Churchill Club ignites innovative conversations among Silicon Valley business leaders about “what’s new, next, and not widely known.”

Our focus is to cultivate a one-stop-shop of world-class people — people like yourself — whose conversations lead to fresh ideas, dreams, and personal motivation. A tall order, for sure, but one we’ve been successful at for 32 years.

Founders, CEOs, and other luminaries of fast-growth startups and major companies have come to Churchill Club to discuss and debate new ideas and significant issues. These leaders include IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk; LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner; prominent investors, such as Vinod Khosla, Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Ron Conway; filmmaker James Cameron; best-selling author Michael Lewis; and Hollywood talent über-agent Ari Emanuel.

It’s an impressive list, but it would be no more than a roster if we weren’t committed to the idea of an independent forum that facilitates the open and timely exchange of ideas, opinions, and viewpoints among business leaders and innovators. At Churchill Club, collaborators and competitors meet on stage to discuss their newest thinking. They commit to have unscripted conversations that go beyond  hype. Attendees have the opportunity to ask questions directly of speakers, uncensored by the moderator.

We host as many as 24 such events every year, drawing an audience of business executives, investors, entrepreneurs, academics, and invited journalists from Silicon Valley and often other innovation centers. We also offer opportunities to network and develop critical business relationships with influential individual and corporate members representing a diverse range of industries, companies, and expertise.

Don’t miss out on our many individual and corporate member benefits. Join the club and become part of one of the most acclaimed organizations in Silicon Valley.

Churchill Club Mission and Equality Statement

As a not-for-profit, public benefit organization, Churchill Club exists to encourage innovation, economic growth, and societal benefit for all who share our interests and intentions, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin or citizenship status, sex, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, age, income, or disability.

Churchill Club History

The first meeting of Churchill Club was November 12, 1985, featuring Robert Noyce, integrated circuit pioneer and founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. More than 275 attended that first program.

Churchill Club was founded by Rich Karlgaard, now publisher of Forbes magazine, and Tony Perkins, former editor-in-chief of AlwaysOn. They and a group of friends created an organization dedicated to producing programs where “important people say important things.”

What’s with the bowler hat?
We’re glad you asked. The bowler, also known as the derby, became a symbol of class equality throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The bowler leveled the visual playing field, thereby encouraging more openness toward others and their ideas—exactly what we strive to do by igniting conversations.