A practical comparison for CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, CISOs and board directors trying to find their room in the AI era.
AI has reshuffled the senior leadership stack faster than any technology shift since the internet. The boards, executive teams, and investors driving that shift are looking for smaller, higher-signal rooms than the conference circuit gives them.
This guide compares the most relevant executive communities for senior leaders working on AI: who they're for, how big they are, how you get in, and what they actually do when the room is closed.
It's written by Murray Newlands, founder of Open Future Forum, who has been building executive communities in Silicon Valley since 2019.
Built specifically for the AI era. Two tiers: private invitation-only Forum Select dinners for C-suite and board, plus open Forum Events. SF and Palo Alto. No membership fee. Off the record. Founded 2019 by Murray Newlands.
YPO is the largest and most established (chief executives only, age 45 and under at entry, company-size minimums). EO is similar but for founders with $1M+ revenue. Neither is AI-focused. Both have local chapters, annual dues, and a structured forum process. Best fit if you want a peer group across many industries.
Hampton is private peer groups for founders of high-growth startups, mostly online with retreats. South Park Commons is a Bay Area physical community for technical founders between projects. Both have strong AI density but are not focused on AI.
Vistage runs CEO peer groups with a paid Chair who facilitates monthly meetings. Strong on accountability and process. Not AI-specific. Annual fees in the mid-thousands.
Private network for women in senior executive roles. Core Group peer meetings, clubhouses in major cities, content and events. Annual membership fee. Not AI-specific but AI conversations happen.
All public-facing detail. Scroll horizontally on mobile. Open Future Forum highlighted because this is our site, not because the comparison was tilted.
| Open Future Forum | YPO | Hampton | EO | Vistage | Chief | TED Fellows | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Dinners + Events | Forums | Peer groups | Forums | Peer boards | Core Groups | Fellowship |
| Access | Invitation (Select); open (Events) | Application + dues | Application + dues | Application + dues | Vetting + dues | Application + dues | Application |
| Who it is for | C-suite, board, senior VCs in AI | Chief executives of larger companies | Founders of $1M+ ARR startups | Founders of $1M+ revenue companies | CEOs and execs at any stage | Senior executive women | Mid-career thinkers and builders |
| Focus | AI era, generosity, Give and Take | Peer learning, family, leadership | Founder isolation, growth | Founder peer learning | Accountability, coaching | Senior women leadership | Ideas at the edge |
| Size | Small (8 to 30 per dinner) | Global, 36,000+ members | Thousands of members | Global, ~20,000 members | 45,000+ members, 40+ countries | 10,000+ members | Hundreds of fellows |
| Public vs private | Both tiers (Select private, Events public) | Private | Private | Private | Private | Private | Mixed |
| Technical vs executive | Executive (C-suite, board) | Executive | Founder, mixed | Founder, mixed | Executive | Executive | Mixed |
| Local vs global | Silicon Valley (SF, Palo Alto) | Global, local chapters | Mostly online + retreats | Global, local chapters | Global, local chapters | US cities | Global |
| Curated vs open | Curated (Select); open (Events) | Curated | Curated | Curated | Curated | Curated | Curated |
| Fee | No fee | Several thousand / year | Thousands / year | Several thousand / year | Mid-thousands / year | Mid-thousands / year | No fee for Fellows |
| Format | Off-record dinners + public events | Forum process (8 to 10 peers) | Online + IRL retreats | Forum process + events | Monthly peer boards + 1:1 coaching | Core Groups + clubhouses | Conference cohort + ongoing |
| AI-native? | Yes (built for AI) | No | No (AI present) | No (AI present) | No | No (AI present) | Adjacent |
Open Future Forum is a Silicon Valley executive community for the AI era, founded in 2019 by Murray Newlands. It runs two tiers:
Both tiers share the same philosophy. Members are expected to give first and keep score never. The framework is Adam Grant's Give and Take. There is no membership fee for Forum Select.
Best for: C-suite leaders, board directors and senior investors in or adjacent to AI who want a small, off-the-record room in Silicon Valley. See how to join or apply directly.
The largest global peer network of chief executives. Members are CEOs of companies meeting size thresholds (revenue and headcount), with an age ceiling at entry. Members are grouped into Forums of 8 to 10 peers who meet monthly using a structured process for confidential peer counsel.
