Comparison · 14 material differences
Tugboat Institute vs Vistage
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 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…
Peer advisory
Vistage
CEOs, business owners and senior executives of companies with US$5 million or more in annual revenue.
What the records say
- Role or title — Tugboat Institute: Must be the CEO, President or Executive Chairperson of the company; Vistage: CEO, founder or owner for core membership; separate tracks for C-level (non-CEO), executive VP and vice-president/division-head roles.
- Minimum company revenue — Tugboat Institute: At least US$10M in annual revenue; Vistage: US$5,000,000+ in annual revenue for core CEO membership.
- 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; Vistage: No published minimum ownership stake.
- Annual dues — 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.; Vistage: Not publicly disclosed. Vistage publishes no pricing on its site; dues are quoted by the local Chair and vary by programme, role and company size. A 2026 secondary estimate (leadersadapt.com) puts CEO peer-group dues near US$1,380 a month, about US$16,500 a year, with a one-time fee of roughly US$2,500; Vistage does not confirm these figures..
Side by side
| Tugboat Institute | Vistage | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Peer advisory | Peer advisory |
| Founded | 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.) | 1957 (Founded as The Executive Committee (TEC) when Bob Nourse brought together several Milwaukee-area executives; renamed Vistage globally in 2006.) |
| Headquarters | Sun Valley, United States | San Diego, United States |
| Geographic footprint | 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. | Operates in 40 countries, with peer groups meeting locally in cities rather than through member-run chapters |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed. The organization refers to drawing on "hundreds of Evergreen companies" for its content platform but publishes no membership total. | 45,000as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 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. | Not applicable. Vistage has no member-run chapters; members join a local peer advisory group convened and led by a Vistage Chair. Vistage does not publish a group count. |
| Primary audience | 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. | CEOs, business owners and senior executives of companies with US$5 million or more in annual revenue. |
| Typical member | 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. | Members are decision-makers at small and mid-sized private companies. Vistage frames its core member as generating "$5M+ in annual revenue" and facing the operational complexity that comes with that scale; separate programmes exist for non-CEO executives and emerging leaders. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | 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 ↗ | CEO, founder or owner for core membership; separate tracks for C-level (non-CEO), executive VP and vice-president/division-head rolesverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| 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 ↗ | US$5,000,000+ in annual revenue for core CEO membershipVistage frames this as the profile it serves rather than a hard rule; other programmes exist for smaller businesses and non-CEO executives.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| 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 ↗ | No published minimum ownership stake |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | Sometimes | No |
| Application process | 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. | Prospective members complete an application form and are then contacted by a local Vistage Chair, who interviews them and decides whether to place them in a group. There is no published central admissions committee. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. The criteria are published in full but no acceptance rate, application volume or waitlist information is given. | Not publicly disclosed |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | 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 ↗ | Not publicly disclosed. Vistage publishes no pricing on its site; dues are quoted by the local Chair and vary by programme, role and company size. A 2026 secondary estimate (leadersadapt.com) puts CEO peer-group dues near US$1,380 a month, about US$16,500 a year, with a one-time fee of roughly US$2,500; Vistage does not confirm these figures.verified September 2026 |
| Event costs | Not publicly disclosed. The Summit, Exemplar Visit and Gathering of Teams are described as member experiences without published pricing.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Vistage does not publish membership pricing anywhere on its public site. |
| Membership term | Not publicly disclosed | Not documented |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | 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 | Regular peer group meetings, generally monthly, plus one-to-one coaching sessions with the Chair |
| Peer forums | 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 | Peer advisory groups of 12-16 CEOs, business owners or key executives drawn from non-competing industries, facilitated by a Vistage Chair. |
| Confidentiality | The organization describes its forums as "a safe space" and its community as defined by trust; it publishes no written confidentiality policy. | Groups are described as confidential; Vistage does not publish its confidentiality terms. |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Forum-based, Event-focused, Chapter-based, Virtual | Forum-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | No |
| Virtual membership | Partial | Partial |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Not documented | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Partial |
| Travel | Partial | No |
| Family programming | Partial | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | No |
| Next-generation programming | Partial | No |
| Investment discussions | No | Not documented |
| 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: Tugboat Institute · Vistage