Comparison · 18 material differences
Academy for Chief Executives vs Helm
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 Academy for Chief Executives
UK chief executives and managing directors of established mid-market companies
Invitation-only community
Helm
Founders and CEOs of UK scale-up businesses past about £3 million in revenue
What the records say
- Role or title — Academy for Chief Executives: Chief Executive or Managing Director, owner or employed leader of the business; Helm: Founder or CEO of the business.
- Minimum company revenue — Academy for Chief Executives: Minimum £5 million turnover; Helm: £3m+ revenue, or more than £3m raised.
- Geographic restriction — Academy for Chief Executives: United Kingdom; Helm: United Kingdom scale-up businesses.
- Annual dues — Academy for Chief Executives: Not publicly disclosed. The Academy never published membership fees and no reliable third-party figure was found.; Helm: £1,450 a year.
Side by side
| Academy for Chief Executives | Helm | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Peer advisory | Invitation-only community |
| Founded | Not documented | 2003 (Founded as The Supper Club in 2003 by Duncan Cheatle; rebranded to Helm. Helm's own site states the 2003 founding on every page footer line and in its FAQ.) |
| Headquarters | Hedge End, United Kingdom | London, United Kingdom |
| Geographic footprint | United Kingdom; the Academy ran regional groups led by franchisee Chairs but never published a public list of locations | United Kingdom: events across London and regional UK hubs, plus a digital community; Helm does not publish a full list of hubs |
| Members | 400as of January 2015 | 400as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 30 | Helm has no chapters. It runs Forum groups and events in London and regional UK hubs but does not publish a hub list or a Forum count. |
| Primary audience | UK chief executives and managing directors of established mid-market companies | Founders and CEOs of UK scale-up businesses past about £3 million in revenue |
| Typical member | Vistage's acquisition release described Academy members as "U.K. based business leaders, Chief Executives or Managing Directors, owners or employed leaders of companies with a minimum of £5 million turnover and at least 20 employees". A 2015 trade profile put the member range at £2 million to £200 million turnover, so the threshold appears to have tightened over time. | Members are founders and CEOs of UK scale-ups, with average member turnover of about £21 million according to Helm's own comparison page. Businesses span SaaS, deep tech, biotech, property, manufacturing and retail. Non-founder executives, advisers and service providers are explicitly not admitted. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Chief Executive or Managing Director, owner or employed leader of the businessPer Vistage's 2018 acquisition release describing Academy membership.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Founder or CEO of the business"non-founder executives, advisers and service providers are not admitted as members".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | Minimum £5 million turnoverPer Vistage's 2018 acquisition release. A 2015 trade profile described the member range as £2m-£200m turnover, suggesting the published floor rose over time.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | £3m+ revenue, or more than £3m raisedHelm's published qualification panel: "Revenue £3m+ (or, raised >£3m)".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum employees | At least 20 employeesPer Vistage's 2018 acquisition release.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Team size around 20 full-time equivalentsHelm's qualification panel gives "Team size 20 FTEs"; its FAQ says "a team of around 20 or more".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | United Kingdomverified September 2026 · source ↗ | United Kingdom scale-up businessesverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Historically, prospective members were recruited by a regional Academy Chair, who ran the fit assessment and placed the member in a non-conflicting group. No public application portal survives; enquiries now route to Vistage UK. | A short application form (Helm says two to five minutes), then a 30-minute qualifying call with the membership team to check fit and identify a suitable Forum. Helm describes committee approval within about 48 hours, followed by a 45-minute onboarding call. Forum placement follows an introductory conversation with the prospective Forum Chair and happens within one to three months of joining. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. The Academy published no acceptance data. | No acceptance rate is published. Helm states that every application is reviewed for fit and that non-founder executives, advisers and service providers are not admitted. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed. The Academy never published membership fees and no reliable third-party figure was found.verified September 2026 | £1,450 a yearClub membership: "£1,450 /per annum" on Helm's Get Started page. In-person experiences are pay-as-you-go at this tier.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Monthly dues | Not publicly disclosed. The organisation no longer trades, so no current fee exists. | £495 a monthA Helm comparison landing page quotes "£495 Joining Fee + £495 per month" (about £5,940 a year), which conflicts with the annual figures on the Get Started page. Both are Helm's own pages; the discrepancy is unresolved.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 | £495 one-time"£495 Joining Fee" per Helm's comparison landing page. No joining fee appears on the Get Started page.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Not documented | Annual, cancellable at any time under the published membership agreement |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Historically monthly full-day group meetings hosted in rotation by members, plus a roughly two-hour one-to-one mentoring session with the Chair | Forum meets ten times a year (about three hours a month) plus an annual retreat; Helm runs two to three events a week, roughly 160 a year |
| Peer forums | Regional groups of non-competing chief executives and managing directors led by a franchisee Academy Chair | Chaired Forum groups of six to eight founders, capped at eight, matched on business size, experience level, personality mix and Chair expertise; Chairs are experienced or exited founders |
| Confidentiality | Groups were confidential; the organisation's public material stressed that members could raise issues they could not discuss with staff | Events run under the Chatham House Rule; Forum is described as absolutely confidential ("What's discussed at Helm stays at Helm") |
| Time commitment | Historically about one full day a month plus a two-hour mentoring session | About three hours a month for Forum; Helm states there is no fixed overall commitment and that members typically attend an event every one to two months |
| Organized as | Forum-based, Chapter-based | Forum-based, Event-focused, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | Partial |
| Virtual membership | Not documented | Partial |
| Online community | Not documented | Yes |
| Member directory | Not documented | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Not documented | Yes |
| Travel | No | Partial |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | No |
| Investment discussions | Not documented | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | No | Partial |
| Philanthropic component | No | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | Medium | High |
| Social emphasis | Low | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Academy for Chief Executives · Helm