Chief vs Athena Alliance — which women's executive network should you join in 2027?

Side by side: what each network publishes

• Who it is for (Chief): Chief's criteria, effective 10/2025, ask for 15+ years of leadership experience, significant scope and influence such as board seats or keynotes. Categories are C-Suite, Senior Leaders and Executives, and Builders.
• Who it is for (Athena): Athena describes Individual Membership as a career care ecosystem for "mid-life, mid-career, high-achieving women" and serves executives, board directors, investors, founders and thought leaders. No formal criteria are stated on the page we read.
• Price (Chief): no price on chief.com. Fortune reported $5,800 per year for VP-level members and $7,900 for C-suite members (March 16, 2023), with clubhouse access a $1,000 add-on for new members.
• Price (Athena): no dues published on athenaalliance.com. A June 4, 2018 Gainsight release mentions a $7,500 first-year membership fee, which is old and may not apply today.
• Format (Chief): Core Groups (small peer advisory groups), coaching, Clubhouses, courses and events.
• Format (Athena): Athena Academy cohort courses, virtual and in-person events, and a framework called the Portfolio of Impact.

Chief: peer groups, coaching and clubhouses

Chief's membership page lists Core Groups, executive coaching, Clubhouses, programming and events. The Chief Membership plan includes 6 guided peer advisory sessions (Core) or 4 Executive Coaching sessions, unlimited Clubhouse access in 4 major business hubs, and 4 quarterly courses from Wharton Executive Education. Chief Signature adds 4 1:1 Coaching Sessions. The page lists a grant program in its FAQ headings but gives no details, so ask Chief how it works.

The criteria page says the C-Suite category means a CXO title at an organization with 1,000+ employees or a seat on a public company board. Senior Leaders include CEO, CXO, VP/SVP and founders at mid-market to enterprise companies. Builders (consultants, founders, fractional leaders) need past CXO or VP+ roles at credentialed companies, or a business with $2 million+ annual revenue or venture funding. Applicants who want to solicit new business are not eligible.

Size, as Chief states it on its homepage (vendor-stated): 10,000+ companies represented, 67% of the Fortune 100, and 44% of members in the C-Suite. Fortune reported 20,000 members by October 2022, a 60,000-person waiting list and a $1.1 billion valuation (March 2023, so dated).

Athena Alliance: board readiness and portfolio careers

Athena's site gives these self-reported figures: 3.4 years average member tenure, 600+ members supported to board seats, NPS 86 and 71% quarterly platform engagement. These are vendor-stated and we could not verify them independently. The site gives no total member count.

The Academy page describes cohort-based courses in board readiness, investing fluency and AI transformation, but gives no durations or prices. Athena also sells Board Services to companies that want board talent placed, plus Enterprise Programs and Summit Partnership. A member testimonial on the site mentions matching to board roles and virtual salons.

Because pricing and eligibility are not on the site, applying through its Apply page is the only way to learn the dues and the bar. Compare that quote against Chief's published seniority criteria before deciding.

A credible alternative if you want a board seat

Women Corporate Directors is a global organization for women who already serve as directors. Its membership page says membership is open to women who serve as corporate directors on a publicly traded company, a large privately held company or a family-owned business, with a minimum annual revenue of US $100 million (some exceptions). U.S. dues are $1150 USD for the first year and $950 USD per year after that. It lists 56 global chapters and says members serve on 4,000 boards worldwide. It is for sitting directors, not people still preparing for a first seat.

Which one fits you

• Pick Chief if you hold a senior executive title or run a company of scale, want a standing peer group and coaching, and value a physical clubhouse.
• Pick Athena if a first or next board seat is the main goal and you want cohort courses in board readiness rather than a peer group.
• Pick Women Corporate Directors if you already sit on a qualifying board and want a network of directors.
• Skip Chief if you are early in your career or your main aim is to find clients, which its criteria exclude.
• Skip Athena if you need a published price and published criteria before you apply.

Before you pay, ask each network for current dues in writing, whether an employer can pay, and what happens if you leave after the first year. Dues change, and the only figures we found for Chief are dated.

Questions people ask

Sources

• Chief membership · Plans, Core Groups, clubhouses, courses
• Chief membership criteria · Eligibility, effective 10/2025
• Chief homepage · Size claims
• Fortune: Chief valuation and dues · Dues, members, waiting list (March 16, 2023)
• Athena Alliance home · Tenure, board seat and NPS claims
• Athena Alliance Individual Membership · Audience and format
• Athena Academy · Cohort courses
• Athena Alliance Board Services · Board talent services
• Gainsight press release (June 4, 2018) · Older first-year fee
• Women Corporate Directors · Alternative for sitting directors
• Women Corporate Directors membership · Eligibility and dues

Facts were read from the linked pages on November 2, 2026. Athena Alliance publishes no dues and Chief publishes none on its membership page, so every price here is from a dated report; confirm with each network. If a page here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it from a source.