Women Presidents Organization

The Women Presidents Organization is a peer-advisory network for women who own and run privately held companies, founded in 1997 by Marsha Firestone with a first chapter in New York City. It now reports more than 145 chapters across eleven countries. The core of the model is the monthly chapter meeting: a confidential group of women from non-competing industries, facilitated by a professionally trained Chapter Chair. Eligibility rests on three tests taken together: the candidate must lead the company and hold primary decision-making authority for day-to-day operations, must hold an ownership interest at some level, and the company must be privately held and reach US$2 million in gross annual sales, or US$1 million for a service business. Above the base tier, WPO runs Platinum groups for women grossing over US$10 million and Zenith groups for those over US$50 million; both meet three times a year rather than monthly. Alumna and WPO NEXT categories exist for former members. Dues are not published.

How it works

Qualifying members join a chapter in their geographic area, or become a Member-at-Large where no chapter is accessible. Chapters meet monthly, are capped in size, and are facilitated by a trained Chapter Chair. Platinum and Zenith groups meet three times a year in destination locations. WPO also runs an annual conference and publishes recognition lists with J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking.

Typical member

Members are women who lead their own privately held companies, hold day-to-day decision-making authority and have an ownership interest. The entry threshold is US$2 million in gross annual sales for product-based businesses and US$1 million for service-based businesses, with higher tiers at US$10 million (Platinum) and US$50 million (Zenith).

WPO is one of the few peer-advisory organisations that requires ownership and gender together, which gives its rooms a more consistent composition than mixed executive networks. The tiering by company size is its most useful design feature: a US$3 million founder and a US$60 million founder are not placed in the same room, and the Platinum and Zenith groups trade monthly cadence for three larger gatherings a year. What WPO does not publish is cost. There is no dues schedule anywhere on its site, and pricing has to be obtained by enquiry, which makes comparison against Vistage or EO awkward. Its published statistics are also loose: chapter counts of 142 and 145 both circulate, and no current member total is given. The most recent public membership figure dates from 2022.

Editorial analysis by Peer Group Guide editors. It is separated from the record above and follows the editorial policy.