Vistage CEO Peer Groups in NYC

Running a company is the only job where the higher you climb, the fewer people you can talk to honestly.

Your team needs you to be certain. Your investors need you to be confident. Your family needs you to be okay. So the hardest decisions, the ones that actually keep you up, get made alone, in a vacuum, with no one to test your thinking against who has nothing to gain from your answer.

That is the problem a CEO peer group solves. Not networking. Not a seminar. A standing table of founder-CEOs from non-competing companies who think alongside you on the real decisions, and who have earned the right to tell you the truth.

I am Mark Taylor, the number-one-ranked Vistage chair in the New York and Long Island region and one of the top 10 chairs worldwide. For 17 years, I have built and led peer advisory groups for founder-CEOs and business owners across New York. I run three CEO groups, and the reason there are three is simple: a founder doing $4M and a CEO doing $140M are not facing the same problems, and they should not be sitting at the same table.

Why I run three separate groups

The challenges that consume a CEO change at every stage of growth.

A $5M founder is fighting for cash flow and their first real number-two hire. A $60M CEO is building an executive team and trying to get systems under control. A $150M CEO is managing a board, weighing acquisitions, and developing a layer of middle managers they have never had to lead before. Put all three in one room, and two of them are bored while the third is lost.

A peer group only works when the people around the table have lived the exact problem you are describing, recently, in a company of your size. That is why I match the room to the stage. Below is how the three groups break down. Find the one that fits where you are now.

Group 1: The Small Business Group ($1M to $12M in revenue)

This is Vistage’s formal Small Business program, designed for founders and owners of companies typically generating $1M to $12M in revenue. It meets half a day each month, brings in four expert speakers a year, and includes monthly one-to-one coaching with me.

At this stage, the company is still an extension of the founder, and almost everything routes back through you. The conversations in this room tend to center on:

 

• Cash flow. Making payroll, managing the gap between booked revenue and collected cash, and funding growth without losing control of the company.
• The first real number-two hire. Knowing when to make it, who to trust with it, and how to actually let go of the work once you do.
• Finding and keeping talent. Competing for good people against bigger companies with deeper pockets and stronger brands.
• Building a repeatable sales engine. Moving from founder-led, relationship-driven sales to a process that does not depend entirely on you in the room.

The half-day format is deliberate. At this stage, a full day a month away from the business is a real ask, so the Small Business group is designed to deliver the peer counsel and accountability without pulling you out of the company for a full day.

Group 2: The Chief Executive Group ($10M to $100M in revenue)

This group is for founders and CEOs running companies roughly between $10M and $100M in revenue. The business has proven it works. The question now is whether it can scale without breaking, and whether you can lead it through that without becoming the bottleneck.

The work in this room tends to focus on:

• Building a real executive team. Hiring the senior leaders the next stage requires, often a CFO or a head of HR for the first time, and learning to lead leaders instead of doing the work yourself.
• Getting operations under control. Putting real systems behind sales, finance, and delivery so the company runs on process rather than heroics and memory.
• Choosing where to grow. Weighing new markets, new products, and new channels when you finally have the resources to chase more than one, and the risk of chasing the wrong one is real.
• Stepping out of the weeds. Making the hardest transition a founder faces: from the person who controls everything to the leader of a capable, independent team.

This is the inflection point where what got you here genuinely will not get you there. The peers in this room are living the same transition, which is exactly what makes their counsel land.

Group 3: The Chief Executive Group for Larger Companies ($100M+ in revenue)

 

This group is for CEOs running companies over $100M in revenue. The problems here are not about whether the business works. They are about capital, governance, scale, and succession, and they are problems most of your own team has never navigated.

The conversations in this room tend to center on:

• Boards and private equity. Managing investor relationships, board dynamics, and the pressure of a defined hold period and an eventual exit. This matters more than most founders expect: research shows 60 to 70 percent of private-equity-backed companies see a CEO change during ownership, often in the first few years. The CEOs who survive it are the ones who saw it coming.
• Mergers and acquisitions. Evaluating targets, integrating what you buy, and avoiding the integration failures that quietly destroy the value of most deals.
• Developing middle management. Building and leading the layer of managers between you and the front line, the layer that determines whether the company can run without you in every room.
• Fully integrated systems. Moving to enterprise-grade, integrated ERP and reporting so you have decision-grade data across the whole company, which is increasingly what determines both how the business runs and what it is worth at exit.

