MARKETING · SILICON VALLEY · AI

Executive AI communities
for CMOs

Updated 8 Jun 2026 · By Murray Newlands

Membership networks
and a cross-functional room

Most CMO communities are membership networks built around marketing peers, content and events. They are useful for staying current with the craft. Open Future Forum takes a different angle: a small room where marketing leaders sit with the rest of the C-suite, because AI is reshaping how the whole company grows, not only marketing.

Broad global membership: CMO Alliance and the CMO Council. Frequent facilitated peer sessions: CMO Huddles. GTM training and cross-functional peers: Pavilion. A small Silicon Valley room inside a cross-functional community: Open Future Forum.

The main communities,
compared

CommunityTypeAccess & costFocusBest for
Open Future Forum
CMO programming
Invite-only dinners and panelsFree to qualifying CMOsAI in marketing, growth and brand in the AI eraMarketing leaders who want a small, candid room inside a cross-functional, AI-native C-suite community
CMO AllianceGlobal community, events and resourcesMembershipPractical CMO resources and peer connectionCMOs who want a broad global community, running since 2020
CMO HuddlesPeer huddles, roundtables and coachingMembershipB2B CMO peer exchange, AI workshopsB2B CMOs who want frequent facilitated peer sessions, 700+ members
CMO CouncilGlobal peer network for senior marketersMembershipResearch and councils, running since 2001Senior marketing decision-makers who want a long-established global network
Marketers That MatterPeer network, with The Wall Street JournalApplication or qualificationTop marketing executives, leadership contentEnterprise marketing executives who want a vetted, media-backed network
PavilionMembership community plus CMO SchoolMembershipGTM and marketing leadership developmentVPs and CMOs who want cross-functional GTM peers and training
Apex AssemblyInvitation-only assemblies and summitsInvite-onlySenior marketing executive gatheringsCMOs who want invitation-only summits with peers and experts
Transformational CMO AssemblyInvite-only summit (Millennium Alliance)Invite-onlyMarketing's role in the growth modelCMOs who want a high-seniority summit room

Costs and details reflect publicly available information in 2026 and change over time.

What sets Open
Future Forum apart

One Table

Not one title

Most CMO communities are marketing only. Open Future Forum seats marketing leaders with the CFOs, CISOs, CTOs and CEOs they depend on, so growth is discussed across the company, not in a silo.

Format

Dinners and panels

The format favors small, off-the-record dinners and focused panels over large stages, with the same giver standard that runs through Open Future Forum.

Focus

Built for the AI era

The agenda is AI and growth, not general marketing craft. Sessions connect marketing to the AI strategy the rest of the C-suite is running.

Things leaders
usually ask

What is the best community for CMOs in 2026?+

It depends on what a CMO wants. For a broad global network, CMO Alliance or the CMO Council. For frequent B2B peer sessions, CMO Huddles. For GTM training, Pavilion. For a small Silicon Valley room inside a cross-functional community, Open Future Forum. See the full executive AI communities comparison for the wider field.

Which CMO communities are free?+

Open Future Forum's CMO dinners are free to qualifying CMOs. Most others, including the CMO Council, CMO Huddles and Pavilion, run on member dues.

How is Open Future Forum different from CMO Alliance or CMO Huddles?+

Those are marketing-focused membership networks. Open Future Forum is Silicon Valley, free to qualifying CMOs and cross-functional, so marketing leaders meet finance, security, technology and board peers in the same room. It is AI-native.

Is the CMO programming part of Open Future Forum?+

Yes. It is the marketing vertical of Open Future Forum, a Silicon Valley executive community founded in 2019 that runs panel events and invite-only dinners for C-suite leaders.

Bring your seat
to the table

Open Future Forum's CMO dinners are invitation-only and free to qualifying CMOs. If you lead marketing in the AI era, or know a CMO who should be in the room, we would like to hear from you.