Comparison · 16 material differences
The Executives' Club of Chicago vs theBoardlist
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 Executives' Club of Chicago
Senior business, civic and academic leaders in the Chicago area, with company-paid Enterprise memberships covering teams of executives
Networking organization
theBoardlist
Women executives seeking private and public company board seats, and the chief executives, investors and boards searching for candidates
What the records say
- Role or title — The Executives' Club of Chicago: Membership covers "qualified leaders"; the club is aimed at senior business, civic and academic leaders in the Chicago area; theBoardlist: No published role or title.
- Gender — The Executives' Club of Chicago: No published gender; theBoardlist: The candidate pool was for women; theBoardlist described itself as connecting "highly qualified women across industries with private and public board opportunities".
- Geographic restriction — The Executives' Club of Chicago: Chicago metropolitan area; theBoardlist: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues — The Executives' Club of Chicago: $1,000 a year; theBoardlist: Not publicly disclosed.
Side by side
| The Executives' Club of Chicago | theBoardlist | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Networking organization |
| Founded | Not documented | 2015 (Launched on 15 July 2015 as the first initiative of the #ChoosePossibility Project, founded by Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, per Wikipedia. theBoardlist's own site carried a "© 2018 theBoardlist" notice.) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, United States | United States |
| Geographic footprint | Chicago metropolitan area | An online marketplace, originally focused on the United States technology industry and later broadened across industries |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed. The club publishes neither an individual member count nor a member company count. | 5,000as of June 2020 |
| Chapters | A single-city club with no chapters. | No chapters; theBoardlist was a single online platform |
| Primary audience | Senior business, civic and academic leaders in the Chicago area, with company-paid Enterprise memberships covering teams of executives | Women executives seeking private and public company board seats, and the chief executives, investors and boards searching for candidates |
| Typical member | The club describes its members as current and emerging leaders of Chicago-area businesses, and says its board of directors is composed of chief executives and senior executives of companies headquartered in the Chicagoland area. Membership is priced for both individual executives and corporate groups of two, five or ten. | Senior women executives nominated by chief executives, investors and other business leaders for board service. Candidates did not self-nominate: entry to the talent pool came through peer endorsement by a recommender in theBoardlist's community. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Membership covers "qualified leaders"; the club is aimed at senior business, civic and academic leaders in the Chicago areaThe club does not publish a specific title, revenue or seniority test.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published role or title |
| Gender | No published gender | The candidate pool was for women; theBoardlist described itself as connecting "highly qualified women across industries with private and public board opportunities"Recommenders and searching companies were not restricted by genderverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | Chicago metropolitan areaverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | No | Yes |
| Sponsor required | Sometimes | Yes |
| Application process | Individuals apply through the club's membership application, and may be sponsored by an existing member; applications not carrying a sponsor go through the club's own review. Companies buying an Enterprise membership nominate their qualified leaders directly, without individual applications. | Women entered the candidate pool by being nominated by a recommender from theBoardlist's community of chief executives, investors and senior leaders. Nominated candidates were then encouraged to complete a profile and connect their LinkedIn account so that searching companies could find them. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. The club publishes no acceptance rate, and Enterprise members bypass individual review entirely. | Not publicly disclosed as a rate. theBoardlist reported that more than 1,400 executives had nominated more than 2,100 women by November 2017 and that it had influenced more than 100 board placements. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $1,000 a yearExecutive membership — one qualified leaderverified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed |
| Initiation fee | $100–500 one-timeOne-time initiation fee by tier: $100 Executive, $200 Enterprise 2, $350 Enterprise 5, $500 Enterprise 10. Waived if the member enrols in auto-renewal.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed |
| Membership term | Annual, with an auto-renewal option that waives the initiation fee | Not documented |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | A year-round programme of speaker events, exchanges, summits and workshops | No published meeting programme; theBoardlist listed events but its core function was the online marketplace |
| Peer forums | Leadership Circle and structured leadership programmes (LEAD, Leadership Accelerator) rather than confidential peer forums | No forums |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused | Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | No |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | Not documented | Yes |
| Online community | Partial | Partial |
| Member directory | Partial | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Partial |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Partial |
| Leadership development | Yes | Partial |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | No |
| Next-generation programming | Partial | No |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Low |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: The Executives' Club of Chicago · theBoardlist