ISMA

What ISMA does

The International Security Management Association (ISMA) is a non-profit professional membership association founded in 1983 that operates a confidential peer information-sharing network for senior security executives at the world's largest corporations. Membership is restricted to CSOs and equivalents at enterprises with $1B+ annual revenue (or qualifying government/IGO security practitioners), with prospective members required to be nominated by an existing ISMA member and approved by a member committee. ISMA claims 50% representation across the Fortune 100, Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, and FTSE 100, and operates under the Chatham House Rule across all programming.

The organization's product portfolio consists of semi-annual face-to-face Member Meetings (January and June), regional security conferences (Asia, Europe, North America), monthly virtual roundtables, periodic webinars, and the Annual Reception held alongside OSAC's Annual Briefing in Washington D.C. Professional development is delivered through a 9-month Ignite leadership cohort for rising security leaders and executive education partnerships with the Kellogg School of Management (since 2008, 800+ lifetime attendees) and Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (since 2019). ISMA does not offer a technology platform or SaaS product; the underlying service is human facilitation and trusted peer access.

Revenue is generated through undisclosed annual membership dues, per-attendee program fees ($1,150 for Ignite, $5,950 for Kellogg, $4,250+ VAT for THI), and event registration fees (e.g., $100 for the Annual Reception). GTM is exclusively direct and referral-driven — there is no public pricing, no outbound marketing, and no resellers. The organization operates with a small staff of 1-10, is governed by a Board of Directors, and is headquartered in Thayer, USA, with operations also in the UK.

Name

ISMA

Legal name

International Security Management Association

Website

https://isma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ISMA is a non-profit membership association founded in 1983 that provides a confidential peer information-sharing network and executive education for senior security executives at Fortune 100/Global 500 corporations, operating under the Chatham House Rule.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Security Association / Executive Peer Network

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Executive security association
• Security peer network
• CSO membership organization
• Corporate security networking
• Security executive education

Headquarters

HQ city

Thayer

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from qualifying organizations. Membership is a prerequisite for participation in ISMA's programs, events, and peer network.
2. Program Fees - Ignite: Ignite program participants pay $1,150 investment fee covering conference access, virtual programming, and digital resources. Additionally, $100 non-refundable application fee.
3. Executive Education Programs: Revenue from Kellogg and THI executive education programs. ISMA-Kellogg Understanding Security as a Business Asset: $5,950 per attendee. ISMA-THI Strategic Security Management: $4,250 + VAT per attendee. Revenue shared with educational partners.
4. Event Registration: Fees for event attendance, including the Annual Reception at $100 per attendee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ISMA is a nonprofit professional membership association that provides senior security executives from Fortune 100 and Fortune Global 500 companies with a vetted, confidential peer information-sharing network, executive education, conferences, virtual roundtables, and thought leadership resources. Members convene through semi-annual Member Meetings, regional conferences, webinars, and the Ignite leadership cohort program to benchmark strategies, share crisis-response intelligence, and access professional development opportunities.

Product overview

The International Security Management Association (ISMA) operates as a membership-based professional association offering a unified platform of networking, professional development, and thought leadership services for senior security executives. The core offering is the membership network connecting Fortune 100 and Fortune Global 500 CSOs. This is supported by a portfolio of event-based products including bi-annual Member Meetings, regional conferences, virtual roundtables, and webinars. Professional development is delivered through executive education partnerships with Kellogg School of Management and THI, plus the Ignite leadership cohort program. Annual gatherings like the ISMA Annual Reception and Leadership Forum provide additional networking touchpoints. The organization does not offer a technology product or SaaS platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ISMA Ignite Program: A transformational 9-month program designed to accelerate the leadership journey of rising corporate security leaders.
• ISMA-Kellogg Program
• ISMA-THI Program

