A local CEO roundtable organization has branched out to create a meet-up for some of the bigger dogs in town.
The Virginia Council of CEOs recently launched a forum meant for chief executives of privately held companies of 100 employees or more to present challenges they’re facing in their businesses and to share experiences with other head honchos.
“I would meet a CEO of a larger company and he would say, ‘I could use something like you guys do for the smaller groups,’” said Scot McRoberts, executive director of the group.
McRoberts said many of the CEOs who run larger companies were attending the small business meet-ups but weren’t getting much out of it.
“They didn’t have as much in common or as much to learn from each other,” he said.
The small-business CEOs usually meet once a month. The members are from companies that have 5 to 75 employees with annual revenue of more than $1 million. The larger-company forums will meet once a quarter for eight hours.
The council, which was formed in 2002, tested the new forum last year, but McRoberts said the idea has been in the works for a couple of years.
“We recruited a few members in the original CEO round tables who wanted to try this new thing,” McRoberts said.
Mike Matthews, chief executive of H&A Architects & Engineers, joined the group last year and was among the first to test the new forum.
“It was an opportunity to explore ideas and share issues with other people in similar situations,” he said. “It’s good to see what people outside my industry are experiencing.”
He said the new group has held three meetings so far.
“I interact a lot with CEOs in my industry, and this wasn’t industry specific, so that appealed to me,” Matthews said.
His company has more than 250 employees between its Glen Allen and Hampton Roads offices, and in April, Matthews told BizSense he expects to do $43 million in revenue this year.
Timothy Heydon, president and chief executive of Shenandoah Growers, and Harry Hoffon, president of EagleFire, were also in the first group.
McRoberts said the group brought in 22 new members since November, bringing their total to 130. Most are based in Richmond.
A second CEO forum focused on larger companies will meet in the fall, and McRoberts is working on a third.
McRoberts added that although the small-business groups will continue to be the main focus, he expects the larger-business forums to do well in the community.
“I think the market for smaller ones is bigger, but we could easily have five or six of these CEO forums” geared toward larger firms, he said.
A local CEO roundtable organization has branched out to create a meet-up for some of the bigger dogs in town.
The Virginia Council of CEOs recently launched a forum meant for chief executives of privately held companies of 100 employees or more to present challenges they’re facing in their businesses and to share experiences with other head honchos.
“I would meet a CEO of a larger company and he would say, ‘I could use something like you guys do for the smaller groups,’” said Scot McRoberts, executive director of the group.
McRoberts said many of the CEOs who run larger companies were attending the small business meet-ups but weren’t getting much out of it.
“They didn’t have as much in common or as much to learn from each other,” he said.
The small-business CEOs usually meet once a month. The members are from companies that have 5 to 75 employees with annual revenue of more than $1 million. The larger-company forums will meet once a quarter for eight hours.
The council, which was formed in 2002, tested the new forum last year, but McRoberts said the idea has been in the works for a couple of years.
“We recruited a few members in the original CEO round tables who wanted to try this new thing,” McRoberts said.
Mike Matthews, chief executive of H&A Architects & Engineers, joined the group last year and was among the first to test the new forum.
“It was an opportunity to explore ideas and share issues with other people in similar situations,” he said. “It’s good to see what people outside my industry are experiencing.”
He said the new group has held three meetings so far.
“I interact a lot with CEOs in my industry, and this wasn’t industry specific, so that appealed to me,” Matthews said.
His company has more than 250 employees between its Glen Allen and Hampton Roads offices, and in April, Matthews told BizSense he expects to do $43 million in revenue this year.
Timothy Heydon, president and chief executive of Shenandoah Growers, and Harry Hoffon, president of EagleFire, were also in the first group.
McRoberts said the group brought in 22 new members since November, bringing their total to 130. Most are based in Richmond.
A second CEO forum focused on larger companies will meet in the fall, and McRoberts is working on a third.
McRoberts added that although the small-business groups will continue to be the main focus, he expects the larger-business forums to do well in the community.
“I think the market for smaller ones is bigger, but we could easily have five or six of these CEO forums” geared toward larger firms, he said.