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THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS' CLUB (CEO Club)

4 West 22nd Street
10th Floor
New York, NY 10010

Phone: 212.925.7911
Fax: 212.925.7463
Voice Mail: 212.978.8863
E-Mail: main @ ceoclubs.org
Website: http://www.ceoclubs.org

 

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The Chief Executive Officers Club is a nonprofit organization which creates a nurturing environment for CEOs dedicated to improving the quality and profitability of their enterprises through shared experience and personal growth.

Comprised of chapters in the U.S., Korea, United Arab Emirates and China, the CEO Club is a 30-year-old nonprofit, by-invitation-only membership association. We have a sister relationship with the Academy of Chief Executives in the United Kingdom. Members must be CEOs of businesses which have above $2,000,000 in annual sales. Our average club member has $20,000,000 in annual sales.

The entrepreneurial membership is open to everyone and is available on this website, with limited benefits, for $250 annually. Full CEO CLUB membership, with all meetings in all chapters free to members is only available by invitation.

The clubs chapters each meet eight times a year for a half-day luncheon program. A member of one chapter is a member of all chapters and their bio and photo are password protected on the website. The morning is spent in roundtables and a speaker usually concludes the program. Other meetings are also scheduled with no speaker, or with site visits or with members from other countries.

Over the past three decades, the CEO Club have attracted many national figures such as: Ted Turner, Herb Kelleher, Peter Grace, T. Boone Pickens, Wally Amos, Zig Ziglar, Fred Smith, Richard DeVos, Royal Little, Edson De Castro, Steve Forbes, Victor Kiam, David Neeleman, Pat McGovern, Michael Bloomberg, and Donald Trump...just to name a few who have addressed the Clubs. All of these past luncheon talks are free to download in our TALKS section. Be sure to listen to the talks by Frank "the conman" Abagnale and Bill "the unknown Billionaire" Bartmann.

We also count among our lifetime members the founders of America Online, Jim Kimsey and Steve Case.

Each chapter also holds social sessions where we visit the American/New York and NASDAQ exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank, Universal Studios and the Getty Museum, or enjoy dinner parties or boat cruises. We frequently arrange business trips between our members in different countries, especially China. Membership is by invitation and prospective members are encouraged to attend a CEO Club meeting as a guest.

 

WHAT IS A PAC?

A PAC (Presidential Advisory Council) is a group of about a dozen CEO members who serve as a board of advisors for one another - A "mastermind" group.

About 150 CEO Club members participate in a PAC. PAC members must be members of the CEO Club. PAC members must sign mutual confidentiality agreements, agree to share detailed financial information, and agree not to miss more than two consecutive meetings. They also must be in control of their company and need to have a minimum of 25 employees with at least $2 million in annual sales.

Sounding out issues or decisions with a knowledgeable, yet not directly involved, peer group can significantly improve the odds of success.

The group focuses on the host company's biggest problem or opportunities. The council then offers solutions and advice. A mastermind occurs at the end of each session as each member shares their ideas to aid the host. This is audio-taped for the host to utilize as a reference. Confidentiality agreements are signed due to the sharing of financial information. Meetings include recaps and current developments by the council members present.

A PAC meets eight times annually, at each member's business. Each meeting usually goes from 10am to 5pm.

The Super PAC is for larger companies and operates on an international basis. Minimum company size is $10 million in annual sales. Super PACs meet for three-day weekends three times a year. Annual fees are $10,000 for two people. All Super PAC members receive all the benefits of a full CEO Club member.

Each PAC Member must:

Under the guidance of a paid facilitator, who is always also a CEO, a subset of about a dozen members agree to serve as a mutual board of advisors/directors for one another. Each PAC meets eight times annually at a different council member's business location. The sessions include recaps and current developments by the council members present and then focus on the host's single biggest problem/opportunity.

The session's host always sends an agenda and literature 30 days prior to the meeting they're hosting. The PAC then devotes its energy to the topics on the host's agenda for the conclusion of the meeting. These sessions often continue through dinner well into the evening.

 

THE MASTERMIND

While a PAC is similar to a board of directors, it's not identical. The PAC focuses on the host business's biggest opportunity/problem. The last two hours of advice are taped and an original audio cassette is given to the host at the conclusion of the day. Hosts have kept these recordings for years and have listened to them numerous times. This segment is called the mastermind.

If you'd like more information on the power of a mastermind, see Napolean Hill's classic book "Think and Grow Rich". Almost a century ago, in chapter ten of that book, entrepreneurs began using masterminds with astonishing results.

For an Entrepreneurial Membership brochure and application, see our Entrepreneurial Application section on the website.

 

CEO CLUB RULES AND REGULATIONS

[01] The initial requirements for membership in the CEO Club are:

Candidates must be the Chief Executive Officer of a business with annual sales above $2 million.

Exception to these requirements have occasionally been allowed in the case of founding members. Each chapter is allowed to vary this rule for up to 15 percent of its membership.

