YPO (formerly Young Presidents' Organization) is a US-based organization of
chief executives with more than 36,000 members in more than 142 countries.
History
YPO was founded in 1950 in
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
, by manufacturer Ray Hickok, who was 27 years old when he became the head of his family's Rochester-based
Hickok Belt, a 300-employee company.
The first meeting was held in 1950 at the
Waldorf Astoria New York and was attended by
Robert Wood Johnson III (Johnson & Johnson).
Hickok and a small group of young presidents in the area began meeting regularly to share and learn from each other. According to the organization, its founding principle is that of education and idea exchange among peers.
* The first non-U.S. chapter was created in 1956 in
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
* The first YPO University was held in
Miami Beach, Florida.
* YPO merged with its graduate organization, World Presidents Organization (WPO), in 2007.
* The YPO Global Pulse survey launched in 2009, and is a quarterly economic confidence index that shares business insights from CEOs.
* In 2010, Jill Belconis became the first woman elected to serve as YPO-WPO international chairman.
* YPO formed an editorial partnership with
CNBC in 2012.
*Elizabeth Zucker is the 2019-2020 chairman of the YPO Board of Directors.
*In March 2023 YPO launched a new educational platform for its members called "YPO Leadership Development Toolkit"
* In autumn 2024, YPO was designated as an "
undesirable organization" in Russia.
In July 2024, YPO elected Sofyan Almoayed as the 2024-2025 Chairman of its Board of Directors
Demographics
As of 2024, there are more than 450 chapters worldwide and more than 36,000 members.
* 24% of new members are now women from 13% in 2012
Membership requirements
To qualify for membership, a person must have become, before age 45, the president or chairman and chief executive officer of a corporation of significance with a minimum revenue of $15,000,000 for a sales, service, manufacturing company. Minimum revenue of $12,000,000 for an agency and $300,000,000 for a financial institution or an enterprise value at a minimum of $25,000,000. The company must have 50 full time employees or 15 + employees with a minimum $2,500,000 USD Annual Employee Compensation.
The financial criteria differ for service companies and banks.
Candidates must be typically recommended by two members of a local chapter and approved by a membership committee of each local chapter.
Baseline entry and yearly membership fees are around $10,000 though these can be significantly higher depending on the chapter and other activities.
Notable members
*
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of
Reliance Industries and 8th richest person in the world with >$100bn
* Shou Zi Chew, Tiktok CEO
* Leena Nair, CEO of Chanel
* Alejandro Reynal, CEO of FourSeasons
* Jason Liberty, CEO of Royal Caribbean
*
Charles R. Schwab, Founder & CEO,
Charles Schwab Corporation
*
Peter Ueberroth, Chairman, 1984 L.A. Olympic Games, former Commissioner,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
*
Bob Galvin, Founder & former CEO,
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
*
Jim Balsille, Co-Founder & former Co-CEO, Research in Motion/Blackberry
*
Douglas Fairbanks Jr., founder of United Artists motion picture studio
*
Christie Hefner, former CEO, Playboy Enterprises
*Alex Heckler, Miami attorney
*
Ray Lee Hunt, Hunt Oil
* Brad Fuller, Founder and CEO, Lightspeed Voice
*
Robert Wood Johnson II, president of Johnson & Johnson
*
James Michael Lafferty, CEO
Fine Hygienic Holding and former CEO within
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...
,
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
and
British American Tobacco
*
Leonard Lauder, former CEO,
Estee Lauder
*
Bernard Le Grelle, Founder and former CEO o
Interel(merged in 2022 with
Dentons)
*
Heidi Zak, Founder and CEO, Third Love
*
Penny Pritzker, US Secretary of Commerce
*
Muna AbuSulayman, Saudi businesswoman, activist and television personality
*
Jim Pattison, a Canadian business magnate, investor and philanthropist
*
Sheryl Sandberg, COO Facebook
*
Jonathan Zucker, CEO
ActBlue
*
Mohnish Pabrai, Managing Partner Pabrai Investment Funds
*Asha Saxena, founder of WLDA and Board Member, of YPO Chapter Global One (2012–Present)
*Xavier Mufraggi, former CEO of
Club Med EMEA and CEO of YPO since 2020
*William C. Short, Founder, Executive Chairman, and CEO of th
A.E. Perkins Holdings Group former Chairman and Board Member of the YPO North Texas Chapter
YPO EDGE
YPO hosts its leadership gathering, YPO EDGE, each year in a different city. Previous host cities include:
* 2022 ,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
* 2019 ,
Cape Town, South Africa
* 2018 ,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
Publications
Pat McNees, ''YPO: The First 50 Years''. (Orange Frazer Press, 1999).
Controversies
In October 2024, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office declared YPO's activities as undesirable within the Russian Federation, alleging that the organization aims to influence public opinion leaders in favor of U.S. interests.
References
External links
YPO Official SiteYPO leadership Development Toolkit Site
{{Authority control
Non-profit organizations based in Texas
International non-profit organizations
Organizations established in 1950
Organizations listed in Russia as undesirable