Founded in 1997 by Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, Business Forums International began with the idea of developing an exclusive business networking organization where members are carefully selected and prescreened to represent the most elite professionals in their respective industries. The organization sets itself apart from other educational and networking business groups with a uniquely qualified membership of professional advisors who deal directly with presidents and chief executive officers, chief financial officers and other business principals.

BFI recruits members to ensure a diverse representation of professional specialties. By charter, members are committed to delivering leads for one another on a proactive and accountable basis. Each member also agrees to invite a qualified guest on a quarterly basis to BFI meetings, as well as attend and participate in the monthly meetings.

With a strong local economy and an upbeat local street buzz, the first BFI chapter launched in California with a promising start, attracting successful and highly respected attorneys, accountants, senior lenders, consultants and corporate executives. Business leaders soon realized that BFI represented something unique and distinct from the traditional networking model. On the heels of the first group's early success, requests were soon received for chapters in other cities.

Three years later, the second BFI chapter launched in Newport, California. A select group of Orange County professionals were invited to an evening meeting at Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Beach where they quickly embraced the tenets of the BFI vision and the rest, as they say, is history. The Newport Business Forum since has grown into the largest chapter in the country and one of the most successful, as measured by leads and completed deals cultivated by its members.

Business Forums International has now grown into numerous chapters across the country, each uniting an elite set of members dedicated to delivering business leads and resources for one another. BFI currently brings together exceptional business leaders in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Greenwich, Houston, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., as well as eight California locations: Los Angeles, Newport, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, West Los Angeles and West Valley.