Comparison · 15 material differences
Vistage Australia and New Zealand 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 Vistage Australia and New Zealand
CEOs, business owners, founders and senior executives with decision-making authority in established mid-sized or growing businesses in Australia and New Zealand
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: Vistage Australia and New Zealand: CEO, business owner, founder or executive with decision-making authority; Tugboat Institute: Must be the CEO, President or Executive Chairperson of the company.
- Minimum company revenue: Vistage Australia and New Zealand: No published minimum company revenue; Tugboat Institute: At least US$10M in annual revenue.
- Minimum ownership stake: Vistage Australia and New Zealand: 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: Vistage Australia and New Zealand: Australia and New Zealand; Tugboat Institute: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues: Vistage Australia and New Zealand: Not publicly disclosed. Vistage Australia publishes no price and routes enquiries to a member advisor.; 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
| Vistage Australia and New Zealand | Tugboat Institute | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Peer advisory | Peer advisory |
| Founded | 1986 ("In 1986, Dr. Phil Meddings founded TEC Australia in Sydney" per Vistage's March 2024 acquisition release. The underlying TEC format dates to 1957 in Milwaukee.) | 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 | Sydney, Australia | Sun Valley, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Australia and New Zealand: groups in Sydney, Newcastle, Tamworth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland and Christchurch | 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 | 1,000as of March 2024 | Not publicly disclosed. The organization refers to drawing on "hundreds of Evergreen companies" for its content platform but publishes no membership total. |
| Chapters | 10 | 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 | CEOs, business owners, founders and senior executives with decision-making authority in established mid-sized or growing businesses in Australia and New Zealand | 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 small and midsize companies. Vistage says the model is designed for leaders managing complexity rather than early-stage start-ups, and that placement weighs leadership role, business size and industry mix. | 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, business owner, founder or executive with decision-making authorityFrom the Vistage Australia membership FAQ: "you must be a senior leader such as a CEO, business owner, founder or executive with decision-making authority in a mid-sized or growing business".verified 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 | No published minimum company revenue | 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 | Australia and New Zealandverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Sometimes |
| Application process | Prospective members request a confidential, no-obligation conversation with a member advisor, who assesses fit against leadership role and business size and then places the candidate in a non-competing group with a specific Chair. Nomination or sponsorship is not required. | 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. Vistage says members are "selected based on leadership role, business size and ability to actively contribute" 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 | Not publicly disclosed. Vistage Australia publishes no price and routes enquiries to a member advisor.verified September 2026 | 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 disclosedverified September 2026 | Tugboat Institute publishes detailed eligibility criteria but no pricing of any kind. |
| Event costs | Not publicly disclosed. | 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 | Not documented | Not publicly disclosed |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | One full-day or half-day group meeting a month depending on programme, plus regular one-to-one coaching sessions with the Chair | 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 | Confidential peer advisory groups of 12-16 non-competing CEOs and business owners, each led by a trained 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 | Groups are described as confidential and high-trust; Vistage's founding practice was strict confidentiality among non-competing members | 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 one meeting day a month plus a coaching session, per the published membership commitment | 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 | Yes | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Not documented | Yes |
| Travel | No | Partial |
| Family programming | No | Partial |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | No | Partial |
| Investment discussions | Partial | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Low | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Vistage Australia and New Zealand · Tugboat Institute