What Chief does

Chief is a private membership network for senior women executive leaders, headquartered in New York City and operating with 101-250 employees. The company curates a vetted community of senior women leaders—primarily C-Suite executives, VPs/SVPs, founders, and leaders in transition—who meet specific tenure and influence criteria (typically 15+ years of leadership experience). The membership base comprises 12,000+ senior executives representing 10,000+ companies, with 67-77% of the Fortune 100 reportedly represented. The platform serves four primary customer segments: senior C-Suite women, VP/SVP-level executives, solopreneurs and builders, and leaders navigating career transitions, plus enterprise HR/L&D teams that purchase multi-seat sponsorship packages.

Chief's core offering combines a digital community platform (mobile app, member portal, 100+ topic-organized groups) with four physical Clubhouses in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington D.C. The product stack includes Core peer coaching groups, one-on-one Executive Coaching, quarterly Wharton Executive Education courses with certifications, the ChiefX annual summit, and pop-up programming at major industry conferences (CES, SXSW, HumanX, HLTH). Technical integrations include Google and Microsoft calendar sync, Stripe-based payment processing (PCI-DSS compliant), and Zoom-based virtual programming. In 2025-2026 the company extended its product surface with the Opportunity Engine and Plena acquisition (October 2025) for sales-team support, and an AI Leadership Assessment built with Human Machines (April 2026).

Revenue is generated primarily through annual membership subscriptions (pricing not publicly disclosed), with the majority of members receiving employer sponsorship. Additional revenue streams include executive coaching add-ons, Wharton course fees, enterprise partnership contracts for multi-seat memberships, and brand partnership engagements. The go-to-market combines a direct-to-consumer application funnel (with consultation interviews and strict vetting) with an enterprise sales motion targeting HR/L&D buyers using ROI messaging around executive retention costs. Distribution is U.S.-domestic across four metro markets, with no disclosed international expansion. The company has raised over $140M cumulatively, including a $100M Series B in March 2022 led by CapitalG (Alphabet's growth fund) that valued it at $1.1 billion.

Name

Chief

Legal name

Project 1972, Inc.

Website

https://chief.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Chief is a private membership network connecting senior women executive leaders through a vetted community platform, four U.S. Clubhouses, executive coaching, Wharton courses, and curated programming serving 12,000+ members across 10,000+ companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Membership Network

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

C-Suite & Senior Executive Coaching (EDABANAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Executive Leadership Summits (C-Suite, Board, Strategy Offsites) (THAHAMAA), Team & Group Executive Coaching (Leadership Teams) (EDABANAF), Reputation Management & Executive Thought Leadership (MPAAADAK), Corporate Reputation & Thought Leadership (MPAAAOAF)

Keywords

• Executive membership network
• Women leadership community
• Peer advisory groups
• Executive coaching services
• Professional networking platform

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Annual Membership Subscriptions: Primary revenue stream from annual membership fees providing access to Clubhouses, Core groups, coaching, events, and executive education. Membership terms are annual, with pricing not publicly disclosed (quote-based). Majority of members receive employer sponsorship.
2. Executive Coaching Add-Ons: Additional one-on-one coaching sessions available as membership add-ons, subject to separate fees beyond base membership.
3. Executive Education Courses: Quarterly courses from Wharton Executive Education available as optional add-ons with separate fees, including certification upon completion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Chief is a vetted membership network for senior women leaders that combines exclusive physical Clubhouses in NYC, SF, Chicago, and DC with confidential peer coaching groups, one-on-one executive coaching, and quarterly Wharton Executive Education courses. The offering is anchored by a digital community platform with 100+ groups, ChiefX summits, industry conference pop-ups (CES, SXSW, HumanX, HLTH), and an AI Leadership Assessment developed in partnership with Human Machines.

