Comparison · 12 material differences
The CMO Club vs Financial Executives International
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 The CMO Club
Chief marketing officers and senior marketing leaders at established brands
Professional association
Financial Executives International
Senior corporate finance executives - CFOs, chief accounting officers, controllers, treasurers, tax executives and audit committee members
What the records say
- Role or title: The CMO Club: Chief marketing officer or equivalent senior marketing leader; Financial Executives International: Qualifying title: CFO, chief accounting officer, controller, treasurer, VP of finance, tax, risk management or planning and analysis, a director in those functions, or audit committee member.
- Minimum company revenue: The CMO Club: No published minimum company revenue; Financial Executives International: Company must have at least $10 million in annual revenues (or meet an alternative size test).
- Minimum net worth: The CMO Club: No published minimum net worth; Financial Executives International: Alternative company test: $2 million in net worth.
- Geographic restriction: The CMO Club: No published geographic restriction; Financial Executives International: United States; members within 75 miles of a chapter must join that chapter.
- Annual dues: The CMO Club: Not publicly disclosed at any stage of the organisation's history.; Financial Executives International: $399–499 a year.
Side by side
| The CMO Club | Financial Executives International | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Professional association |
| Founded | Not documented | 1931 (Founded as the Controllers Institute of America in 1931; renamed Financial Executives Institute in 1962 and Financial Executives International in 2000.) |
| Headquarters | United States | Morristown, United States |
| Geographic footprint | At acquisition in 2020, more than 30 global chapters. The successor InspireCMO runs member programmes at chapters across the United States; a current chapter list is not published on the public site. | United States: 56 local chapters listed on FEI's own chapter index, from Hawaii to Long Island |
| Members | 650as of March 2020 | 10,000as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 30 | 56 |
| Primary audience | Chief marketing officers and senior marketing leaders at established brands | Senior corporate finance executives - CFOs, chief accounting officers, controllers, treasurers, tax executives and audit committee members |
| Typical member | Members were CMOs and senior marketing leaders at large consumer and business brands. The club's defining rule was that vendors and press were excluded, so members could speak without being sold to or quoted. | Members hold policy-making finance roles at companies across every major industry, from Fortune 500 businesses to mid-sized enterprises. Eligibility requires both a qualifying title and a company that clears a size test. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Chief marketing officer or equivalent senior marketing leaderThe historic club and its successor both position membership as CMO-level. No formal written eligibility test is published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Qualifying title: CFO, chief accounting officer, controller, treasurer, VP of finance, tax, risk management or planning and analysis, a director in those functions, or audit committee memberFEI describes membership as "exclusive to senior-level financial executives".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | No published minimum company revenue | Company must have at least $10 million in annual revenues (or meet an alternative size test)Alternative tests are $2 million in net worth or $6 million in capital (combined net worth and long-term debt).verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum net worth | No published minimum net worth | Alternative company test: $2 million in net worthThis is a company balance-sheet test, not a personal net-worth test.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | United States; members within 75 miles of a chapter must join that chapterverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | Not documented | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | For the successor InspireCMO: complete an online interest form, speak with the chapter's executive director, then begin attending member programmes. No public application process survives for the original CMO Club. | Candidates complete an online membership application on the FEI site, which checks the qualifying title and company size test and presents chapter options and rates. Chapter membership is required for those within 75 miles of a chapter. No sponsor or nomination is needed. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. | No acceptance rate is published. Selectivity operates through the published title and company-size tests and the exclusion of service providers and start-ups. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed at any stage of the organisation's history.verified September 2026 | $399–499 a year"FEI membership dues are $399 for first year and $499 for subsequent years for all categories of membership" per the FEI Kansas City chapter. Other FEI chapter sites quote $309 a year for national dues, so the published figure varies by page.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee separate from first-year dues is published.verified September 2026 |
| Local chapter dues | Not publicly disclosed. | $75–468 a yearChapter dues are additional and vary by location: FEI Boston publishes $75 a year, FEI Northeast Ohio waives local dues in the first year, and FEI Sacramento lists $468 a year for executive, academic, in-transition and government/military categories, $399 for entrepreneur and $349 for retired. The Sacramento figures may be all-in rather than chapter-only.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Not documented | Annual |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Chapter programmes through the year plus regular virtual strategy calls and peer-led sessions, per the successor organisation | Local chapter meetings through the year plus national conferences, webinars and CPE-bearing courses |
| Peer forums | Member-led chapter circles rather than facilitated closed forums; each community has an assigned executive director | No standing facilitated peer forum. FEI operates chapters, technical committees and special-interest programming rather than closed advisory groups |
| Confidentiality | The original club's premise was a room without vendors or press. The successor publishes a code of conduct but no forum confidentiality rule | No published forum confidentiality rule; FEI is a professional association with open programming and a member code of conduct |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Event-focused, Virtual | Chapter-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | Partial |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Partial | Partial |
| Online community | Yes | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | Partial | No |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Low |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: The CMO Club · Financial Executives International