NACD Directorship Magazine

What NACD Directorship Magazine does

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), operating through NACD Directorship Magazine as one of its flagship assets, is a US tax-exempt nonprofit membership organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. NACD serves sitting and aspiring corporate directors across public, private, family-owned, nonprofit, and startup boards, connecting 23,000+ directors across 1,750+ boards through a national network of 20+ regional chapters, governance research publications, certification programs, and live events.

The core product portfolio spans Directorship Magazine (a quarterly digital publication reaching 24,000+ members, with weekly online exclusives and the BoardVision Podcast), the NACD Directorship Certification (the premier US-based director credential with the NACD.DC designation and an Ambassador program), specialized certificate programs (CERT Certificate in Cyber-Risk Oversight, Effective AI Oversight Certificate), an annual NACD Directors Summit, NACD Accelerate for aspiring directors, Board Leadership Fellowship, and NACD Board Advisory Services (custom consulting covering governance reviews, cyber risk reporting, and AI strategy in the boardroom). Underlying technology is a membership and content delivery platform with member portals, credentialing systems, event registration, and on-demand eLearning — there is no proprietary AI or ML stack.

Revenue is generated through recurring corporate and individual membership subscriptions, certification and recertification fees, summit registrations (e.g., $4,995 late rate; $5,995 final rate; $2,995 chapter leader rate), board readiness courses, advisory engagements, and publication sponsorships. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales for corporate board memberships, self-serve individual signups, chapter-based relationship building, and event-driven acquisition and retention. Specific revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

NACD Directorship Magazine

Legal name

National Association of Corporate Directors

Website

https://nacdonline.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

NACD Directorship Magazine is the flagship quarterly publication of the National Association of Corporate Directors, a 1977-founded US nonprofit serving 23,000+ directors across 1,750+ boards with governance research, certification, events, and advisory services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Governance Membership and Director Education

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA), Customer/User Conferences & Client Advisory Boards (THAHAMAD)

Keywords

• Corporate governance resources
• Director education programs
• Board certification training
• Governance research publications
• Director membership services

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Corporate Membership: Annual corporate board memberships providing full board access to NACD research, education, certification programs, and peer networks. Multiple tiers available based on board size.
2. Individual Membership: Annual individual director memberships with flexible access to governance resources, events, and peer community.
3. NACD Directors Summit Registration: Premium conference revenue from the annual national event with tiered pricing based on registration timing. Late registration at $4,995, Final rate at $5,995.
4. Certification Fees: Fees associated with NACD Directorship Certification program including application, exam, and recertification course fees.
5. Board Readiness Courses: On-demand courses for executives preparing for first board seat, available without membership requirement.
6. Directorship Magazine Content: Digital quarterly publication exclusively for NACD members. Includes sponsored advertising opportunities in Director Advisory sections.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NACD Directorship Magazine is the flagship quarterly digital publication of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), delivered exclusively to more than 24,000 NACD members. The publication sits within NACD's broader portfolio of corporate governance products including the NACD Directorship Certification, the annual NACD Directors Summit, advisory services, eLearning courses, certificate programs, and governance research handbooks and Blue Ribbon Commission Reports.

Product overview

NACD Directorship Magazine is a quarterly digital publication that is part of the National Association of Corporate Directors' portfolio of governance resources. The organization offers a suite of products including: the flagship Directorship Magazine (quarterly print and digital publication), Directorship Online (weekly online exclusives), and the BoardVision Podcast. These are complemented by professional development offerings: NACD Directorship Certification (the premier US-based director credential), certificate programs including the CERT Certificate in Cyber-Risk Oversight and Effective AI Oversight Certificate, eLearning courses like Director Professionalism, and webinars covering governance topics. Major annual programming includes the NACD Directors Summit conference. Advisory services provide custom boardroom education, governance reviews, and cyber risk reporting. Research publications include Blue Ribbon Commission Reports and Director's Handbooks such as the 2026 Cyber-Risk Oversight Handbook. The organization also supports aspiring directors through the NACD Accelerate program and maintains a network of 20+ regional chapters for local programming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NACD Directorship Certification: The premier US-based certification program designed to qualify corporate directors for effective boardroom performance.
• NACD Directors Summit
• NACD Board Advisory Services
• NACD Accelerate
• BoardVision Podcast
• Blue Ribbon Commission Reports

