How to get featured in Chief Executive

How Chief Executive decides what to cover

Chief Executive is written for one reader: the CEO, often an owner of a private or mid-market company. Its guidelines say so directly. The reader is not a general businessperson but someone who sees issues from a strategic perspective and asks, in the first scan, what is in it for them and whether their business is at risk for not knowing.

The publication sits inside Chief Executive Group, which also runs CEO peer networks, events, benchmarking research, and sister titles such as Corporate Board Member. Editorially, coverage is organized around leadership, strategy, talent, manufacturing, M&A, technology, and private companies. The print magazine follows an annual editorial calendar with recurring franchises, including CEO of the Year, Best and Worst States for Business, regional economic development reports, and special reports on growth, capital, and talent.

How to pitch Chief Executive

The documented route is a contributed treatment. Write a short proposal that names the topic, describes the author’s background, lists the examples and evidence the piece will use, and explains why a CEO should care. Send it to the editorial address published on the Editorial Guidelines page.

Evidence decides most outcomes. The guidelines are blunt that CEOs are persuaded by facts, not assertion, even from experts. A piece on how a manufacturer cut working capital, with the numbers and the trade-offs, fits. A piece on “five leadership lessons” does not.

For staff features or interviews, there is no public pitch desk. The general contact form on the site covers editorial questions alongside networks and events, so keep any note brief and specific.

Contributed articles and op-eds

Chief Executive encourages articles and commentary from CEOs, presidents, chairmen, and vice chairmen. Bylines from marketing leaders or consultants do not meet that bar unless a qualifying executive is the genuine author. Finished features should be concise, no more than about 800 words, with sidebars of up to 600 words for cases or data.

The 2026 editorial calendar also lists thought leadership deadlines alongside advertising space closings. Treat those as part of the commercial program, which is separate from contributed editorial and should be labeled as such if you buy it.

Frequently asked questions

Who can write for Chief Executive?

The Editorial Guidelines invite articles from CEOs, presidents, chairmen, and vice chairmen on issues of direct interest to CEOs.

Can you pay to be featured in Chief Executive?

Contributed editorial is selected on merit. The editorial calendar lists thought leadership deadlines next to advertising closes, so paid programs exist; treat them as advertising, not earned coverage.

How long does Chief Executive take to publish an accepted piece?

The guidelines say publication may vary from six to eight weeks after acceptance.

For CEO-level bylines, the work is mostly editorial discipline: finding the one argument a peer would act on and backing it with numbers. That is how a PR-led team approaches media relations and executive visibility for leaders writing to other leaders.