Young Presidents' Organization
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The Young President's Organization (YPO) is an international chapter-driven non-profit organization made up of company presidents from around the world.
[edit] History
Born in 1918, Ray Hickok earned an economics degree from Rollins College, took advanced business degrees from Harvard University and Northwestern University (now the Kellogg School of Management), and served in the United States Army for four years. He joined his father's company, Hickok Belts, after returning home in 1944.
Following the elder Hickok’s death in 1945, the company’s board of directors voted Ray Hickok president and CEO at age 28.
At that time, the U.S. business community included few young executives with such major responsibilities. Hickok faced unusual problems that older, more experienced presidents did not understand. He began meeting other young men in similar situations and conceived the idea of a membership organization for young CEOs. “Why not bring together presidents who had like problems and like interests?” he asked. “If the force of these driving dynamos could be harnessed together, only good could come.”
When Ray Hickok opened the first meeting of the Young Presidents’ Organization in 1950, not even he realized the effect YPO would have on the world of business. By sharing their experiences, those first 20 young presidents helped one another cope with the unusual pressures and pleasures of early success.
1950 - Ray Hickok founds Young Presidents’ Organization in New York
1956 - First “international” member admitted from outside North America
1960 - First YPO University, held in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
1975 - Forum becomes a YPO institution when the Northern California Chapter (U.S.A.) organizes its 60 members into four groups
1984 - The triangle YPO logo is created, with the gold tip symbolizing each member’s rise to success
1990 - YPO International Headquarters move from New York City to Irving, Texas, U.S.A.
1992 - YPO founder Ray Hickok dies
2001 - YPO Renaissance begins with new logo, mission, governance and first CEO
2007 - YPO merges with its graduate organization, World Presidents Organization (WPO) to become the world's largest global network of business leaders
Today, more than 20,000 members in 100 countries are connected in over 300 local chapters and through Business, Personal and Social Enterprise Networks.
The organization's mission is "Better Leaders through Education and Idea Exchange".
[edit] Membership Requirements
Age: A new member application must be approved by Young Presidents’ Organization International before the applicant reaches his or her forty-fifth (45th) birthday. Exceptions may be made for new Chapters only.
Title: President, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, Managing Partner or Publisher, or equivalent of any of the above
Corporation Complexity: Qualifying Corporation: An applicant must be qualified, in addition to age and title, by rules of corporate complexity established by the YPO Board of Directors. The candidate must meet one requirement from each category below; this means that he or she must meet at least one “A” requirement AND one “B” requirement.
“A” Requirements
Requirement #1 The candidate must have at least 50 regular, full-time employees or the equivalent under his or her control. Persons engaged on a commission basis rather than straight salary are considered employees if they are permanently connected with the corporation and receive their principal livelihood therefrom. Seasonal employees are not included in YPO’s employee definition. OR
Requirement #2 The total compensation of all employees, excluding the compensation of the candidate, must exceed US$1,000,000.
“B” Requirements
Requirement #1 The corporation must meet dollar volume requirements based on the type of corporation he or she runs, as follows:
- Sales/Services/Manufacturing corporations must have at least US$8,000,000 in gross annual sales or turnover.
- Financial institutions must have average annual assets of at least US$160,000,000.
- Agency-type businesses must have annual fees or commissions billed of at least US$6,000,000.
OR
Requirement #2 The corporation must have an enterprise value of US$10,000,000 as defined by one of the following:
- Net worth of assets before depreciation of US$10,000,000.
- Independent third-party investment/valuation of US$10,000,000.
- The sum of the company’s public equity value plus its debt less cash must equal US$10,000,000.