Product overview

Chief is a membership network platform for senior women leaders that combines multiple interconnected services: the core Membership provides access to exclusive Clubhouses (physical spaces in NYC, SF, Chicago, DC), peer coaching groups called Core, one-on-one Executive Coaching, and Wharton Executive Education courses. ChiefX summits and event programming offer networking at major conferences. The Community component includes 100+ digital groups and personalized matching. Enterprise partnerships allow companies to sponsor multiple executives. Newer offerings include the AI Leadership Assessment (with Human Machines), the Opportunity Engine product, and the acquired Plena platform for sales support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chief Membership Annual membership providing vetted senior women leaders with access to Clubhouses, Core groups or coaching, ChiefX summits, Wharton Executive Education courses, and the full events calendar.
• Clubhouses Private physical workspaces and event venues in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., offering bookable meeting rooms, private call rooms, lounge areas, wellness rooms, and complimentary amenities for members.
• Core Groups & Coaching Executive peer coaching delivered through confidential facilitated peer groups (Core) or one-on-one sessions with Executive Coaches, curated based on members' career stage and goals.
• Programming Curated calendar of speaker sessions, workshops, panels, and networking events, plus quarterly courses from Wharton Executive Education covering AI, entrepreneurship, board readiness, and finance.
• Community Digital community of vetted members connected through 100+ groups organized by industry, function, interest, and identity, with chat, messaging, and personalized member matching.
• ChiefX & Events Full-day ChiefX summits featuring prominent keynote speakers, panels, and workshops, plus bespoke pop-up activations at major industry conferences including CES, SXSW, HumanX, and HLTH.
• Chief Enterprise Corporate partnership membership enabling companies to sponsor multiple women executives, with multi-seat packages, dedicated support, ROI tracking, and access to Chief's community, coaching, and insights.
• AI Leadership Assessment Assessment tool developed with Human Machines that scores members' AI collaboration behavior, identifies opportunities to lead more intentionally, and contributes data to research on women leadership in the AI era.
• Opportunity Engine Sales-support product launched in 2025 designed to power outbound efforts and strategic growth initiatives for member-facing sales teams.
• Brand Partnerships Sponsorship and co-marketing opportunities for brands seeking to engage with Chief's community of senior women leaders through co-hosted events, content sponsorships, and member network access.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members accomplish 50% more when collaborating with other women
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• The Harris PollcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChief partnered with The Harris Poll to conduct research on senior women leaders and AI strategy, surveying over 1,000 respondents to produce annual thought leadership reports on the human-agentic workforce. This partnership generates high-profile research used for media coverage and brand positioning.
• Wharton School of BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChief partners with Wharton Executive Education to deliver quarterly courses for members in areas including AI, entrepreneurship, board readiness, and finance. Members who complete courses receive official certifications issued in partnership with Wharton.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationChief uses Stripe as its third-party payment processor for membership fees and other services. Stripe handles payment card processing and is committed to PCI-DSS compliance with industry standard security.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• YPO (Young Presidents' Organization): Global peer community of chief executives with forum-based peer groups, leadership programming, and events. Comparable as an established executive peer-group incumbent, though YPO is co-ed, broader in seniority criteria, and global, putting it in direct competition for Chief Enterprise partnerships.
• Vistage: Large executive coaching and peer-advisory organization running monthly CEO/CXO peer group meetings. Comparable to Chief Enterprise on the value proposition of paid peer advisory for senior leaders, with a longer operating history and much larger member base.
• EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization): Global peer network for founders and entrepreneurs with forum-based peer learning, events, and executive education. Overlaps with Chief's 'Builders' persona segment and offers a comparable member-experience model, though EO is co-ed and skewed toward business owners.
• TEC (The Executive Committee): Peer advisory group for CEOs and senior executives, organized into local groups with executive coaching and speaker programming. Comparable to Chief on the curated peer-group + executive coaching bundle sold to enterprises and senior leaders.

Direct peers

• Athena Alliance: A membership network for senior women leaders and board-ready executives. Closely comparable to Chief on persona (senior women executives), curated membership model, and emphasis on board readiness and career acceleration at the C-suite level.
• Ellevate Network: A vetted, dues-based professional network focused on women in business across career stages. Most directly comparable to Chief in combining curated membership, peer groups, and event programming, though Ellevate serves a broader career-stage spectrum rather than C-Suite-only.

Others

• Harvard Business School Executive Education: Premium executive education provider offering cohort-based leadership programs for senior executives. Adjacent to Chief's Wharton partnership — comparable in addressing senior-leader development and certification needs, but delivered via cohort-based programs rather than an ongoing membership network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/joinchief
• Xx.com/JoinChiefNow
• Facebookfacebook.com/joinchiefnow

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors17 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chief