OVERVIEW
Bringing Leaders Together
Founded in 1996, the Alliance has become the premier organization for chief executives in Northern California. Our members run companies in virtually every industry and market sector ranging from emerging companies to multi-billion dollar global public companies.
The Alliance creates very private, high-level, confidential environments for members to have strategic business conversations that typically wouldn't, or simply couldn't, take place anywhere else. Technologies and markets are rapidly converging on a global basis and "face-to-face" meetings with other chief executives have become increasingly difficult, but even more critically important. We have found that simply bringing top executives with diverse talents and expertise together results in the discovery of innovative new strategies and opportunities.
Philosophy
We believe that every top executive who has valuable experience and a genuine willingness to help other executives should be part of the Alliance of Chief Executives. We do not judge people by their balance sheets, but by the experience, wisdom and creativity that they can share with their fellow members. However, it is critical that members develop respect and trust to enable frank discussions on very sensitive issues. As a result, we meet personally with each individual to determine their "fit" prior to extending an invitation to join the Alliance. We carefully craft each Alliance Group with a focus on the following values:
- Our diversity provides access to executives who have already "been there and done that" on virtually every challenge or opportunity that a CEO may face. Diversity allows groups to conceptualize problems in novel ways that create innovative solutions and fresh ideas. Our members include men and women ranging in age from 25 to 70 who are from all over the world.
- Our independence ensures our members can trust that the advice and ideas offered by their fellow members will be unbiased. Independence enables frank, candid discussions on the most sensitive and confidential issues. Top executives find it difficult to find peers they can honestly talk to who are not their investors, board members, employees, competitors or paid consultants.
Alliance CEO Groups
Every Alliance member is invited into a group of chief executives who "fit together" and value the experience other members are able to offer. Alliance Groups are led by experienced Alliance Directors and meet in confidential, "behind-closed-doors" sessions where they use a unique Alliance methodology to:
- Learn from the collective experience;
- Gain a deeper understanding of fast-changing technology and market trends;
- Discover new opportunities and fresh perspectives for future strategic initiatives.
Alliance Top Team Groups
Over the years, Alliance member CEOs asked if we could enable their senior executive team members to address their most difficult challenges and develop their personal leadership skills by accessing other Alliance executives. As a result, the Alliance launched our Top Team Alliance Groups in 2010 with a diverse mix of CFOs, COOs and top marketing, sales, operations, legal and product development executives. Our Top Team Alliance Groups tackle their own real world issues and opportunities just like our Alliance groups for CEOs.
Alliance Community
The collective wisdom and experience within the Alliance community of members is truly extraordinary. Although superficial "networking" is not allowed, members are able to make powerful connections with other CEOs who have experience dealing with similar critical issues or market opportunities. These strategic connections typically result from Alliance members and Directors proactively helping each other. In addition, the Alliance creates a variety of ways for Alliance members to connect with other top executives who have the exact experience or knowledge they need.