Comparison · 15 material differences
Council on Foreign Relations vs Fast Company Executive Board
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
Invitation-only community
Verified September 2026 Council on Foreign Relations
Senior figures in foreign policy and adjacent fields: government officials, scholars, business executives, journalists, lawyers and nonprofit leaders
Networking organization
Fast Company Executive Board
Senior executives, founders, business owners and recognised industry experts who want a bylined platform on FastCompany.com
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: Council on Foreign Relations: Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027; Fast Company Executive Board: No published maximum age at joining.
- Minimum age: Council on Foreign Relations: Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027; Fast Company Executive Board: No published minimum age.
- Role or title: Council on Foreign Relations: No published role or title; Fast Company Executive Board: CEO, C-suite or senior-level executive; vice president or above leading a region or division; founder or co-founder.
- Minimum company revenue: Council on Foreign Relations: No published minimum company revenue; Fast Company Executive Board: "CEO, C-Suite, or senior-level executive of a company generating $3M+ in annual revenue".
- Annual dues: Council on Foreign Relations: $3,520–5,810 a year; Fast Company Executive Board: Not publicly disclosed. Fast Company offers a one-year membership and a discounted two-year membership but publishes no prices; third-party estimates could not be independently verified..
Side by side
| Council on Foreign Relations | Fast Company Executive Board | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Invitation-only community | Networking organization |
| Founded | 1921 ("Since its founding in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has grown a membership of more than five thousand of the most prominent leaders in the foreign policy arena.") | Not documented |
| Headquarters | New York, United States | United States |
| Geographic footprint | United States, concentrated around its New York headquarters at 58 East 68th Street and its Washington office at 1777 F Street NW, with members elsewhere in the US and abroad; dues are banded by proximity to those two cities | Online community with no local chapters; operated in-house by Fast Company, part of Mansueto Ventures, LLC |
| Members | 5,000as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed |
| Chapters | No chapters. CFR operates from New York and Washington, D.C. and convenes nearly a thousand events a year. | No chapters |
| Primary audience | Senior figures in foreign policy and adjacent fields: government officials, scholars, business executives, journalists, lawyers and nonprofit leaders | Senior executives, founders, business owners and recognised industry experts who want a bylined platform on FastCompany.com |
| Typical member | Members include top government officials, scholars, business executives, journalists, lawyers and nonprofit professionals. Life members are elected on intellectual attainment, involvement in international affairs and standing among peers; term members are elected each year from candidates aged thirty to thirty-six and serve a fixed five-year term. | CEOs, C-suite and senior executives at companies with at least US$3m in annual revenue; vice presidents and above who lead a region or division at companies of the same size; founders of companies with at least US$2m in revenue or institutional funding; and nonprofit founders at organisations with at least US$1m in revenue. An alternative expertise track admits professional speakers, published authors and regular columnists. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027Graduate students are generally advised to wait until after completing their degree before applying.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published maximum age at joining |
| Minimum age | Term membership: aged thirty to thirty-six on 1 January 2027Applies only to the Stephen M. Kellen Term Member Program; life membership has no published age band.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum age |
| Role or title | No published role or title | CEO, C-suite or senior-level executive; vice president or above leading a region or division; founder or co-founderverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | No published minimum company revenue | "CEO, C-Suite, or senior-level executive of a company generating $3M+ in annual revenue"Also "Vice President or above who leads a region or division for a company generating $3M+ in annual revenue"verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum capital raised | No published minimum capital raised | "$2M+ in total institutional funding"Alternative to the founder revenue testverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Accredited-investor status | Restricted to US citizens (native born or naturalized) and permanent residents who have formally applied to become citizensPermanent residents must email CFR a statement of their current citizenship and the date of their formal US citizenship application.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published accredited-investor status |
| Invitation required | Yes | No |
| Sponsor required | Yes | No |
| Application process | Candidates request an application, then submit it online with contact information, a CV, and nominator and seconder details. Life membership requires a written nomination from a current member plus three to four seconding letters; term membership requires a nomination plus two to three seconding letters. Letter writers receive submission instructions automatically once entered into the portal. Life membership deadlines are 1 March and 1 November, with decisions in late June and early March respectively; the term membership deadline is 10 January, with decisions in late June. The Board of Directors elects new members twice a year. | Membership is by application only. Candidates complete an online application, which is vetted against the published qualifications. Fast Company states every application is reviewed to ensure members meet the criteria. Accepted applicants choose a one-year or discounted two-year membership and pay before access begins. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. CFR publishes its criteria, deadlines and letter requirements but no acceptance rate or applicant volume. | Not publicly disclosed. Fast Company states "Every application is vetted to ensure members meet strict qualifications" but publishes no acceptance rate. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $3,520–5,810 a yearBusiness-category life membership, effective 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026: $5,810 for New York area members (residence or principal place of business within fifty miles of Manhattan City Hall), $5,310 for Washington, D.C. area members (within fifty miles of the Capitol) and $3,520 nationally.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed. Fast Company offers a one-year membership and a discounted two-year membership but publishes no prices; third-party estimates could not be independently verified.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; the published dues schedule names no initiation fee.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed |
| Membership term | Life membership for elected members; term membership runs for a fixed five-year term | One-year or two-year membership terms |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Nearly one thousand events a year, including panel discussions, symposia, town halls, livestreams and members-only CEO forums; term members also have an annual conference and study trips | Virtual events and Expert Panels; no scheduled local meetings |
| Peer forums | Events, roundtables and workshops rather than standing small-group forums; term member breakout sessions are held not-for-attribution | No facilitated peer forums; members use interactive online groups and chat |
| Confidentiality | Term Member Conference breakout sessions are described as not-for-attribution; CFR publishes transcripts of many of its main events | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused, Virtual | Virtual, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | Partial |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | Partial | Yes |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Partial |
| Leadership development | Partial | Partial |
| Retreats | Partial | No |
| Travel | Yes | Partial |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | No |
| Investment discussions | Partial | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Low | Low |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Council on Foreign Relations · Fast Company Executive Board