Products and services

• ISMA Membership Trusted peer network membership for senior security executives (CSOs and equivalent) from Fortune 100 and Fortune Global 500 companies, providing confidential information sharing, thought leadership forums, benchmark surveys, closed messaging groups, and professional development opportunities. Membership requires nomination by an existing ISMA member and committee approval.
• ISMA Member Meetings Face-to-face conferences held twice yearly (January and June) exclusively for ISMA members, delivering business, professional, and academic content with structured member interaction and networking opportunities for senior security executives.
• ISMA Executive Education Programs Executive education courses offered in partnership with Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University) and Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI), including programs on strategic security management and crisis leadership for security and risk leaders.
• ISMA Virtual Roundtables Monthly hour-long virtual sessions where security executives collaborate and discuss current issues, held on the second Thursday of each month under the Chatham House Rule.
• ISMA Webinars Periodic webinar series featuring member testimonials, case studies, actionable intelligence on current topics, and corporate security best practices. Some sessions open to non-members.
• ISMA Ignite Program A 9-month transformational leadership program cohort for rising security leaders below CSO level, designed to accelerate their career journey through workshops, networking, London kickoff conference, virtual member meeting access, annual reception access, and quarterly programming. Limited to 40 participants per cohort.
• ISMA Annual Reception Exclusive annual networking event held in November (next scheduled November 17, 2026 in Washington D.C.) coinciding with the OSAC Annual Briefing, connecting ISMA members with government agency representatives and dignitaries. $100 per attendee.
• ISMA Leadership Forum One-day conference for security leaders to gain insights from ISMA CSOs and business leaders, open to both members and their delegates.
• ISMA Security and Risk Exchange Small half-day events held several times yearly in business hubs, offering facilitated roundtable and workshop-style sessions for informal networking and benchmarking among security leaders.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership established in 2019 offering ISMA's first executive education program outside North America. The ISMA-THI Program: Strategic Security Management is a certificate course held annually in April in Ingolstadt, Germany. Limited to 15 seats, one per member company.
• Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership since 2008 offering two executive education programs: ISMA-Kellogg Senior Executive Program: Leading Through Crises, and ISMA-Kellogg Program: Understanding Security as a Business Asset. Programs held annually at Kellogg campus in Evanston, IL. Partnership has served more than 800 attendees.
• ISMA-ACSGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for regional security conferences. ISMA-ACSG Asia Regional Security Conference held annually, next scheduled June 30, 2026.
• Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerISMA Annual Reception is held annually in November to coincide with OSAC's Annual Briefing. Event provides opportunity for ISMA members to gather with government agency representatives and other dignitaries.
• Vanguard International Security Management AssociationminorOthersCollaboration on regional security conferences. ISMA Europe Regional Security Conferences delivered annually for members and delegates to discuss regional business and security concerns.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ASIS International: The largest global professional association for security management practitioners, with a much broader membership than ISMA covering practitioners across roles and company sizes. It is the primary competitive overlap for CSO-level security leadership membership and certification (CPP, PSP).
• Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC): A U.S. State Department-sponsored public-private partnership that links the U.S. government with private-sector security professionals operating abroad; ISMA already co-locates its Annual Reception with OSAC's Annual Briefing, evidencing direct overlap in serving security leaders at multinationals.

Broad incumbents

• ISACA: Global association for IT governance, risk, cybersecurity, and audit professionals. While cybersecurity-focused rather than corporate-security-focused, ISACA increasingly serves the same senior executives whose roles are converging with traditional CSO responsibilities.
• (ISC)²: International nonprofit association for cybersecurity professionals, including CISSP-certified practitioners. Competes for share-of-wallet and executive mindshare with security leaders as the CSO/CISO role converges.

Regional players

• The Security Institute (SyI): UK-based professional body for security professionals offering Chartered status and continuing professional development. Comparable in mission (professional membership for senior security practitioners) but regional, not global, in reach.

Emerging players

• International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS): A specialized membership association serving security leaders in healthcare—a vertical subset of the same corporate-security executive population ISMA serves. Comparable membership-association model with narrower industry focus.
• CSO Online / CSO Risk Leadership Council: IDG-published media brand and peer community explicitly serving CSOs and senior security executives; competes with ISMA for executive attention via content and awards rather than invitation-only membership model.

Others

• Security Management (ASIS-published): ASIS International's flagship publication delivering thought leadership and benchmarking content to the same senior security executive audience ISMA targets through whitepapers and member meetings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ISMA_HQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-security-management-association-isma

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 ISMA