level 20: In-person programming is concentrated in Europe.
- 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.; Level 20: £0 a year.
Side by side
| Chief | Level 20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Networking organization |
| Founded | 2019 (Launched in January 2019 in New York by Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan.) | 2015 (Launched in the UK in 2015 by twelve co-founders, all senior women in European private equity and private markets) |
| Headquarters | New York, United States | London, United Kingdom |
| Geographic footprint | United States, with four physical Clubhouses (New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington D.C.) and virtual programming | Thirteen chapters covering 20 European countries; the team is based in London |
| 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. | 7,250as of September 2025 |
| Chapters | 4 | 13 |
| Primary audience | Senior women executives with at least fifteen years of leadership experience, from C-suite officers to founders and independent operators. | People working in European private equity and venture capital, with the mission focused on women in investment roles |
| 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. | Members work in private equity and venture capital or in firms that support the industry, at all seniority levels. Membership is open to both women and men, who participate as members, speakers, mentors and research contributors. The organisation's stated goal is increasing the representation of senior women, particularly in investment roles. |
| 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 ↗ | No published role or title |
| 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 ↗ | No published minimum company revenue |
| 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 | In-person programming is concentrated in EuropeLevel 20 operates 13 chapters across 20 European countriesverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Industry restriction | No published industry restriction | Must work in private equity or venture capital, or at a firm that supports the industryMembership is open to both women and men at any seniority levelverified 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. | Individuals complete a membership application form in the member portal; there is no fee, sponsorship or interview. Firms wishing to sponsor contact Level 20 through its Get in Touch page. Members are then matched to relevant programming by role, seniority, sector, strategy and firm type; mentoring places are allocated by cohort through the chapter committees. |
| 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. | Not publicly disclosed for general membership, which appears to be open. The mentoring programme is described as highly sought after but no acceptance figures are published. |
| 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 | £0 a yearIndividual membership is free. "Level 20 membership is free for all those working in private equity and venture capital, or in firms that support the industry", Annual Review 2025verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual, with the option at renewal to switch between the Core and Coaching offerings | Not documented |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Six guided Core peer-advisory sessions a year, or four executive coaching sessions, plus year-round events and summits | Local professional development and networking events run by each chapter, plus international conferences and online sessions |
| 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. | Volunteer-run chapter committees organise local activity; mentoring runs as one-to-one pairings and group cohorts |
| Confidentiality | Core sessions are described as confidential peer-advisory sessions; Chief does not publish its confidentiality terms. | Could not be independently verified: no published confidentiality policy was found |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Clubhouse premises, Cohort-based, Virtual, Event-focused | Chapter-based, Event-focused, Cohort-based |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Partial |
| Local chapters | No | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Yes |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Partial |
| 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 | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | Partial |
| Investment discussions | No | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Chief · Level 20