Become an Executive Coach
Ready to become an executive coach? Join Vistage as a Chair to turn hard-won CEO experience into lasting impact—guide leaders, enjoy schedule freedom and build your legacy.
You’ve built companies. Now build leaders.
Becoming a Vistage Chair represents the pinnacle of executive coaching—a prestigious role reserved for accomplished leaders who understand what it means to carry P&L responsibility, lead through uncertainty and guide others through the challenges you’ve already mastered.
The Most Rewarding Path Beyond The C-Suite
Unlike generic coaching certifications that treat everyone the same, the Vistage Chair role is designed specifically for executives who’ve walked the path today’s CEOs are navigating. You’re not learning to coach from textbooks—you’re sharing hard-won experience with business leaders who face the same pressures you once conquered.
Why Accomplished Executives Choose the Chair Role
Successful leaders don’t transition to coaching for surface-level reasons. The decision typically stems from deeper motivations that go beyond traditional career advancement.
Beyond Financial Success
Most executives who transition to coaching don’t just want a financially rewarding role, but are seeking something deeper: the ability to create lasting impact in other leaders’ lives while building a career that offers both flexibility and fulfillment. After reaching traditional markers of success, many find themselves asking whether their work truly matters beyond the bottom line.
The Need for Purpose
After years of building businesses, many executives crave work that feels meaningful on a personal level. You’ve spent decades focused on one organization’s growth. Now you can multiply that impact across dozens of companies and hundreds of employees. Coaching allows you to see direct results from your guidance—watching other leaders grow, make better decisions and transform their organizations.
The “What’s Next?” Moment
Whether you’ve sold your company, reached retirement age but aren’t ready to retire or simply feel you’ve accomplished what you set out to do in traditional business, the Chair role offers a compelling answer to “what comes next?” You have too much energy to step away entirely, and you don’t want your hard-earned lessons to go to waste.
Intellectual Challenge Without Operational Stress
As a Chair, you face complex strategic challenges daily, but without the weight of execution on your shoulders. You get to think at the highest level while helping others navigate their operational realities. There’s no HR drama, no cash flow stress, no operational fires to fight—just pure strategic thinking and leadership development.
The Desire to Make an Impact
After benefiting from mentors and advisors throughout your career, becoming a Chair lets you pay that forward. You remember the moments when someone’s guidance changed your trajectory. Now you can be that person for other leaders navigating challenges you’ve already solved.
Lifestyle Flexibility
The Chair role offers something rare for high-impact work: control over your schedule. You can build your practice around how you want to live, whether that means extended travel, family commitments or pursuing other interests. Many Chairs structure their calendar with dedicated time blocks for family and volunteering while maintaining a fulfilling professional practice.
Find Your Community
Executive roles can be isolating. As a Chair, you join a community of fellow coaches who understand the weight of leadership. You’re surrounded by people who’ve walked similar paths and share your commitment to developing others. The camaraderie among Chairs often becomes one of the most unexpected benefits of the role.
Your Role as a Vistage Chair
As a Vistage Chair, you’ll work directly with CEOs to help them make better decisions and achieve measurable growth. The role combines facilitation and coaching with relationship-building in a structured framework.
| Monthly Group Meetings | Facilitate full-day sessions with up to 18 CEOs from non-competing companies, guiding structured problem-solving discussions where real business decisions get made. |
| One-on-One Coaching | Meet privately with each member monthly for personalized executive coaching on their most challenging leadership issues. |
| Peer Group Development | With Vistage support and guidance, you’ll strategically build your group by evaluating and selecting high-caliber executives who contribute to strong group dynamics and cultural alignment. |
| Ongoing Learning | Participate in Chair development events to collaborate with fellow Chairs and stay current with business trends through expert speaker programs. |
Why Chairs Choose Vistage Over Going Solo
While many accomplished executives consider independent coaching, the Vistage platform offers distinct advantages that accelerate success and reduce risk.
Proven Methodology
Instead of creating your own coaching framework, you get access to 65+ years of refined processes that consistently produce results. The issue-processing model, group dynamics and accountability systems are all tested and proven to help CEOs make better decisions and drive measurable business outcomes.
Built-in Credibility
The Vistage brand opens doors that would take years to open as an independent coach. CEOs know what Vistage represents — 65 years of proven leadership development, coaching 250k business leaders — which accelerates your ability to build a quality practice.
Comprehensive Learning
You don’t have to have all the answers. The Chair Academy provides intensive preparation for your new role. You’ll learn facilitation techniques and coaching methodologies, plus business development approaches specifically designed for executive-level work.
