Executive networks and communities bring senior leaders together for peer support, shared learning and connection. They include CEO and executive peer groups, chair and NED forums, women-only leadership networks, functional communities for roles such as CFO, CHRO and CMO, mastermind groups and invitation-only membership organisations.
Compare executive networks, peer advisory groups and leadership communities across the UK by who can join, seniority, type of network, how to join, membership cost and independent ratings.
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VirtualNonExecs is a UK membership network for non-executive directors (NEDs), chairs and board advisors, founded by Ian Wright in 2019.
It connects members with companies, private equity and venture capital investors, family offices and founders looking for board members. Subscribing for access to posted board roles is free, and a paid Networker Pro upgrade adds a profile review, fee benchmarks and weekly board introductions. Organisations can use its HiringZone search service, which shortlists chairs, NEDs and fractional advisors from the network for a fixed fee agreed up front, and aims to produce a first shortlist in under five days. DealZone shares off-market capital raises and business sales with members. With Cranfield School of Management it offers the Non-Executive Directors Essentials Programme, an online, self-paced course of 8 modules and 24 short lessons covering governance and directors' duties, board finance, board effectiveness, the role of the chair, artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability. It is stage one of the Cranfield NED pathway, awards a verified Cranfield digital badge on completion, starts on enrolment with no fixed dates, and access does not expire.
Membership prices and HiringZone fees are not published on its public pages. The Non-Executive Directors Essentials Programme costs £1,999 plus value added tax (VAT), or £1,499 plus VAT for Networker Pro members, and is provided by Cranfield Management Development Ltd, a subsidiary of Cranfield University. It states it has more than 30,000 members. Leonard Curtis, a professional services group, announced in November 2024 that it had acquired a majority stake. The company, Virtualnonexecs Limited, was incorporated in 2017 and took its current name in July 2019. Ian Wright is founder and chief executive, and Gary Cain is managing director.
Boardwave is a free, partner-funded peer community for European technology founders and chief executives, registered in Canterbury and set up in 2022.
It is open to founders, chief executive officers (CEOs), chairs and non-executive directors (NEDs) of European technology, software-as-a-service (SaaS), artificial intelligence (AI) and software-enabled businesses scaling towards and past €100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Full Membership, for companies with about €1 million to over €100 million ARR, includes small moderated peer groups called Breakouts, dinners and one-to-one executive mentoring from leaders a stage ahead. Digital Membership, for earlier-stage companies with up to €1 million ARR, covers masterclasses, peer mentoring and the online platform. Applications are reviewed one by one, and bootstrapped, venture-backed and private equity-owned companies can all apply.
Membership costs nothing, because partner firms such as investors and advisers fund the community. Events range from small dinners to an annual conference, Boardwave Live, and the online directory lists more than 2,000 vetted members. The company, Boardwave Ltd (number 14105403), was co-founded by Kath Easthope, its chief executive, and Phill Robinson, its chair. It states that it has donated more than £350,000 to Cure Parkinson's.
Application and vettingCEOs and foundersBoard and chairs
Chapter Zero is a not-for-profit forum for non-executive directors and chairs on climate governance, founded in 2019 and based in Canterbury, Kent.
Members are non-executive directors (NEDs), senior independent directors and chairs on listed, private, government and non-profit boards, with an associate tier for people who do not hold a current NED role. It runs roundtables, workshops, webinars and conferences, online or in person, and publishes briefings, a monthly bulletin, a Knowledge Hub and toolkits including a Transition Planning Toolkit and a Board Toolkit. In return for free membership, members are asked to take part in events and an annual survey.
Membership is free. Chapter Zero Limited is a company limited by guarantee, funded by philanthropic organisations including the Children's Investment Fund Foundation and the IKEA Foundation. It was developed with support from the Hughes Hall Centre for Climate Engagement at the University of Cambridge, and belongs to Chapter Zero Alliance, a network of 34 chapters in more than 70 countries. It states it has more than 3,700 members, and that 73% of companies in the FTSE 350 share index have at least one member on their board.
Vistage is a peer advisory and coaching organisation for chief executives, founded in the US in 1957, with its UK office in Hedge End, Hampshire.
Its UK programmes are for chief executives, managing directors and business owners, other senior executives and directors, small business owners, professional advisers, executive teams, and experienced and emerging managers. On the Chief Executive Programme, members join a confidential group of 12 to 18 leaders from non-competing industries, led by an experienced business leader known as a Chair. A year includes 12 full-day group meetings, 12 one-to-one sessions with a private executive coach and up to 8 workshops with expert speakers. The Key Executive Programme uses the same group format, with one-to-one coaching available at extra cost.
Membership prices are not published. Vistage states it has more than 45,000 members in 35 countries, and its UK website cites a 2017 study of Dun & Bradstreet data in which member companies grew 2.2 times faster than average small and medium-sized businesses. In the UK it trades through Vistage International (UK) Limited, incorporated in 1989. Chairs are required to have at least £5 million of profit and loss responsibility.
Application and vetting
CEO & C-suite forumsMasterminds & peer advisory groupsInternational executive networks
Hedge End, Hampshire, United KingdomNo Google or Trustpilot reviews
The Athena Network is a UK women-only business networking membership for ambitious women, founded by Jacqueline Rogers in 2005. Members join regional groups across the UK and weekday online meetings, and can access further meetings through its PASS+ platform.
Membership also includes a training portfolio, informal Cappuccino Connections networking and a members' community. Prospective members can book a visit to a meeting before deciding to join.
Women onlyApplication and vettingAll career stages
Executive networking groups
Watford, United KingdomNo Google or Trustpilot reviews
The Association of Chairs is a London-based membership charity for chairs and boards of charities and non-profit organisations, incorporated in 2012.
