The National Industrial Conference Board was founded in 1916. It grew from a 1915 meeting at the Yama Farms Inn in New York consisting of presidents of 12 major corporations and six of the foremost industry associations. The gathering included Frederick P. Fish, Frank A. Vanderlip and Magnus W. Alexander. It was a co-operative body composed of representatives of national and state industrial associations, and closely allied engineering societies of a national character, and was organized to provide a clearing house of information, a forum for constructive discussion, and machinery for co-operative action on matters that vitally affected the industrial development of the nation. Now called The Conference Board, Inc. it is a non-profit global business organization supported by business executives that holds conferences, convenes executives and conducts business management research.