At this level, the value of the room is rarity. There are not many CEOs running companies this size who will speak candidly about a board fight or a botched acquisition. This group is where they do.

What every group has in common

The revenue band changes. The Vistage experience does not.

Every group is built on the same foundation: 12 to 16 CEOs from non-competing industries, a confidential room, expert speakers on the issues that matter at your stage, and one-to-one coaching with me every month. The peers change with the stage. The standard does not.

And the results are real. Vistage member companies grow faster than non-members, and they last: the average Vistage member company operates for 21-plus years, in a country where most businesses fail inside of five.

About Mark Taylor

 

The room is only as good as the chair who builds it.

Mark Taylor is the number-one-ranked Vistage chair in the New York and Long Island region and consistently ranks among the top 10 chairs worldwide out of more than 650. He has placed in the top 25 nationally for 11 consecutive years and holds all three of Vistage’s top legacy awards: the Cope, the Hyndman, and the Nourse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 17 years as a chair, Mark has coached more than 100 CEOs and seen 17 member companies through successful exits. He holds six coaching certifications, including Positive Intelligence and ontological coaching in the Newfield Network tradition of Flores and Olalla.

The credentials matter, but so does fit. The right chair for you is the one whose style and stage match yours. If Mark is not that person, he will tell you so.

Is this right for you?

A CEO group is not for everyone. It is for the founder who is genuinely coachable, who will give as much counsel as they take, and who is ready to be told the truth even when it is inconvenient.

If you are early-stage and still in pure survival mode, or if you are not willing to be honest about your own business in a room of peers, it is not the right time. If you are growing, carrying the weight of the company largely alone, and you know that what got you here will not get you there, it probably is.

The best way to know is to visit. I offer a complimentary guest seat to qualified CEOs so you can sit in a real meeting, see the room, and decide for yourself. No pitch, no pressure.

To request a visit, use the contact link on this page or reach out directly. I qualify and confirm every seat personally, so the room stays right.

Developing your senior team

The CEO group develops you. But your company runs on the people who report to you. CEOs in my groups often place their number-two or a key C-level leader in my Key Executive group, where senior leaders develop in parallel using the same speakers and frameworks you do, so your whole leadership team ends up speaking the same language. Learn more about the Key Executive group.

Frequently asked questions

A few common questions below. For more, see the full CEO peer groups FAQ.

What is a Vistage CEO group? A Vistage CEO group is a confidential peer advisory group of 12 to 16 CEOs and business owners from non-competing industries who meet monthly, led by a trained Vistage Chair, to work through each other’s real business decisions. Members also receive monthly one-to-one coaching from their Chair.

What size company do I need to run to join? Mark Taylor runs three CEO groups matched to revenue stage: a Small Business group for companies roughly $1M to $12M, a Chief Executive group for companies roughly $10M to $100M, and a Chief Executive group for companies over $100M. Fit is confirmed individually.

How often do the groups meet? The Small Business group meets a half day each month. The Chief Executive groups meet for a full day each month. All members also receive a monthly one-to-one coaching session with Mark.

What is the difference between the groups? The groups are separated by revenue stage because CEOs face different challenges as they grow, from cash flow and first key hires in the early stage, to building an executive team and systems in the mid stage, to boards, M&A, and succession at the top. Matching the room to the stage means the peers around you have lived your current problem.

Where do the groups meet? In Manhattan. Mark Taylor’s groups serve founder-CEOs across Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Can I visit before joining? Yes. Qualified CEOs can request a complimentary guest seat to sit in on a real meeting before deciding. Mark confirms each guest seat personally.

Who is Mark Taylor? Mark Taylor is a Master Vistage Chair in New York, the number-one-ranked chair in the New York and Long Island region, and consistently among the top 10 worldwide. He holds all three of Vistage’s top legacy awards and has coached more than 100 CEOs over 17 years, including 17 successful exits. That said, the right chair for you is the one whose style and stage match yours, and Mark will tell you honestly if he is not the right fit.