The Chicago
Network Year in
Review, 2026

Dear Members and Friends of The Chicago Network,

Welcome to our 2025–2026 Year in Review.

The Chicago Network continues to stand apart as one of the nation's most distinctive and influential communities of senior executive women leaders. United by a shared commitment to empowering women to lead, our members bring extraordinary expertise, vision, and generosity to every part of this organization and to the broader communities we serve.

Everything we do is guided by three strategic priorities: delivering high return on investment for our current members, developing the next generation of female leaders, and advancing gender equity in leadership. This year's work reflects our progress against each and reminds us how closely our accomplishments track our strategy.

For our current members, that meant continuing to invest in the value of belonging to this community. Our membership grew to 538 members by year's end, with full membership up over the prior year, and remained meaningfully diverse across industries, backgrounds, and perspectives. This reinforces one of our greatest strengths: the power that comes from bringing accomplished women together across sectors to lead, collaborate, and create change. That strength showed up in the over 50 exceptional programs we hosted for members throughout the year from an evening at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Steppenwolf to private dinners, book club discussions, and conversations on topics ranging from AI in the boardroom to women's health. Proudly, we sustained an average member satisfaction rating of 4.9 out of 5 throughout the year. The Women in the Forefront Luncheon delivered its strongest year yet, drawing roughly 1,500 attendees, featuring Hillary Rodham Clinton, Jeanne Gang, and Ann Drake, and sponsorship support that, across the year, reflected the deepest well of community commitment we've seen. We also deepened our partnership network to 17 active partnerships spanning women's leadership, governance, business, and civic organizations, giving members expanded access and connection well beyond our own walls.

We remained equally focused on developing the next generation of female leaders. Launchpad continued to grow as a meaningful investment in emerging executives, offering targeted development, community, and access to a powerful leadership network; one board member who experienced it firsthand remarked that every board member should have that experience at least once, and attendees at her table were clamoring for more programs like it. We also advanced development of The Rung this year, building out the program and its business case to be ready for launch this fall. This junior TCN cohort-based program is a deliberate investment in identifying and developing the next generation of women leaders even earlier in their careers.

And we continued to advance gender equity in leadership more broadly. We made important progress on increasing the number of women serving on for-profit boards and expanding the pipeline of qualified candidates, through Women on Boards programming, womenlead.io, strategic partnerships, and collaboration with recruiters and governance organizations that continued to position TCN members as sought-after leaders in the boardroom and beyond. Traffic to womenlead.io nearly doubled over the course of the year, reflecting growing recognition of the platform as a source for board-ready candidates. We also launched the Women at the Apex research study with the University of San Diego, drawing on interviews with senior leaders spanning decades of careers to surface new insight into the obstacles and strategies shaping women's advancement. And our members' voices carried further than ever: our organization generated more than 51 million media impressions over the year, including exclusive NBC interviews and coverage in national media organizations, such as Bloomberg, POLITICO and Forbes, elevating the national conversation on governance, leadership, and gender equity.

Behind all of this, we also continued to invest in TCN itself. Our CEO's service across 14 civic and advisory roles ensured that TCN remained present at important tables across Chicago and nationally, strengthening our reputation as a trusted voice in leadership, public life, and professional advancement. The Board also advanced important governance work this year, including a CEO emergency succession plan and a revised employee handbook and board expectations policy, strengthening the foundation beneath everything else we do. We also made meaningful progress on our digital infrastructure and membership systems, modernizing membership intake and improving our member data and profiles, positioning TCN to serve our members more effectively and to continue evolving with intention and strength.

Most importantly, this year affirmed what has always made The Chicago Network exceptional - the commitment of our members. Everything we accomplish is powered by women who lead boldly, support one another generously, and believe deeply in opening doors for others. That spirit continues to define this organization and to shape its future.

As we look ahead, we do so with pride in what we have built together and with confidence in what comes next. We remain committed to advancing excellence, demonstrating impact, and strengthening the trust that makes this network so distinctive. We invite each of you to help shape what that looks like in the year ahead. Thank you for your leadership, your engagement, and your continued belief in the mission of The Chicago Network.

With Gratitude,

Francesca DeBiase
Immediate Past Chair

Dana Thompson
Chair

• 27

  Fortune 500 C-Suite Executives
• 10.8T

  Member companies represent an estimated $10.8 Trillion in Market Cap
• 6.6M

  Member companies employ an estimated 6.6 million people
• 3

  Current and Former Fortune 500 CEOs
• 20%

  Crain's Women of Influence
• 10%

  Crain's Who's Who
• 6

  University Presidents
• 22

  Arts and Culture Trailblazers
• 63

  Corporate C-Suite Executives
• 53

  CEOs and Entrepreneurs of Mid-Size Companies
• 100+

  Corporate Directors
• 8

  Government Leaders
• 26

  Healthcare Industry Executives
• 27

  Higher Education Institution Leaders
• 44

  Non-Profit Trailblazers
• 20

  Media and Communications Executives
• 45

  Law Industry Leaders

At The Chicago Network, we take immense pride in curating a diverse array of exclusive, high-quality programming that delivers unique value to our members. Our best-in-class programs are intentionally designed to tap into the intellectual curiosity of our community – sparking meaningful conversations, fostering lifelong learning, and encouraging bold ideas. We capitalize on the extraordinary opportunities that Chicago uniquely offers, drawing on the city’s world-class cultural, educational, and research institutions to provide experiences and insights available nowhere else. These programs not only offer members an insider’s perspective on some of Chicago’s most respected organizations but also create powerful forums for connection with other accomplished women.

This past year alone, we proudly hosted over 50 engaging programs, each meticulously designed to inspire, educate, and elevate our members. We are thrilled to share that our members consistently rate The Chicago Network’s programs an impressive 4.9 out of 5, reflecting their exceptional quality and the meaningful impact they have on our community. See more event photos at photos.tcn.link.