By Andreas Pettersson, Founder, Leaders ADAPT
You own the company. You run it day to day. Revenue passed $2 million a few years ago. Your management team reports to you, your board is your banker, and the people who understand your week are not in any room you sit in.
That is the owner the Women Presidents Organization was built for, and the reason its chapters keep turning up in searches for a women CEO peer group. I should declare my position before profiling anyone: I lead a virtual CEO mastermind at Leaders ADAPT, mixed rather than women only, with at most 14 members and no revenue gate. This is the WPO entry in the CEO Peer Group Index, every value sourced, every gap left as a gap.
Quick answer: The Women Presidents Organization (WPO) runs monthly, facilitated peer advisory chapters for women who own and manage companies with at least $2 million in revenue, or $1 million for service firms. Chapters are capped at 20 non competing members and led by a trained Chapter Chair. WPO does not publish its dues. Press reports range from $900 to $5,000 a year.
What the Women Presidents Organization is, in 12 fields
The Women Presidents Organization is a network of local peer advisory chapters for women who own and run multi million dollar companies, each chapter led by a professional Chair. Its formal name carries an apostrophe, Women Presidents' Organization. Its own site blocks the reader I use, so every row below comes from third party sources, read in October 2026.
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Facilitated monthly peer advisory chapters for women who own and run multi million dollar companies | Enterprising Women |
| Cost and year one | Not published by WPO. 2016 press: $900 to $5,000 a year by region or company size. Later regional press: revenue based fees, $5,000 above $50M, $900 for at large members. Joining fee and increases not published | Asora, CPBJ, Westfair |
| Gates | Women owners with $2M+ revenue ($1M+ for service firms), an ownership interest and day to day management as CEO, President or Partner. Platinum tier above $10M, Zenith above $50M | IndyMaven, Asora |
| Group size | Capped at 20 non competing members. Chapters in press: 13 and 11 members | CPBJ, Westfair, Mainebiz |
| Time commitment | Monthly chapter meeting, three hours in one chapter and four in another, plus an annual conference | Westfair, Mainebiz |
| Facilitator model | A professionally trained Chapter Chair running a format called PeerView | Asora |
| Contract and cancellation | Not published | All sources above |
| Format and geography | Local in person chapters. About 145 chapters worldwide in North America, Europe, South America and Africa | Asora, Stevie Awards |
| Industry mix | Women owned private companies, one member per industry per chapter | IndyMaven |
| What members say | "Every single person in my WPO gets it, because they experience the same things." Member opinion | IndyMaven |
| Founded and size | Formed 1997 by Marsha Firestone, Ph.D. About 1,800 members in 2016, more than 2,000 on six continents in later press | Stevie Awards, CPBJ, Westfair |
| Best for and not for | For women owner operators at $2M+ who want a capped, facilitated, in person chapter. Not for men, hired executives without ownership, or companies under the revenue line | Read of all sources above |
What WPO does well
It is specific about who belongs. The WPO requirements are not vague: ownership, day to day management and a revenue line. That keeps hired presidents and aspiring founders out, and it means the person across the table carries the same kind of risk you do.
It is a room of women business owners, open without being anonymous. WPO is not invitation only, but a member of its executive board said in 2018, as reported by 3BL Media, that because it is not a household name it needs an introduction.
It keeps competitors apart. One member per industry per chapter, reported by IndyMaven, is a simple rule that lets members open the books without worrying who is listening.
The chapters are real sized rooms. The cap is 20, and the chapters described in Westfair and Mainebiz held 13 and 11. Big enough for range, small enough for every member to speak.
And the shared experience is the product. The member line in the table says it better than I can. An owner who is the only woman in most rooms she enters gets one room each month where that is not the case. A Maine chapter chair told Mainebiz, "Yes, it's lonely at the top." The format is built for that loneliness.
What WPO does not publish
The WPO cost. The organisation does not list dues anywhere a reader can reach. The two press figures conflict in shape.
A 2016 report gives $900 to $5,000 by region or company size. A later regional article ties fees to revenue, with wording on the middle band that is ambiguous. Ask for the current schedule in writing.
Cancellation terms. None of the sources describe notice periods, minimum terms or refunds.
A current member count from WPO itself. The numbers in the table come from press and award pages, and they move between 145 and 150 chapters depending on the source.
Meeting length. Three hours in one chapter, four in another. It is set locally.
Who WPO membership is not for
Men, by design. That is the point of the organisation, not a flaw in it.
The woman who runs a company she does not own. A hired CEO or a division president fails the ownership test, however large the business. The CEO peer group requirements page lists which groups admit hired executives.
The owner under the revenue line. A product company at $1.4 million does not qualify for Women Presidents Organization membership yet, and the at large option in the press is about geography, not size.
The owner who cannot be in a fixed city once a month. Chapters are local and in person. If travel or time zones make that impossible, a virtual CEO peer group is the other format.
The owner who wants the room to argue rather than understand. The member quotes in the public record praise support and recognition. That is valuable. It is a different thing from a room built to challenge the plan.
The structural gap: who is in the room shapes what gets said
At Arcules, a potential investor made comments about the women on my leadership team. I said no to his money. Passing cost us six months of runway.
