Kettering Membership

Kettering Executive Network welcomes senior level executives (i.e. Director, VP and “C” level) across all industries and functions. Kettering Members are servant leaders that adhere to a “Pay it Forward” principle, actively helping each other and the community with business ideas, opportunities, mentorship and introductions.

A Kettering Candidate must be sponsored by a Kettering member in good standing with the organization. They must meet the following Criteria:

  • P&L Criteria and/or Functional / Advisory Criteria
  • Pay it Forward Belief
  • Compensation Requirement

P&L Criteria

A Kettering Candidate must have (or had) P&L responsibility for a company or division of a company for at least five years (typically CEO, President, COO, VP, Director). This experience may be from any point in time, not just the current or last company.

  • In their leadership role, the candidate has/had direct responsibility for at least $10M in revenue (P&L) and a minimum of 25 people.

Function or Advisory Criteria

Functional Criteria

  • The Candidate holds (or held) a role(s) within a company or division of a company with responsibility for a major function within that company or division (e.g. finance, sales, marketing, manufacturing / operations) for at least five years. Time in position may be combined from multiple companies.
  • Typically, a Candidate meeting Functional criteria will be the top person for that function within the company or division for companies smaller than Fortune 500 companies (CFO, CIO, CMO, head of HR, VP, Director).
  • For Fortune 500 companies, the Candidate may perform (or have performed) as a senior executive at a level below the top functional officer in a company or division (e.g. a Controller reporting to a CFO in a company or division, a Vice President of Sales responsible for a major regional group reporting to a Senior Vice President of Sales responsible for all sales in the company or divisiona).

Advisory Criteria

  • A Kettering Candidate holds (or held) an Advisory role within a company or division to the person responsible for running the company, or division (typically the CEO of the company or President of the division) for at least five years.
  • A Candidate in this role would typically be a “staff” person, who reports to the CEO of the company or President of the division. Time in position may be combined from multiple companies.
  • A Candidate in this role would typically be a “staff” person, who reports to the CEO of the company or President of the division. Time in position may be combined from multiple companies.

Pay It Forward Criteria

We believe that when we do good for someone in need we are inspired by generosity and compassion. We are paying it forward by changing someone’s life for the better. Kettering members have embraced paying it forward as one of the guiding principles of the organization. It is an integral part of our thinking, way of doing things, and helping each other as well as communities we live in.

  • A Kettering Candidate must exemplify a genuine pay it forward character and be willing to help others, with no expectation of anything in return.
  • A Kettering Candidate must be willing to help other Kettering members in need by taking a call to network, offering to make connections/introductions (e.g. via LinkedIn), sharing professional experiences and/or advice, or mentoring without expecting anything in return.
  • A Kettering Candidate expects to remain actively engaged with the organization.

Compensation Criteria

  • A Kettering Candidate’s most recent compensation must have been a combined total compensation of at least $200,000 annually. Compensation is defined as salary and bonus only.

Exclusion Criteria

  • Certain categories of people excluded from joining Kettering include anyone working for a company or in a capacity where Kettering members would be their target market (e.g. financial advisors, franchise consultants, independent consultants/contractors, manufacturers’ representatives, realtors, executive recruiters, and executive coaches).
  • If a member changes his/her occupation to one where there is a prohibition from joining, they are “grandfathered” in, provided they do not abuse their role within the organization as determined by the Board of Directors.
  • At the sole discretion of the Board of Directors, an individual currently in an excluded category may be considered for membership, provided they have continuously displayed a “pay it forward” behavior to Kettering members and the organization for many years. They must have also displayed the character and leadership qualities that are considered Kettering caliber.

NOTICE: Notwithstanding any other criteria, the Board of Directors reserves the right to accept or reject any nomination based on its sole judgment.