Comparison · 11 material differences
The CEO Institute 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 The CEO Institute
CEOs, managing directors, founders and business owners in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, with parallel programmes for senior executives, chief people officers and emerging…
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: The CEO Institute: The CEO Syndicate: CEOs, managing directors, founders and business owners who carry ultimate responsibility for their organisation; The Alternative Board: Business owner or leader of a privately held, growth-focused company.
- Geographic restriction: The CEO Institute: Australia, New Zealand and Singapore for in-person syndicates; online programmes are open more widely; The Alternative Board: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues: The CEO Institute: Not publicly disclosed. The Institute's own FAQ says only: "Membership costs vary depending on the programme, location and membership category."; The Alternative Board: Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally..
Side by side
| The CEO Institute | The Alternative Board | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Peer advisory | Peer advisory |
| Founded | 1992 ("The CEO Institute was founded in 1992, in Melbourne Australia. The first meeting of The CEO Syndicate Program was held in June, 1992" per its own About page.) | 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 | Melbourne, Australia | Westminster, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Australia, New Zealand and Singapore: syndicates in Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Parramatta, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Singapore, plus online programmes | Boards in 25 or more countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia, delivered through independently owned franchises |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed as a current figure. The organisation states it has "supported 5,726 members and alumni, and awarded 718 certifications" since 1992, which is a cumulative total rather than active membership. | 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 | 14 | 500 |
| Primary audience | CEOs, managing directors, founders and business owners in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, with parallel programmes for senior executives, chief people officers and emerging leaders | Owners and leaders of privately held, growth-focused small and mid-sized companies. |
| Typical member | Members of The CEO Syndicate are CEOs, managing directors, founders and owners who carry ultimate responsibility for their organisation. The Executive Syndicate takes COOs, CFOs, CPOs, CMOs, CTOs, general managers and divisional heads. No revenue or headcount threshold is published. | 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 | The CEO Syndicate: CEOs, managing directors, founders and business owners who carry ultimate responsibility for their organisationverified 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 ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | Australia, New Zealand and Singapore for in-person syndicates; online programmes are open more widelyverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | An enquiry form or brochure request goes to one of the Institute's Directors, who discusses the applicant's role, business and market to establish whether a syndicate is a fit. The Institute then matches the member to a Chair and a group with the right mix of experience, business complexity and industry diversity, checking for conflicts of interest. Membership applications for the face-to-face programme are completed on a form with conditions of membership obtained from the local office. | 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. The Institute describes a careful matching process designed to protect syndicate integrity, but publishes no acceptance rate. | 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. The Institute's own FAQ says only: "Membership costs vary depending on the programme, location and membership category."verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Pricing is set by each independently owned franchise and is not published centrally. |
| Monthly dues | Not publicly disclosed. Pricing is quoted after a conversation with one of the Institute's Directors and varies by programme, location and membership category. | 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 | CEO Syndicate members meet monthly for half a day, plus breakfast, lunch and summit events and an annual CEO Retreat | 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 | Syndicates of 12-16 non-competing CEOs and founders led by an experienced Chair, matched by region and business complexity | 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 | "Confidentiality is central to The CEO Syndicate experience"; conversations are described as treated with discretion and respect | Boards exclude direct competitors and operate as private advisory groups; TAB does not publish its confidentiality terms. |
| Time commitment | Half a day a month for the CEO Syndicate, 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, Virtual | Forum-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Partial | Partial |
| Online community | Partial | Yes |
| Member directory | Partial | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Partial |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Not documented |
| Travel | No | 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: The CEO Institute · The Alternative Board