The Boston College Chief Executives' Club of Boston ranks second among the top forums in the world for CEOs, according to a new study released by New York-based public relations firm Weber Shandwick. The Chief Executives' Club of Boston is the foremost forum in the nation for such events and is surpassed globally only by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Though the CEO Club of Boston was founded as part of the Associates Program within the Carroll School of Management and includes other benefits, such as preferred access to seminars and consulting services, the club has surpassed these other programs and has taken on a life of its own, said Peter Rollins, president of the CEO Club.
"[The club] brings together leaders from business and politics to hear from a prominent CEO from outside our region," Rollins said.
Though BC's CEO Club has been acting as a forum for chief executives across the country since its founding in 1992, venues of this type have grown in number in recent years as more executives have expressed interest in them. "Since 2005, there has been an extraordinary, 525 percent increase among C-level executives at five-star speaking forums," the Weber Shandwick press release said.
Rollins said that the mission of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston is to further enhance the image of CSOM and BC with the business and political community.
The club gathers together approximately 250 prominent political and business executives to foster communication on important issues.
This dialogue is opened with a speech given by a prominent CEO and is followed by a period of open questions and discussion.
The events are also open to a number of CSOM faculty and selected members of the undergraduate student body.
The events are well covered by both local and national media.
CEOs often use these events as an opportunity to make announcements important to the business world, and any coverage of the event always reflects the association between the Chief Executives' Club and BC.
"The stories go out around the U.S. and around the world, and it always refers to Boston College," Rollins said.
This is not the first time that the Chief Executives' Club of Boston has achieved recognition as a premier event for CEOs.
In 2003, the club was named the top CEO speaking forum in the nation by Best Practices in Corporate Communications, a business resource group based in Washington, D.C.
The club received the top ranking from the BPCC for three years in a row.
"We are very honored, and yet humbled by all of this," Rollins said of being ranked behind a venue as prestigious as the World Economic Forum.
Rollins attributes the popularity of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston in part to the quality of the audience at the events, noting that CEOs appreciate the opportunity to speak with their peers in this kind of environment.
Rollins stressed the significance of an announcement like this to the rising reputation of BC in the business world.
"In addition to the other things like sports, this is a great way for people to see what a great school Boston College is," Rollins said.
This new ranking places the Chief Executives' Club of Boston above similar forums, which were established much earlier, such as the Detroit Economic Club, and the Commonwealth Club of California.
"To have Boston College and the Carroll School [of Management] associated with the best speaker forum in the country is terrific," said Dean of CSOM Andrew Boynton.
Boynton said that the announcement does much to build the brand name of both CSOM and BC.
Recent speakers have included Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS Corporation, and Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T Inc.
The next speaker to address the club will be Herbert Heiner, chairman and CEO of Adidas AG, the parent company of Reebok.
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