It serves chairs, co-chairs, vice-chairs, aspiring chairs and trustees of non-profits of any size, and states that it has over 1,700 members. Membership gives access to member-only resources, chair support and mentoring, free events and webinars, Chairing Essentials or Board Essentials training, an online community and regional and sector groups. Events and training run online and in person. It also runs Chairs in Need, a support service, and publishes a free guide, A Chair's Compass, written by co-founders Ros Oakley and Ruth Lesirge.
For 2025 to 2026, individual membership costs £70 a year where the organisation's income is under £5 million and £140 above that. Board membership covers the whole board and costs £175 to £495 a year depending on income, with 15% off a three-year sign-up and a limited number of bursaries. It gives its charity number as 1154293 and is a company limited by guarantee. Liz Lowther became chief executive in June 2025.
Henley Business School is the business school of the University of Reading, founded in 1945, with campuses in Reading and Henley-on-Thames.
Its executive education is aimed at managers, senior leaders and board-level executives. It is offered as open programmes, custom programmes for organisations, apprenticeships at Levels 6 and 7, and Executive MBA and master's degrees. Coaching courses are run through the Henley Centre for Coaching. The Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching lasts nine months part-time, with three full-day workshops held at the Greenlands campus or live online, and asks for at least five years' management experience. Further certificates cover advanced coaching practice, team and systemic coaching and coaching supervision. The MSc in Coaching for Behavioural Change takes at least 30 months part-time.
The Professional Certificate costs £7,250 and the MSc £25,800, both exempt from VAT, or £18,550 for the MSc if the certificate has already been completed. The certificate is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) at Level 1, the Association for Coaching (AC) and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) at Senior Practitioner level. The school states that it holds accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). It reports more than 7,000 students and 107,000 alumni. Henley Management College merged with the University of Reading in 2008.
Professional credentials
ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC), EMCC EIA Senior Practitioner
NEDonBoard, now operating as the Institute of Board Members, is a UK professional body for non-executive directors and board members. It offers the NED Accelerator programme and other board-readiness training, a job board, CPD and a community for directors at every career stage, from aspiring NEDs to serving board members.
The Institute of Directors (IoD) is the UK's professional body for company directors, founded in 1903 and operating under a Royal Charter. It provides director training and qualifications (including the Chartered Director designation), governance guidance, policy representation, and member services, and its NED Hub offers factsheets, guides, webinars and CPD specifically for non-executive directors.
Membership criteria applyBoard and chairsCEOs and founders
YPO, formerly the Young Presidents' Organization, is a global membership community for chief executives, founded in 1950 and based in Irving, Texas.
Applicants must be under 45 and the top operational leader of a company or division, with final decision-making authority and full profit and loss accountability. Companies must also meet size thresholds, such as at least 50 full-time employees and, for sales, service and manufacturing businesses, annual revenue of 16 million US dollars or more. Members join a local chapter and a small confidential peer group called a forum. They can also join virtual interest-based networks and attend local, regional, global and virtual learning events, with academic partners including Harvard, Stanford, London Business School and the Aspen Institute.
Joining costs a one-time initiation fee of 4,790 US dollars plus annual dues of 4,790 US dollars, which rise each year at least in line with the Consumer Price Index. Local chapter dues are charged on top. YPO states that it has more than 38,000 members in 150 countries. It is a peer membership organisation rather than a training or coaching provider.
Membership criteria applyCEOs and founders
Executive networking groupsCEO & C-suite forumsMasterminds & peer advisory groups
Irving, Texas, United StatesNo Google or Trustpilot reviews
Mission Match is a UK retained search firm that appoints chairs, non-executive directors (NEDs) and senior executives.
Its main work is board search for chairs, NEDs, independent directors and committee members of private, private equity-backed, public and not-for-profit boards. It also recruits chief executives, finance, operations and people directors and other senior executives, places interim executives, and helps private equity investors assess and appoint leadership teams after an acquisition. Searches follow six stages, from a strategic briefing and market mapping to assessment, longlisting and onboarding, and every candidate is assessed against its cognitive diversity framework. Coaching is offered to senior leaders, new chairs and interview candidates by video call or in person in London, including support through a new leader's first 100 days.
Fees are not published. The firm says each search is led by a partner and that it takes a limited number of mandates. Its founder and partner, Lisa Moses, worked in executive search before senior roles in government, including at the Cabinet Office, and is a qualified civil and commercial mediator. Partner Adria Linder founded a search firm in New York and later led executive search at OakNorth, a UK bank. It is recruiting the first cohort of Mission: Board for All, a mentoring programme that pairs board-ready candidates with experienced NEDs.
Criticaleye is a London-based peer-to-peer community for board-level leaders, whose UK company, Criticaleye (Europe) Ltd, was incorporated in 2002.
Its members are chief executives, chief financial officers, chief people officers, chairs and non-executive directors (NEDs). Executive Membership gives a senior executive access to the peer network, board mentors and a personal relationship manager. Corporate Membership covers five or more executives from one organisation for at least two years. NED Membership is for chairs, NEDs and senior independent directors, with confidential roundtables and events on governance, risk oversight and boardroom dynamics. The Chair Ready Programme is a 12-month pathway for experienced NEDs and first-time chairs, run through virtual masterclasses and roundtables, and ends with certification. Other formats include pop-up boards, retreats and forums.
Membership prices are not published. The website lists more than 110 board mentors, all of whom have led organisations and now work at board level. A second company, Criticaleye (Asia) Ltd, runs an office in Hong Kong and an Asia leaders membership. The chief executive is Matthew Blagg. Logos on the website include Drax Group, Legal & General, NatWest Group, NATS and Rolls-Royce, though it does not say which are members.
CEO & C-suite forumsMasterminds & peer advisory groupsInternational executive networks
