Vistage celebrates 65 years of helping leaders make better decisions

World’s largest CEO coaching organization has supported more than 100,000 business leaders since 1957

San Diego, CA (October 25, 2022) — This month, Vistage, the world’s largest executive coaching organization for small and mid-sized businesses, is celebrating 65 years of helping business leaders overcome challenges and discover opportunities. Since 1957, Vistage has brought high-performing CEOs together to experience its proven peer advisory groups, which deliver results both professionally and personally.

When leaders come together for confidential peer advisory group meetings, they gain the perspective, clarity, and support they need to become better leaders and accelerate their company’s growth. Today, more than 45,000 members worldwide have access to exclusive research, best-in class subject matter experts, personalized coaching sessions, in-person events with highly sought after speakers, and a private global online network that enables real-time problem solving. Under the guidance of their Chair – an accomplished executive coach – members come together to share expertise, challenge one another to think critically, and arrive at better decisions.

“Vistage has consistently evolved to provide a culmination of wisdom, expertise, and best practices over the last 65 years, helping CEOs persevere through hyper-inflation in the early 1980s, the bursting of the dotcom bubble in 2000, the housing market crash in 2008, the Coronavirus pandemic – and manage all the growth cycles in between,” said Vistage CEO Sam Reese.

Reese continued, “Despite rapid change, Vistage has remained true to our vision of being the most trusted resource for CEOs of small and midsize businesses. Over the years we’ve cultivated the ultimate platform to help leaders learn, while keeping a laser focus on helping high-integrity leaders make great decisions that benefit their companies, families, and communities. We look forward to continuing to innovate to meet CEOs’ ever-changing needs in an increasingly complex global economy.”

Vistage’s peer advisory model has inspired leaders for generations. The Vistage framework relies on proprietary issue processing in which CEOs provide insights and perspectives on peers’ challenges and opportunities. Issue processing offers a confidential, structured forum for unbiased feedback. Members come together in monthly peer advisory groups consisting of 12-16 business leaders from non-competing companies across diverse industries. In these group meetings, members rally around one another, listen, ask tough questions and bring to bear every resource they have to help each other grow as leaders and improve their businesses.

Vistage peer advisory group meetings are led by Chairs, accomplished business leaders, many of whom are former CEOs. They are part facilitator, part executive coach and fully committed to the success of each member. Chairs help stimulate thinking, frame issues, guide discussions and keep the meetings focused and productive. CEO members also meet with Chairs individually for one-to-one executive coaching sessions, an opportunity to take a deeper dive into the issues they most wish to explore.

 As it has evolved to meet CEOs’ changing needs, the Vistage experience has consistently proven it leads to results: A 2017 study of Dun & Bradstreet data revealed that companies who joined Vistage over the prior five years grew 2.2x faster than average small and medium-sized U.S. businesses. A similar study of D&B data in 2020 revealed that Vistage CEO members weathered the pandemic by continuing to grow their annual revenue on average by 4.6%, while nonmembers with comparable small and midsize businesses saw revenue decrease by 4.7%. Since its first group formed in 1957, Vistage has expanded peer advisory groups across 26 countries for more than 100,000 executives. The company continues to grow on a global scale, establishing licensees in four new countries in the last two years alone.

About Vistage Worldwide, Inc.
Vistage is the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize businesses. For more than 65 years, we’ve been helping CEOs, business owners and key executives solve their greatest challenges through confidential peer groups and one-to-one executive coaching sessions. Today, more than 45,000 members in 35 countries rely on Vistage to help make better decisions for their companies, families and communities. The results prove it: Vistage CEO members grew their annual revenue on average by 4.6% in 2020, while nonmembers with comparable small and midsize businesses saw revenue decrease by 4.7%, according to a study of Dun & Bradstreet data. Learn more at vistage.com.

Media Contact
Katie McWeeney | Vistage
858.523.6875 | katie.mcweeney@vistage.com