HarbourClub

What HarbourClub does

HarbourClub is a private Swiss association (Verein) founded in 2000 and headquartered at Harbour House in Zürich. It operates as an exclusive professional networking club for Chief Communication Officers (CCOs) of Swiss enterprises and organizations, with membership capped at 100 active CCOs plus up to 10 additional persons who play important roles in the Swiss communications landscape. Admission is by application and board approval: candidates must report directly to a CEO or executive board, hold overall communication responsibility, lead a team, and represent a brand-defining organization, with each company limited to one nominated CCO.

The club's core offering is the membership platform itself, which provides experience exchange on strategic communication, peer learning among senior communications leaders, and informal contact-building. This core is supplemented by a portfolio of programs: an annual Symposium (~200 participants, held at rotating member-company venues), the CCO Compass thought-leadership publication (launched 2025), a Reverse-Mentoring-Programm positioning CCOs as mentees, the GB-Rating corporate reporting competition, regular Club Lunches, closed-door Guerilla Workshops, the annual Sommerparty, and (from 2026) a new HarbourClub Award. There is no underlying technology platform or digital product — distribution runs through direct membership application, with marketing conducted via LinkedIn, the harbourclub.ch website, and events.

HarbourClub generates revenue almost entirely through annual membership fees of CHF 1,500 per member (100% if joining January–June, 50% if joining July–December), implying a hard ceiling of CHF 150,000/year in fee revenue. The roster reads as a who's-who of Swiss enterprise communications: Glencore, Swisscom, Roche, Nestlé Suisse, SIX Group, Allianz Suisse, Migros, SBB, Bank Vontobel, Raiffeisen Schweiz, Implenia, ETH Zürich, and SRG SSR among others. The club is led by President Hans-Peter Nehmer (CCO of Allianz Suisse), with Raffaela Harrer running secretariat operations since January 2024.

Name

HarbourClub

Legal name

HarbourClub

Website

https://harbourclub.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HarbourClub is a private Swiss association of up to 110 senior communications leaders, providing exclusive networking, peer exchange, and flagship events for Chief Communication Officers of Switzerland's largest enterprises. Founded in 2000, it operates on annual membership fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Professional Networking Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

Keywords

• Executive networking
• Professional association
• Corporate communications
• Membership club
• Peer exchange

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fee of CHF 1,500 per member. Fee is 100% if joining January 1 - June 30, and 50% if joining July 1 - December 31. With a maximum of 100 members, potential annual revenue is up to CHF 150,000.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HarbourClub operates an exclusive, capped professional networking platform for Chief Communication Officers (CCOs) in Switzerland, limited to 100 active CCO members plus up to 10 additional important figures from the Swiss communications landscape. Membership is by application and board approval, and the organization provides informal experience exchange, peer learning, and strategic communication discussion through a calendar of curated events and programs.

Product overview

HarbourClub is a professional networking organization for Chief Communications Officers in Switzerland, not a technology company. The organization operates as a unified platform centered on its core networking offering, supplemented by various programs including an annual Symposium, CCO Compass publications, a Reverse Mentoring Program, GB-Rating competitions, Club Lunches, Guerilla Workshops, and Sommerparty events. The portfolio consists of networking and professional development services designed to connect CCOs for experience exchange on strategic communication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HarbourClub Symposium: Annual flagship event organized by HarbourClub, bringing together experts, CEOs, and politicians for discussions on communication trends and practices in Switzerland.
• HarbourClub Award
• CCO Compass 2025
• Reverse-Mentoring-Programm

Products and services

• HarbourClub Membership Exclusive annual membership in a peer network of up to 100 active Swiss Chief Communication Officers, plus up to 10 additional Swiss communications figures, providing informal experience exchange on strategic communication and access to HarbourClub events and programs.
• HarbourClub Symposium Annual autumn event featuring expert speakers, CEOs, and politicians sharing new perspectives on strategic communication, with breakout sessions for in-depth discussion and practical examples, attended by around 200 participants at member companies.
• Club Lunches and Guerilla Workshops Regular members-only events combining informal club lunches for experience exchange with closed-door Guerilla Workshops for in-depth discussion on specific communications topics and practical experience sharing.
• Sommerparty (Summer Party) Annual summer networking party in Zürich that brings together HarbourClub members, media professionals, PR specialists, sponsors, and alumni for informal relationship-building.
• Reverse Mentoring Program Six-month structured mentoring initiative in which senior CCOs become mentees paired with the next generation of professionals, fostering inter-generational and cross-company knowledge exchange.
• GB-Rating (Geschäfts-Berichte Rating) Annual rating programme that evaluates and awards excellence in corporate reporting among Swiss organizations, hosted on a dedicated site (geschaeftsberichte-rating.ch).
• CCO Compass 2025 Strategic guidance publication for companies on shaping corporate communication during a period of transformation, addressing fake news, fragmentation, polarization, and stakeholder relationship management.

Quantifiable outcome

• High-level discussions on strategic communication challenges and solutions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• European Association of Communication Directors (EACD): Pan-European network of senior corporate communications leaders and CCOs that organizes events, awards, and peer exchange across Europe. Closely comparable to HarbourClub in target persona and value proposition, just at a broader geographic scale.
• Arthur W. Page Society: The most direct peer globally: an invitation-only membership organization for chief communications officers and corporate communications leaders, focused on advancing the practice and strategic role of corporate communication. Mirrors HarbourClub's exclusive CCO-only model at a larger US/global scale.
• International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO): Global body representing PR and communications consultancies, with membership drawn from senior agency leaders. Comparable target persona (senior communications leaders) and analogous member-benefit model (events, awards, peer exchange).
• Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management: Global confederation of PR and communication management associations. Comparable in serving senior communications professionals through peer exchange, research, and recognition programs, though it operates as a federation of associations rather than an exclusive individual-membership club.

Broad incumbents

• YPO (Young Presidents' Organization): Global peer network for chief executives built on small, exclusive 'forum' groups with high switching costs. The closest analogue to HarbourClub's curated, trust-based peer model, applied to CEOs rather than CCOs.
• Vistage: Peer advisory and executive coaching organization for CEOs and business leaders built on trusted small-group formats. Comparable model in terms of curated peer trust, recurring engagement, and high retention, but serving a different (CEO) persona.
• IABC (International Association of Business Communicators): Global membership organization for business communicators offering networking, certification, and professional development. Comparable target audience but a much broader, less exclusive, less senior-skewing membership base than HarbourClub.
• PRSA (Public Relations Society of America): The largest US professional association for public relations and communications professionals. Comparable in serving communications professionals through membership, events, and recognition, but far less exclusive and far larger than HarbourClub.

Regional players

• DPRG (Deutsche Public Relations Gesellschaft): Germany's leading PR and communications professionals association, serving senior communications leaders with events, awards, and peer exchange. Strong geographic and linguistic adjacency to the Swiss/DACH market HarbourClub operates in.
• CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations): UK-based professional body for PR and communications practitioners, providing membership, training, and events. Comparable in serving senior communications professionals with a member-benefit model, but geographically distinct from HarbourClub's Swiss focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/harbourclub
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HarbourClub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harbourclub-cco
• Instagraminstagram.com/harbourclub_ch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 HarbourClub