Products and services

• Directorship Magazine

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Internet Security AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-authors of the NACD-ISA Director's Handbook on Cyber-Risk Oversight, now in its fifth edition (2026). This partnership produces the leading boardroom framework for cyber-risk oversight with six principles and 15 boardroom tools.
• FBI Cyber DivisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributed the 'Incident Response and Reporting to the FBI' toolkit to the 2026 Director's Handbook on Cyber-Risk Oversight, providing guidance on when and how boards should report cyber incidents to law enforcement.
• Pearl MeyerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership producing the NACD/Pearl Meyer Director Compensation Report, providing data on board pay and historical trend analysis for governance leaders.
• CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCISA contributed the Foreword to the 2026 Director's Handbook on Cyber-Risk Oversight, emphasizing the importance of board-level cyber-risk oversight in addressing growing cyber threats from federal government perspective.
• Grant ThorntonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner webinar series on topics including Private Company AI Governance and other governance topics for NACD members.
• KUNGFU.AIminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner webinar providing board members insights on AI governance, strategy, and ROI for responsible AI adoption.
• AWSminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner webinar on governing AI systems where outputs change daily, helping corporate directors understand AI security challenges.
• NasdaqminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for governance content exploring AI's impact on boardroom strategy and Nasdaq Governance Pulse Report findings.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Diligent Corporation: Diligent provides board-portal software, governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) tools, and ESG data to corporate boards. It is an emerging technology-driven competitor to NACD's content and certification offerings, embedding governance insights inside daily board workflow software.

Broad incumbents

• Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles operates a global Board of Directors practice alongside its executive-search business, advising on director recruitment, onboarding, and governance. It addresses the same corporate director audience as NACD's membership and advisory services.
• Harvard Business Review (HBR): HBR publishes widely read management and governance content consumed by corporate directors and senior executives. While broader in scope, it competes with NACD Directorship Magazine for the attention of board leaders on governance, strategy, and leadership topics.
• Glass Lewis: Glass Lewis is a major proxy advisory firm providing governance research and voting recommendations to institutional investors. It overlaps with NACD's director-education positioning on board best practices, ESG, and oversight frameworks.
• Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS): ISS is a leading proxy advisory and corporate-governance data and services firm serving institutional investors and corporate boards. It competes with NACD for board governance mindshare, particularly around voting policy, executive compensation, and ESG oversight.
• Spencer Stuart: Spencer Stuart is a global executive-search and board-advisory firm with a dedicated Board Practice. It competes for corporate director relationships through board recruitment, evaluations, and governance advisory, overlapping NACD's board advisory and peer-networking value.

Direct peers

• Corporate Secretary: Corporate Secretary is a B2B publication and event brand covering corporate governance, compliance, and board practice for in-house governance professionals. It targets the same governance ecosystem that NACD serves and competes for governance advertising and event mindshare.
• Equilar: Equilar is a board-data and benchmarking platform that distributes director compensation data, governance analytics, and peer benchmarking — overlapping with NACD's Director Compensation Report, governance surveys, and benchmarking publications.
• Chief Executive (CEO Group): Chief Executive magazine serves CEOs and corporate board directors with leadership content, peer events, and executive roundtables — closely paralleling NACD Directorship Magazine's audience and editorial positioning at the intersection of leadership and boardroom strategy.

Others

• Pearl Meyer: Pearl Meyer is an executive-compensation and board-pay consultancy that co-produces the NACD/Pearl Meyer Director Compensation Report. It is an enabling partner and adjacent services provider rather than a direct competitor, addressing overlapping director and compensation-governance topics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nacd
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NACDVideos1
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalAssociationofCorporateDirectors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-association-of-corporate-Directors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 NACD Directorship Magazine