Ongoing Support System
You’re not operating in isolation. The Chair community provides continuous support and shared resources, with access to first-party research and proprietary data normally only available to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. You have experienced colleagues to turn to whenever needed.
Established Infrastructure
Vistage handles marketing and administration, including back-office functions, allowing you to focus on what you do best: working with leaders. This eliminates the overhead of building a consulting practice from scratch.
Run Your Practice. On Your Terms.
As a Vistage Chair, you’ll create a lasting legacy while building a coaching practice that offers complete schedule flexibility.
Own Your Practice:
You operate as an independent contractor, building a practice that suits your ambition. The larger your groups, the greater your income potential.
Lasting Legacy:
Create deep, lasting impact by elevating dozens of business leaders and lifting up your community—influence that extends far beyond your direct involvement.
Sustained Income & Freedom:
Build a practice that can generate income well into your retirement years with the flexibility to structure your schedule around your life priorities.
World-Class Support:
Access proven methodologies, comprehensive development and ongoing support that eliminates the trial-and-error of building an independent practice.
“When I reflected on retiring, I realized I still wanted to be involved in business.”
Experience:
- Longtime business owner and entrepreneur in the IT industry
- Vistage member for 10+ years
- Current founder and CEO of a cyber security company as well as a new carrot cake company
Ola Sage
Vistage Chair since 2019 | Former CEO of e-ManagementCEO of CyberRx, Inc. | Leading 3 Vistage Groups
“Vistage is my way to give forward by creating an ecosystem of growth-oriented, compassionate, intellectually humble and nimble leaders.”
Experience:
- Lifelong learner with two MBA degrees and executive education from Harvard Business School
- Former Chief Sourcing & Trading Officer
- Built a “jet-set global executive career” across six industries, three countries, and 35 countries traveled by age 30
- Former Vistage member
Vipon Kumar
2X Award-winning Vistage Chair since 2020 | Leading 6 Vistage groups
“When I was a CEO, I made an impact on one business. Now I impact 40+.”
Experience:
- Legal educational background
- Former CEO, advancing through multiple roles in her family’s steel service company
- Led cultural development efforts, earning the company recognition as a “Top Place to Work” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for four years
- Host of the podcast Beyond the Comfort Zone
Aviva Leebow Wolmer
2X Award-winning Vistage Chair since 2021 | Leading 3 Vistage groups
“I guided Fortune 500 companies around the world. But serving as an executive coach to midsize business leaders is my most fulfilling chapter yet.”
Experience:
- Former senior executive at IBM, Xerox and Gallup
- Professor of Organizational Leadership and MBA programs at Pepperdine and Chapman universities
- Author of The New Currency of Leadership
Dr. Maryam Malek
Vistage Master Chair since 2013 | Leading 5 Vistage groups
Is becoming a Vistage Chair the right path for you?
The Chair role represents the pinnacle of executive coaching and isn’t for everyone. It requires specific experience and personal qualities that align with building and sustaining a coaching practice focused on executive development.
Executive Background
10+ years of executive experience with P&L responsibility exceeding $5M.
Current or recently retired CEOs, business coaches, C-Suite executives or business owners with entrepreneurial attitudes and coaching spirit.
Leadership Experience
25+ people leadership experience with strong business acumen, plus communication skills and high emotional intelligence.
Executive presence demonstrated through confidence, maturity and assertiveness.
Personal Motivation
Genuine passion for mentoring others and helping executives succeed at higher levels.
Strong connector and networker with a growth-oriented drive to build your own practice.
Professional Commitment
Availability and motivation to facilitate monthly group meetings and conduct one-to-one coaching sessions, building sustained relationships with high-caliber business leaders.
Long-term Vision
Clear understanding of how this prestigious role fits your broader goals as a legacy-building opportunity that can provide sustained income and community impact.
Lifelong Impact. Limitless Rewards. Lasting Legacy.
The Chair role represents career evolution for accomplished executives. You’ll take everything you’ve learned as a leader and use it to multiply your impact through other leaders.
With only 1,300 Chairs worldwide, this isn’t a role for everyone. It’s reserved for executives who’ve demonstrated the leadership, business acumen and commitment to excellence that defines the Vistage community.
If you’re ready to explore how your executive experience can become your greatest contribution, let’s start that conversation.
Apply to Become a Vistage Chair
Vistage Chairs mentor high-integrity executives, helping them make better decisions, become better leaders and achieve better results. To learn more about this opportunity, complete this short form and upload your resume/CV/biography. Our Chair selection team will contact you.
Most Chairs have these qualities:
- P&L responsibility exceeding $5 million
- 10+ years of executive experience
- 25+ people leader
- Strong business acumen, communication skills, high EQ
- Availability and drive to build their own business