Comparison · 11 material differences
REF vs The Alternative 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
Peer advisory
Verified September 2026 REF
CEOs, owners and presidents, with parallel tracks for C-suite executives reporting to the CEO and for high-potential managers on leadership programmes
Peer advisory
The Alternative Board
Owners and leaders of privately held, growth-focused small and mid-sized companies.
What the records say
- Role or title: REF: Top Executive track: CEO, owner, president or equivalent; The Alternative Board: Business owner or leader of a privately held, growth-focused company.
- Annual dues: REF: Not publicly disclosed. REF publishes no membership price; the Peer Resources directory also recorded fees as unavailable at publication. Members are described elsewhere as paying monthly dues.; The Alternative Board: Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally..
Side by side
| REF | The Alternative Board | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Peer advisory | Peer advisory |
| Founded | 1994 (Entrepreneur's franchise directory records the company as founded in 1994 and franchising since 1994. REF's own site says only "Founded 30 years ago in the USA" and "With 30 years of experience", which is consistent.) | 1990 (Founded by Allen Fishman, reportedly in St. Louis, Missouri, after his own experience of the value a board of directors provided when his company went public. TAB began franchising in 1996.) |
| Headquarters | San Diego, United States | Westminster, United States |
| Geographic footprint | 51 locations across 20 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and Asia; the largest concentration is in Latin America | Boards in 25 or more countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia, delivered through independently owned franchises |
| Members | 3,000as of January 2025 | Not disclosed as a current headcount. TAB's own FAQ states it has "supported more than 25,000 businesses worldwide", with "members representing over 1,100 industries" who "collectively generate $29.3 billion in gross revenue". Secondary sources report more than 4,600 current members globally; TAB does not publish that figure. |
| Chapters | 51 | 500 |
| Primary audience | CEOs, owners and presidents, with parallel tracks for C-suite executives reporting to the CEO and for high-potential managers on leadership programmes | Owners and leaders of privately held, growth-focused small and mid-sized companies. |
| Typical member | Members are CEOs, owners and presidents of non-competing businesses, plus CXOs and upper management reporting directly to the CEO in the Key Executive track and high performers selected for leadership programmes in the High Potentials track. REF publishes no revenue or headcount threshold, though its application form asks for employee count and revenue. | Members are owners and senior leaders of privately held companies, recruited locally by the franchise owner who facilitates their board; competing businesses are excluded from the same board. TAB states members represent over 1,100 industries and collectively generate US$29.3 billion in gross revenue, and reports an average member tenure of 4.7 years. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Top Executive track: CEO, owner, president or equivalentREF's own application page lists the candidate requirements for each track.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Business owner or leader of a privately held, growth-focused companyTAB publishes no revenue, employee or net-worth threshold.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | Sometimes | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Applicants complete an online form selecting one of three tracks (Top Executive, Key Executive or High Potentials) and supplying title, industry, city, country, employee count and revenue. REF then contacts the candidate and, if accepted, places them in a local Forum of non-competing executives with a certified Forum Leader. | Prospective members contact a local TAB board through the site's board finder. The local facilitator coach screens and hand-selects members, excluding competitors of existing members, and places them on a board. There is no central admissions process. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. REF describes its peer groups as "by invitation only" while operating a public application form, and publishes no acceptance data. | Not publicly disclosed. Secondary reporting describes TAB as effectively invitation-based, with most members joining through referrals from existing members; TAB does not state this on its own pages. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed. REF publishes no membership price; the Peer Resources directory also recorded fees as unavailable at publication. Members are described elsewhere as paying monthly dues.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally. |
| Monthly dues | Member fees are not publicly disclosed anywhere on REF's site. The only published figures are franchise costs for prospective Forum Leaders. | Not publicly disclosed. TAB states that membership dues are billed monthly with no binding contract and 30 days' written notice to leave, but terms and amounts are set locally by each franchise owner and no schedule is published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 | Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally. |
| Membership term | Not documented | Monthly billing, no binding contract; 30 days' written notice required to leave |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | One Forum morning each month, plus webinars, community events and curated trips and retreats | Monthly board meetings of about four hours (described elsewhere on TAB's site as half-day sessions), plus a monthly one-to-one coaching call |
| Peer forums | Forums of 12-15 executives from non-competing industries, led by a certified REF Forum Leader, meeting monthly in a three-part structure: expert insight, round table, and a member case | Boards of non-competing business owners, given as up to eight members on TAB's peer-advisory page and 8-10 on its membership page, each led by a TAB Certified Facilitator Coach. |
| Confidentiality | Forums are described as confidential, high-trust environments built on transparency and trust; one senior figure calls the Forum a "Circle of Trust" | Boards exclude direct competitors and operate as private advisory groups; TAB does not publish its confidentiality terms. |
| Time commitment | One morning a month for the Forum, plus optional events | About four hours a month for the board meeting plus a monthly coaching call, with a commitment to at least 12 meetings a year |
| Organized as | Forum-based, Chapter-based, Event-focused | Forum-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Not documented | Partial |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Partial |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Not documented |
| Travel | Yes | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | Partial | No |
| Investment discussions | Partial | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Low |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: REF · The Alternative Board