I slept fine. But the moment taught me something about rooms. Comments like that get made when the speaker assumes the room agrees. The composition of a room sets the limits of what is said in it.
A women only chapter uses that same force in the other direction. It removes a whole category of comment before it is made, and it lets members talk about the parts of leadership that a mixed room may not take seriously. The leadership development for women page covers why that matters at the top of a company.
The gap is elsewhere.
A chapter sorted by gender and by revenue line does not sort by the problem you are working on this year.
One member is fixing cash flow at $3 million. Another is preparing a sale at $40 million. Both belong. Both get support. Neither is necessarily in a room of people on the same climb.
Shared experience does not signal shared problems. It signals shared ground. Most owners need both, and few rooms supply both at once.
The Leaders ADAPT room, described in the same 12 fields
I score my own room with the same fields. First, the honest line: Leaders ADAPT does not run a women only room. The CEO Mastermind is mixed. If a women only chapter is what you want, WPO is built for that and my room is not.
| Field | Leaders ADAPT CEO Mastermind | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A virtual, mixed CEO mastermind for owners and CEOs, led by the operator who founded it | CEO Mastermind |
| Cost and year one | Kept off the blog. Discussed in a fit call | This page |
| Gates | No revenue gate, no ownership test, no gender test. A record of having built something and an appetite for direct challenge | This page |
| Group size | At most 14 members | This page |
| Time commitment | A monthly virtual session plus weekly office hours | This page |
| Facilitator model | An operator, not a trained Chair. I scaled an AI company past 150 people and exited it to Canon, and I lead each session myself | This page |
| Contract and cancellation | No multi year contract | This page |
| Format and geography | Virtual. Members join from wherever they run the business | This page |
| Industry mix | Home care, flooring, title services, aviation services, wellness, logistics, lending | This page |
| What members say | Members are never named on this site, so no quotes are shown | This page |
| Founded and size | Leaders ADAPT, founded by Andreas Pettersson. A single room, 14 seats at most | This page |
| Best for and not for | For owners of $1M to $20M+ companies, and builders between companies, who want a direct room regardless of revenue line. Not for anyone who wants a women only room, a local chapter or a supportive rather than challenging format | This page |
The two rooms are not substitutes, and neither is a better CEO peer group in general. Some owners would be well served by both: a chapter for shared ground, an operator led room for the plan. The CEO peer group compare tool sets them side by side.
A room for the plan, not only the experience
The Leaders ADAPT CEO Mastermind is a mixed room for owners who want peers to take the operating plan apart. Virtual, at most 14 members, no revenue gate, and run by an operator who scaled a company to 150+ people and exited to Canon. The person in the chair has made the hiring, pricing and investor calls the members are facing.
A session runs on a fixed spine. A 1 to 10 check in, one company on the hot seat with a ten slide deck, and five fixed prompts for the room, ending with what the presenter is not seeing. Each member leaves with one action, an owner and a date.
It is not for anyone who needs the room to be gentle. I run it hot on purpose.
Women Presidents Organization FAQ
What is the Women Presidents Organization?
The Women Presidents Organization, or WPO, is a membership organisation of facilitated peer advisory chapters for women who own and run multi million dollar companies. It was formed in 1997 by Marsha Firestone. Chapters meet monthly in person, led by a trained Chapter Chair, and members also attend an annual conference.
What are the WPO requirements?
Published third party accounts list at least $2 million in annual revenue, or $1 million for service based firms, an ownership interest in the company, and day to day management as CEO, President or Partner. Higher tiers exist above $10 million and $50 million. Membership is for women. Applicants are not invited, but an introduction is reported to help.
How much does WPO membership cost?
WPO does not publish its dues. A 2016 business journal reported fees of $900 to $5,000 a year depending on region and company size. A later regional article tied fees to revenue, citing $5,000 above $50 million and $900 for at large members with no local chapter. Both figures come from press, not from WPO.
How big is a WPO chapter?
Chapters are reported as capped at 20 members from non competing businesses, with one member per industry. Real chapters described in regional press were smaller, at 13 and 11 members. The organisation is reported at about 145 chapters worldwide and more than 2,000 members on six continents in recent coverage.
How often does a WPO chapter meet?
Chapters meet once a month. Regional press described one chapter meeting for three hours and another for four, so the length varies by chapter. Meetings follow a format called PeerView led by the Chapter Chair. Members can also attend an annual conference, which one report put at 850 attendees.
Is WPO a good women CEO peer group for a company under $1 million?
Under the published thresholds, no. Product companies need about $2 million in revenue and service firms about $1 million, so an owner below those lines does not qualify for a chapter. The at large option described in press applies to members far from a chapter, not to companies under the revenue line.
Which room do you need this year?
The Women Presidents Organization is a well defined answer to a real need: a capped, local, facilitated chapter of women who own and run companies of real size. If you clear the revenue line and want that room, ask for an introduction and ask for the dues schedule in the same email.
If the harder problem this year is the plan itself, decide what you need the room to do. Shared ground, or a fight about the plan. Which one would change your next quarter?
If it is the fight about the plan, see the operator led room.
