Comparison · 18 material differences
MacKay CEO Forums vs YPO
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
YPO
Chief executives who joined before their 45th birthday and lead companies that meet YPO's published employee and revenue tests.
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining — MacKay CEO Forums: No published maximum age at joining; YPO: Under 45 years old at acceptance.
- Role or title — MacKay CEO Forums: CEO Membership: CEO, business owner or founder; YPO: President, CEO or Chairperson of the Board (or equivalent), and top operational leader of the company or division.
- Minimum company revenue — MacKay CEO Forums: CEO Membership: annual company revenue $5MM-$5B+; YPO: USD 16,000,000+ revenue for sales, service and manufacturing companies.
- Minimum employees — MacKay CEO Forums: No published minimum employees; YPO: 50+ full-time employees, or 15+ full-time employees with at least USD 2,750,000 annual employee compensation.
- Annual dues — MacKay CEO Forums: C$12,000 a year; YPO: $4,790 a year.
Side by side
| MacKay CEO Forums | YPO | |
|---|---|---|
| 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.) | 1950 (Founded by Ray Hickok, then 27 and running his family's manufacturing business in Rochester, New York; the first meeting was held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.) |
| Headquarters | North Vancouver, Canada | Irving, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Canada: Forum Chairs listed in twelve regions across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia | Organised into 14 regions; members in more than 142 countries |
| Members | 1,300as of September 2026 | 38,000as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 12 | 450 |
| Primary audience | Canadian CEOs, business owners and senior executives, split into forums by role and company size | Chief executives who joined before their 45th birthday and lead companies that meet YPO's published employee and revenue tests. |
| 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 are the top operating executive of their company or division, with full profit-and-loss accountability and hire/fire authority. Qualifying companies are mid-market and larger: at least 50 full-time employees, or 15 employees plus USD 2.75 million of annual employee compensation, with revenue tests from USD 13 million upward depending on business type. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | No published maximum age at joining | Under 45 years old at acceptanceMembers who reach the age limit transition to YPO Gold; a YPO membership-renewal FAQ document states members over 45 with at least 10 years of membership may remain, and that from 1 July 2018 members could early-transition to Gold at 48 after six complete fiscal years. That document dates from 2018 and may no longer be current.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Role or title | CEO Membership: CEO, business owner or founderverified September 2026 · source ↗ | President, CEO or Chairperson of the Board (or equivalent), and top operational leader of the company or divisionRequires final decision-making authority, full P&L accountability, authority to hire and fire across the company or division, and leadership across core business functions.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 ↗ | USD 16,000,000+ revenue for sales, service and manufacturing companiesOne of several alternative company tests.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum employees | No published minimum employees | 50+ full-time employees, or 15+ full-time employees with at least USD 2,750,000 annual employee compensationverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company valuation | No published minimum company valuation | USD 27,000,000+ enterprise valueAlternative to the revenue tests.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 | Not documented |
| 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. | Applications are submitted through YPO's online form in five steps (contact information, requirements, personal details, company details, and terms and fees) and are then reviewed. Candidates are assessed against the published age, title, employee and company-size tests, and are admitted into a specific chapter. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. MacKay says peer groups are screened for strategic fit but publishes no acceptance rate. | Not publicly disclosed |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | C$12,000 a yearCEO Membership: "$12,000 (full year)". Prices are quoted before GST/HST.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $4,790 a yearInternational dues; "pro-rated annual dues (USD 4,790)" on joining, with renewal dues payable on 1 June. Chapter dues are additional.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee is mentioned on the membership pages.verified September 2026 | $4,790 one-time"One-time initiation fee of USD 4,790.00" stated on YPO's own membership application page.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Local chapter dues | All figures are annual and quoted before GST/HST. MacKay publishes each tier's price on its own membership page. | Not publicly disclosed. Chapter dues are set by each chapter and are additional to international dues; YPO publishes no global schedule. Individual chapter pages surfaced in search list figures in the roughly USD 4,000-6,000 range, but these are not centrally published and vary widely by city.verified September 2026 |
| Membership term | Annual (dues quoted as "full year") | Annual; international renewal dues payable on 1 June |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Seven forum meetings a year: six full-day sessions plus a two-day retreat; plus speaker sessions and national summits | Forum meetings within the chapter, chapter events, and regional and global events through the year |
| Peer forums | Forums of about 14 carefully matched, non-competing members led by a certified Forum Chair | Members are placed in a forum within their chapter. YPO does not publish a standard forum size on its public pages. |
| Confidentiality | Confidentiality is one of MacKay's stated core values; forums are described as confidential, judgement-free spaces | Forum discussion is conducted under confidentiality norms; YPO does not publish the text of its confidentiality rules publicly. |
| 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 | Chapter-based, Forum-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Not documented | No |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Partial | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Yes |
| Travel | No | Yes |
| Family programming | Yes | Yes |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Next-generation programming | No | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Partial | Not documented |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Partial | Not documented |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: MacKay CEO Forums · YPO