CFO Forum

What CFO Forum does

CFO Forum (legal entity: The CFO Forum, LLC) is a privately held professional community and advisory organization for chief financial officers, founded in 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. It was co-founded by Chris White of Savills and Emory University's Goizueta Business School, and operates under a horizontal segmentation model targeting the CFO persona across the Atlanta metropolitan and broader Southeast US market. The organization is governed by an advisory board of 15 current or former Atlanta CFOs and is supported by a network of professional services partners including Grant Thornton, Aon, Nelson Mullins, The Grant Partners, and venue host Cisco.

The company's offering centers on a unified event and content service rather than a software platform: quarterly in-person programming events held at partner venues (including Cisco's Atlanta Collaboration Center), an annual Preeminence Award recognizing an outstanding Atlanta CFO each year since 2018 (based on Glen Jackson's seven pillars of preeminence), topical forums covering AI, M&A, economic outlook, and political risk, an email newsletter, and a job board for the community. The website (cfoforum.us) is built on Squarespace and the organization has no disclosed proprietary technology, mobile app, or API. Three named blog writers (Krystina Colyer, Patrick Ward, Jared Gibbons) document programming, alongside the co-founder.

The revenue model is best characterized as recurring membership and event sponsorship revenue supplemented by partner underwriting, with no publicly disclosed pricing. There is no venture capital or disclosed parent organization, and ownership rests with the founding parties and the operating team. Customer reach is concentrated in a single regional market (Atlanta/Southeast US), with no evidence of expansion into additional chapters or geographies despite continuous programming through 2026.

Name

CFO Forum

Legal name

The CFO Forum, LLC

Website

https://cfoforum.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CFO Forum is an Atlanta-based professional community and advisory organization serving CFOs across the Southeast US. Founded in 2013 with Emory's Goizueta Business School, it delivers quarterly in-person events, an annual Preeminence Award, topical forums, and a newsletter for financial leaders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Professional Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA), Finance & Investment Conferences (MPAGAGAG)

Keywords

• CFO networking events
• Executive leadership forums
• Professional association services
• CFO recognition awards
• Financial leadership community

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Membership and Event Services: The organization collects business contact information from members and event attendees to operate its professional community and advisory services including event invitations, professional correspondence, and relationship management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CFO Forum operates a private professional community and advisory platform for chief financial officers in the Atlanta metropolitan area, hosting quarterly networking events, economic outlook forums, and thought leadership programming. The organization is led by an advisory board of 15 CFOs and former CFOs from major Atlanta-area companies, and offers an annual Preeminence Award, a quarterly newsletter, and a job board for the financial executive community.

Product overview

CFO Forum is a professional community organization for CFOs offering quarterly programming events, networking opportunities, and an annual Preeminence Award. The organization hosts economic outlook forums, AI-focused discussions, and M&A-related events. It provides a newsletter for community updates. The offering consists of a unified event/programming service rather than a software product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Quarterly CFO Networking Events & Economic Outlook Forums In-person quarterly gatherings of Atlanta-area CFOs and financial executives featuring networking and economic outlook discussions, designed for senior finance leaders from large and mid-sized organizations in the metro Atlanta region.
• Preeminence Award Annual recognition award honoring an outstanding CFO in the Atlanta business community, presented at the annual CFO Forum gathering to celebrate finance leadership excellence.
• CFO Forum Newsletter Quarterly digital newsletter delivering thought leadership, market commentary, and curated content from the CFO Forum advisory board to its membership of Atlanta-area financial executives.
• CFO Job Board Online job board hosted by CFO Forum to surface finance executive roles for the Atlanta-area CFO community and the broader network of financial leaders.

Segments1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Emory University's Goizueta Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded alongside Emory's Goizueta Business School in 2013. Provides institutional support, research access, and thought leadership partnership. The school serves as a key supporter of the CFO Forum's quarterly programming.
• SavillscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Chris White of Savills. Savills serves as a key supporter and partner, with Chris White serving as Vice Chairman of Savills and co-founder of the CFO Forum.
• Grant ThorntonsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey supporter of the CFO Forum providing programming support and moderation for events. Grant Thornton partners contribute to quarterly events and CFO surveys.
• AonsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey supporter providing event moderation and M&A transaction solutions expertise. Aon M&A and Transaction Solutions co-head serves as event moderator.
• Nelson MullinssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey supporter providing legal and data privacy expertise for CFO Forum events.
• The Grant PartnerssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey supporter of the CFO Forum organization.
• CiscosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCisco hosted the Q4 2023 event at their Atlanta Collaboration Center. Cisco CFO Scott Herren served as keynote speaker for the event.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Financial Executives International (FEI): FEI is the largest U.S. professional association specifically for senior financial executives (CFOs, controllers, treasurers). Comparable because it delivers exactly the same target persona (CFOs) with chapter-based programming, awards, and thought leadership — the national analogue of CFO Forum's Atlanta chapter.
• Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO): EO is a global peer network for entrepreneurs offering chapter-based forums, learning events, and executive connections. Overlaps CFO Forum on community-led membership model, regional chapters, and event-driven programming, though EO is broader in target persona.
• The CFO Alliance: The CFO Alliance is a membership community and peer advisory organization serving CFOs nationwide. It directly overlaps CFO Forum's target customer (CFO-level executives), value proposition (peer networking, best-practice sharing), and event-based GTM motion.
• Vistage: Vistage runs CEO/executive peer advisory groups in monthly small-group format, the most established analog to CFO Forum's peer-networking model. It is highly comparable because both monetize access to curated executive communities through recurring membership and rely on peer-led discussion, although Vistage is broader (CEO-led) and national.
• Chief Executive Group: Chief Executive Group hosts peer advisory roundtables and executive forums for C-level leaders including CFOs. Comparable on curated peer-group format, recurring meetings, and cross-company knowledge sharing, though it skews toward CEOs.
• YPO (Young Presidents' Organization): YPO is a global peer-to-peer network for chief executives, with chapter-based forums and exclusive events. Comparable on community-led GTM, invitation/access-controlled membership, and quarterly in-person programming format, although YPO serves broader C-suite rather than finance-specific.
• CFO Colloquium: CFO Colloquium operates invitation-only peer advisory groups specifically for CFOs. Direct competitor to CFO Forum because it serves the same CFO persona, uses invitation-only access, and runs peer-led forums with similar value propositions.

Regional players

• Atlanta Business Chronicle: Atlanta Business Chronicle is the regional business news outlet covering Atlanta's executive and finance community. Comparable as a regional ecosystem player connecting the same CFO and executive audience in Atlanta through events, awards, and content — though not a peer community itself.
• Atlanta Committee for Progress: Atlanta Committee for Progress is a regional executive organization convening top Atlanta business leaders. Comparable as a peer because it operates in the same Atlanta metro market, targets the same senior-executive audience, and convenes business leaders for high-level programming.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD): NACD is a large, established member organization for corporate directors and governance leaders. Comparable because it provides peer-networking, education, and recognition programs for senior executives, but it focuses on board directors rather than CFOs and operates nationally.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheCFOForum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cfoforumatlanta

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 CFO Forum