[02] In order to be accepted for membership, a candidate must present both a letter of recommendation and a seconding letter from two CEO Club members in his or her home chapter.

[03] All regular sessions begin promptly at 10:00 am., and will run until approximately 3:00 p.m.

[04] A member who is unable to attend a meeting is encouraged to send a Designated Alternate in his or her place. Members who are unable to attend and who do not send a Designated Alternate will automatically be sent a complete audio tape of the meeting.

[05] A CEO Club member in good standing from one chapter is a welcome guest at any regular meeting in any Chapter, at no additional charge.

[06] Membership in the Chief Executive Officers Club will begin on the first day of the month following the acceptance of the member's joining at any time during the month of January will be considered a Club Member beginning on February 1st.

[07] The Annual Dues, exclusive of the onetime $750 Initiation Fee, are listed below: Individual Corporate

    One Year Full Membership

     

    $1,500

    Two Year  Full Membership

     

    $2,350

    Three Year Full Membership

     

    $3,000

    Lifetime Full Membership

     

    $8,500

*Special restrictions apply to Lifetime Memberships

Fifty percent of a Member's dues, prorated over the term of Membership, are refundable, should that be necessary.

[08] Of the eight meetings held annually by each Chapter of the CEO Club, about half will offer luncheon speakers. Guests will be invited to the luncheons, providing a larger audience for the luncheon speaker and allowing the CEO clubs an opportunity to screen prospective Members.

[09] Special events throughout the year include "Banker's Day" "Family Business Evening", and an annual Boat Cruise (spouses invited) or similar social event. There is no additional charge to CEO club members for these special programs.

[10] All members must complete and return a detailed confidential questionnaire.

[11] Names and addresses of CEO club members are considered confidential and will be shared only among club members and prospective members.

[12] The CEO club strongly discourages members and organizations from using its listing of members for solicitations of any kind.

Individual:

[13] Partnerships and multiple-owner companies must designate a single person as the CEO club member. A designated alternate may be named, but only one person can be considered the member. An alternate and/or partner(s) may attend CEO club meetings, including morning sessions, with the member, at one half of the standard guest rate.

Corporate:

[14] A Corporate membership is available for three people from the same organization. While only the CEO is considered the member, the other two individuals are eligible for the member prices at all CEO club events, and able to attend all CEO club chapter sessions at no cost.

 

CEO CLUB CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP

This form of CEO Club membership is offered on a very limited basis as a service to members with multiple owners/partners or multiple plant locations. It cannot be used to diminish the club's main purpose of the exchange of ideas among CEO's.

Because the dues for a corporate member are only a few hundred dollars above an individual member dues, the CEO club reserves the right to allow corporate membership only at its discretion. This allows multiple owner/partners and companies with multiple locations to eliminate billing and paperwork to attend CEO club functions.

 

SPECIAL PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

Banker's Day

Banker's Day is held annually in each chapter. The purpose of the meeting is to improve communications between CEO's and their bankers. Each Banker's Day meeting features a panel of high-level bankers; and CEO club members are encouraged to bring their individual bankers for the entire session. Meetings begin at 10:00 am., and continue through lunch. Each banker is asked to offer a concrete and easy-toimplement tip on How To Become Your Bank's Best Customer. There are no additional fees for this meeting. Bankers attend as guests of the CEO club. Occasionally this meeting also features a speaker.

Family Privileges

CEO Club members are welcome to bring family members to sit in on any CEO Club meeting, including the morning session, in any CEO Club chapter. The fee for family members is half the guest fee for the luncheon. At functions with an adequate number of family members in attendance, a special roundtable will be set up for them.

 

SOCIAL EVENTS

Each year, the CEO club holds a number of social events-- picnic, barbecue, boat cruises--around the country for CEO club members. Schedules for social events vary, depending on the event. Members are invited to attend any and all of the social events, with spouses, at no charge.

 

LUNCHEON SPEAKERS

Roughly half of the meetings at each Chapter of the CEO club feature a luncheon speaker. Speakers are selected based on their strong accomplishments and their ability to make innovative contributions to the CEO club. Luncheons are open to guest and prospective members of the club. Members will join guests for cocktails and lunch after the private morning sessions. CEO club members are encouraged to help assess the suitability of potential members.