YPO has more than 36,000 members across 142+ countries. Annual dues are in the thousands. There are special programs (YPO Gold for older members, YPO Tech, YPO AI initiatives) but the core experience is the Forum.
Best for: chief executives who want a structured global peer process and lifelong network. Not AI-native. Long onboarding and meaningful time commitment.
Private peer community for founders of high-growth startups, mostly delivered online with periodic in-person retreats. Founded by Sam Parr. Members are organized into small core groups with a facilitator.
Members trend young, ambitious and revenue-positive. There is a strong AI cohort because the underlying founder base is heavily building with AI. Annual fee in the thousands.
Best for: solo or co-founder CEOs in the $1M to $50M revenue range who want a peer support system. More therapeutic than transactional.
Global peer learning organization for founders of $1M+ revenue companies. EO has nearly 20,000 members across 220+ chapters in 61 countries. Local chapter events plus structured Forum meetings every month with the same 8 to 10 peers for years.
Annual chapter dues vary by city, usually in the thousands. EO is more accessible than YPO at the entry threshold and has stronger chapter density in mid-sized cities.
Best for: founders of growing businesses who want long-term peer accountability and a local community. Not AI-specific.
Vistage runs peer advisory boards of 12 to 16 non-competing CEOs led by a paid Chair (typically a former executive). Members meet monthly for a full day. Chairs also provide 1:1 executive coaching between meetings.
Vistage emphasizes accountability and outcomes. Annual fees in the mid-thousands. Strong fit if you want professionalized peer process with a designated facilitator. 45,000+ members across 40+ countries.
Best for: CEOs and senior executives who want a paid, professionalized peer board. Not AI-specific.
A small fellowship program from TED for mid-career artists, scientists, technologists, and activists. Fellows get a platform (a talk on the TED stage), a network, and ongoing programming. There is also TED itself (the annual conference) and TEDx (the franchised events).
Best for: people doing work TED finds compelling. Heavy bias toward big-vision storytelling. Adjacent to AI rather than focused on it.
Private network for women in senior executive roles. Members are grouped into Core Groups (peer cohorts) with an executive coach, with access to clubhouses in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington DC and ongoing programming. Annual membership fee in the mid-thousands.
Best for: senior executive women who want a peer cohort and physical space in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco or Washington DC. Not AI-specific but AI is a frequent topic.
A Bay Area physical community for technical founders, often between projects. Members come to think, build, and connect with other technical people. Strong AI density. Affiliated with a venture fund.
Best for: technical founders and operators in the Bay Area who want a co-working community of peers. More builder than executive.
Cohort-based programs organized by stage and function (e.g. On Deck Founders, On Deck Angels). Online community plus regional events. More cohort program than community in the traditional sense.
Best for: people looking for a time-boxed program to meet peers at a similar stage. Has had cohorts focused on AI.
Large public AI conference series. Ticketed events with thousands of attendees including enterprise buyers, vendors and engineers. Not a community in the membership sense, but a recurring meeting place.
Best for: enterprise leaders and vendors who want broad market exposure. Open and high-volume, not small and private.
The most AI-specific Silicon Valley CFO room we know of is Forum Select's CFO track. YPO and EO are good for general peer learning but not for AI investment thesis conversations.
Compare CFO communities →Forum Select runs a dedicated CISO track focused on AI security threats and agentic risk. Other options include ISC2, ISSA chapters and the RSA conference circuit (large and public, not small and private).
Forum Select for CISOs →Forum Select's CTO track is built for engineering executives making AI architecture and build-vs-buy decisions. South Park Commons is good for the technical-founder side. YPO Tech for global peer learning.
Forum Select for CTOs →This main comparison covers the whole field. The guides below each go deeper on one slice. They are only linked from this page.
The Bay Area cut: Open Future Forum, The Battery, South Park Commons, Pacific Council, Stanford GSB Alumni and SV Forum.
Read the Bay Area guide →The dinner-format specifically: Forum Select, YPO Forums, Vistage groups, Hampton retreats and CEO coalition dinners.
Read the dinner-format guide →Is there a YPO for AI founders? The honest answer and the closest analogues in 2026.
Read the YPO guide →The CFO-specific cut: Forum Select CFO track, Argyle Executive Forum, CFO Leadership Council, FEI and Vistage CFO.
Read the CFO guide →If Open Future Forum sounds like the right fit, the next step is simple. Attend a Forum Event, get referred, or apply directly.