Comparison · 14 material differences
MacKay CEO Forums vs Tugboat Institute
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
Peer advisory
Verified September 2026 MacKay CEO Forums
Canadian CEOs, business owners and senior executives, split into forums by role and company size
Peer advisory
Tugboat Institute
Chief executives, presidents and executive chairs with significant ownership of private companies that have deliberately rejected the venture-backed or IPO path, with at least…
What the records say
- Role or title: MacKay CEO Forums: CEO Membership: CEO, business owner or founder; Tugboat Institute: Must be the CEO, President or Executive Chairperson of the company.
- Minimum company revenue: MacKay CEO Forums: CEO Membership: annual company revenue $5MM-$5B+; Tugboat Institute: At least US$10M in annual revenue.
- Minimum ownership stake: MacKay CEO Forums: No published minimum ownership stake; Tugboat Institute: Must hold a significant ownership stake; the business must be closely held with value-aligned owners who have no legal right to compel a sale or IPO.
- Geographic restriction: MacKay CEO Forums: Canada; Tugboat Institute: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues: MacKay CEO Forums: C$12,000 a year; Tugboat Institute: Not publicly disclosed. No membership fee appears anywhere on the public site; prospective members are routed to a pre-application and a follow-up conversation..
Side by side
| MacKay CEO Forums | Tugboat Institute | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Peer advisory | Peer advisory |
| Founded | 2005 (MacKay's own pages say "more than 20 years" and cite "5,000+ Alumni members across Canada over 20 years" without naming a year; the Peer Resources directory dates the founding to 2005. Nancy MacKay, PhD is listed as Founder and CEO on the leadership page.) | 2013 (The About Us page dates the founding to 2013, when Dave Whorton - previously a founder of four Silicon Valley companies and an investor at two venture and private equity firms - coined the term "Evergreen" and, with the help of Chris Alden, created Tugboat Institute following a small gathering of leaders in Sun Valley, Idaho in October of that year.) |
| Headquarters | North Vancouver, Canada | Sun Valley, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Canada: Forum Chairs listed in twelve regions across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia | United States focused, with local in-person forums grouped by member geography and virtual "elastic" forums; the pre-application form accepts company addresses in any country. |
| Members | 1,300as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed. The organization refers to drawing on "hundreds of Evergreen companies" for its content platform but publishes no membership total. |
| Chapters | 12 | The organization runs local in-person forums based on member geography plus virtual forums, but does not publish a count or a list of locations. |
| Primary audience | Canadian CEOs, business owners and senior executives, split into forums by role and company size | Chief executives, presidents and executive chairs with significant ownership of private companies that have deliberately rejected the venture-backed or IPO path, with at least US$10 million in annual revenue. |
| Typical member | Members are chief executives, owners and senior executives of Canadian companies with revenue from about $5 million to over $5 billion, with a separate tier for companies above $1 billion. MacKay states that 37% of members are women. | Members must lead a closely held private company whose owners have no legal right to compel a sale or flotation, must hold a significant ownership stake themselves, and must have five years as chief executive or president of the current company or prior experience in that role. The company must have at least US$10 million in annual revenue, be cash-flow positive for two years and show consistent growth. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | CEO Membership: CEO, business owner or founderverified September 2026 · source ↗ | Must be the CEO, President or Executive Chairperson of the company"Prospective members must be the CEO, President, or Executive Chairperson of an Evergreen company with a significant ownership stake."verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | CEO Membership: annual company revenue $5MM-$5B+Currency is not stated on the page; MacKay prices in Canadian dollars plus GST/HST.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | At least US$10M in annual revenueAccompanied by two further financial tests: cash-flow positive for two years, and consistent growth.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum ownership stake | No published minimum ownership stake | Must hold a significant ownership stake; the business must be closely held with value-aligned owners who have no legal right to compel a sale or IPONo percentage is specified. The ownership test effectively excludes companies with investors who can force an exit.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | CanadaForum Chairs are listed only in Canadian regions.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Sometimes |
| Application process | Prospective members apply through the Join MacKay pages or by contacting the office, then are screened for strategic fit and matched to a forum of non-competing peers. Community members may be invited to sit in on a full-day forum meeting before committing to a forum tier. | Candidates who believe they meet the criteria complete a two-step pre-application covering personal details and company information: legal structure, year founded, annual revenue for the last fiscal year, employee count, number of years profitable, website and address. The organization says it reviews every pre-application in detail and that a member of the team then makes contact to discuss next steps. Staff biographies refer to a candidacy process and to working with member referrals. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. MacKay says peer groups are screened for strategic fit but publishes no acceptance rate. | Not publicly disclosed. The criteria are published in full but no acceptance rate, application volume or waitlist information is given. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | C$12,000 a yearCEO Membership: "$12,000 (full year)". Prices are quoted before GST/HST.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed. No membership fee appears anywhere on the public site; prospective members are routed to a pre-application and a follow-up conversation.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee is mentioned on the membership pages.verified September 2026 | Tugboat Institute publishes detailed eligibility criteria but no pricing of any kind. |
| Event costs | All figures are annual and quoted before GST/HST. MacKay publishes each tier's price on its own membership page. | Not publicly disclosed. The Summit, Exemplar Visit and Gathering of Teams are described as member experiences without published pricing.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual (dues quoted as "full year") | Not publicly disclosed |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Seven forum meetings a year: six full-day sessions plus a two-day retreat; plus speaker sessions and national summits | Forum groups meet through the year, locally in person or virtually; three annual gatherings - the Summit each summer in Sun Valley, the Exemplar Visit at a member company each autumn, and the Gathering of Teams in February |
| Peer forums | Forums of about 14 carefully matched, non-competing members led by a certified Forum Chair | Confidential forum groups described as a structured environment balancing personal growth and business insight; members join either a local in-person forum based on geography or an "elastic" forum that meets virtually through the year and in person at Tugboat events |
| Confidentiality | Confidentiality is one of MacKay's stated core values; forums are described as confidential, judgement-free spaces | The organization describes its forums as "a safe space" and its community as defined by trust; it publishes no written confidentiality policy. |
| Time commitment | Roughly eight meeting days a year at full attendance; members must attend at least four of the seven meetings | Not documented |
| Organized as | Forum-based, Chapter-based, Event-focused | Forum-based, Event-focused, Chapter-based, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Not documented | Partial |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Partial | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Yes |
| Travel | No | Partial |
| Family programming | Yes | Partial |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | No | Partial |
| Investment discussions | Partial | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Partial | 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: MacKay CEO Forums · Tugboat Institute