Past luncheon speakers include Frank Abagnale, Author of "Catch Me If You Can"; Ichak Adizes, of the Adizes Institute; Wally "Famous" Amos of Chocalate Chip Cookie Fame; Tough Minded Management's Joe Batten; Bob Brennan, of First Jersey Securities; Donald Boroian, founder of Data Terminal Systems; General Bill Creech, U.S. Tactical Air Command; artist/entrepreneur Christo; Leon Danco, of the Center for Family Business; Ed DeCastro, Data General Corporation Richard DeVos, cofounder of Amway;Robert Fildes, of Cetus Corp; Brent Filson, author of Executive Speeches; millionaire David Franklin; Doug Germann of Buying A Business For Very Little Cash; Bernard Goldhirsh, publisher of Inc. Magazine; Bernie Gordon, of Analogic; Peter Grace, CEO of W.R. Grace; Walter Hailey, Power Persuasion; Lore Harp, of Aplex Corporation; "AGGIE" Jordan DeLaurenti, of JDL, Inc.; Fred Joseph, CEO of Drexel Burnham Lambert; Herbert Kelleher, CEO of Southwest Airlines; Victor Kiam, of Remington Products; Jim Kimsey, of America Online; Eugene Lang, entrepreneur/philanthropist, founder of the I Have A Dream Foundation; Jules Lederer, founder of Budget Rent a Car; Johh F. Lehman, former Secretary Of The Navy; Donald Lennox, of Navistar; Robert Linton, Chairman of Drexel Burnham Lambert; Royal Little, founder of Textron; Arthur Lipper III, publisher of Venture magazine; Ed Lowe, CEO of Kitty Litter; Mike McCaskey, of the Chicago Bears; Mark McCormack, of the International Management Group; Big Jim Miller, Miller Business Systems; Jay Mitton, Attorney on Protecting Assets; Ronald Myers, Principles of Professional Management; Gerard I. Nierenberg, of the Negotiation Institute; Dennis O'Connor, Attorney on Raising Capital; Adam Osborne, founder of Osborne Computer and Paperback Software International; T. Boone Pickens, of Mesa Petroleum; venture capitalist Richard Rordan; Richard M. Rodnick, chaiman of the Geneva Companies; Nat Schulman, on Family Business; Mo Siegel, founder of Celestial Seasonings Tea; A. David Silver, author/venture capitalist; Senator Paul Simon, of Illinois; Frederick Smith, founder of Federal Express; all-time insurance great W. Clement Stone; Joe Sugarman, of the JS&A Group; Billy Sullivan, owner of the New England Patriots; Ted Turner, of Turner Broadcasting Systems; Governor Mark White, of Texas; Chuck Whitlock, Entrepreneur Extraordinaire; and Zig Ziglar, author of See You At The Top.

 

SPECIAL EVENTS

From time to time, the CEO club conducts special events for the benefit of its members. These events vary as to purpose and place. Past examples include Joe Batten's one-day seminar on "Tough-Minded Team Building" and Joe Sugarman's four-day Marketing Workshop.

 

ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIPS

CEO's who are outside of the geographical areas covered by CEO club chapters (including outside of the U.S.A.) may elect to join the CEO club as associate members. Because no chapter meetings are held in their immediate area, they will not necessarily be expected to attend in a single city on a regular basis. However, as with regular memberships, they are invited to attend any meetings in any of the CEO club cities at no charge.

Associate members are asked to select one Chapter as their "Home Chapter." They will receive audio tapes of the Home chapter meetings they are unable to attend.

Associate members may attend the Management Course for CEO's and/or the negotiating course for CEO's at the member fee. The same holds true for the Spouses' Courses. The dues and initiation fee for an associate membership are 50 percent of the regular membership Dues and initiation fee.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY

Member biographies and contact data are available in the Members' Section of the website.

 

MANAGEMENT COURSE FOR CEO'S

A special intensive three-day Management Course for CEO's is held twice annually at resort locations. Tuition is $1,250 for CEO club members; $1,600 for nonmembers. This course is limited to CEO's only, and its content focuses on the role of the CEO in a growing company. A two-day "Spouses' Course" is also offered as a part of each Management Course.

This unique aspect of the Management Course is the attention given to the two fundamentally different management styles: entrepreneurial and professional.

Through a series of examples and discussions, attendees are able to meld the most effective elements of each style into their own personal style of leadership.

Faculty for the course includes specialists in management training, past CEO club luncheon speakers and selected graduates from past CEO club Management Courses. A list of Management Course Graduates is available to interested parties.

 

HOW THE ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS WORK

The morning sessions of CEO club meetings usually begin with a roundtable discussion. Selected CEO club members will lead discussions on a wide range of topics. Members may sit in on a single discussion of their choice (there will usually be three per session), or move from one discussion to another.

So that all members will receive the maximum benefit for the session, one person from each group will give an informal summary of the discussion at his or her roundtable.

While these discussions tend to raise more questions than they answer, it is always instructive to hear how your peers from similar and/or from very different business's deal with the same issues and problems that you have to face.

For each discussion, there will be a Group Leader and a Resource Person.

The group leader is the moderator and it will be his or her job to keep the discussion on the topic and to solicit the opinions of all who are involved.

The Resource Person, working in coordination with the Group Leader, will provide pertinent information on the topic of discussion (i.e. books, articles, and or other resource material) and will referee any disagreements within the group.

Discussion leaders for the roundtables will be chosen before each meeting. If a member has a particular interest in leading a discussion topic, he should contact our office in advance.

 

ROUND-TABLE TOPICS

 

CEO CLUB MEMBER INTRODUCTIONS

Here are some suggested guidelines for new members preparing their ten-minute introductory talks:

Your Background

Your Business

About Yourself

Your Board Of Directors