Comparison · 12 material differences
The CMO Club vs Seattle Executives Association
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
Networking organization
Seattle Executives Association
Owners, principals and decision makers of established Greater Seattle businesses, one per business category
What the records say
- Role or title: The CMO Club: Chief marketing officer or equivalent senior marketing leader; Seattle Executives Association: The applicant must be a business owner, principal or decision maker for the company.
- Geographic restriction: The CMO Club: No published geographic restriction; Seattle Executives Association: Greater Seattle area.
- Annual dues: The CMO Club: Not publicly disclosed at any stage of the organisation's history.; Seattle Executives Association: Not publicly disclosed. The association does not publish dues; prospective members are told to call the office..
Side by side
| The CMO Club | Seattle Executives Association | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Networking organization |
| Founded | Not documented | 1917 (Founded in 1917 by a group of Seattle businessmen who shared information about ships arriving in port and referred clients to one another, per the association's own history.) |
| Headquarters | United States | Seattle, 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. | Greater Seattle area; weekly luncheons at the Washington Athletic Club and at member locations |
| Members | 650as of March 2020 | 130as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 30 | A single-city association with no chapters. It is a member of the International Executives Association (IEA), a network of comparable city associations, and is listed as the Seattle chapter in IEA directories. |
| Primary audience | Chief marketing officers and senior marketing leaders at established brands | Owners, principals and decision makers of established Greater Seattle businesses, one per business category |
| 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 are business owners, principals or company decision makers whose firms have traded for at least two years. The membership is deliberately spread across business categories rather than concentrated in one sector; open categories advertised in 2026 included appliance sales and service, residential cleaning, collision repair, distillery, fine dining, limousine service, office equipment and supplies, record storage and shredding, title and escrow, television station, replacement windows and winery. |
| 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 ↗ | The applicant must be a business owner, principal or decision maker for the companyverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | Greater Seattle areaverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | Not documented | Sometimes |
| Sponsor required | No | Not documented |
| 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. | A prospective member calls the association office to find out whether an opening exists in their business category. If there is one, they are invited to attend a luncheon meeting and decide whether the group fits. Admission depends on the classification being open and on meeting the owner or decision-maker test and the two-year trading requirement. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. | Not publicly disclosed as an acceptance rate. In practice the binding constraint is category exclusivity: if a competitor already holds the classification, the applicant cannot join regardless of merit. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed at any stage of the organisation's history.verified September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed. The association does not publish dues; prospective members are told to call the office.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 |
| Membership term | Not documented | Not documented |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Chapter programmes through the year plus regular virtual strategy calls and peer-led sessions, per the successor organisation | Weekly luncheon meetings on Wednesdays, with a 50 percent minimum attendance requirement |
| Peer forums | Member-led chapter circles rather than facilitated closed forums; each community has an assigned executive director | Weekly full-group luncheon plus one-to-one member meetings; no confidential facilitated peer forum is published |
| 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 | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | At least half of the weekly Wednesday luncheons, per the association's published attendance requirement |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Event-focused, Virtual | Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | No |
| Local chapters | Yes | No |
| Virtual membership | Partial | No |
| Online community | Yes | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Partial |
| Leadership development | Yes | No |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Partial | No |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: The CMO Club · Seattle Executives Association