Global CEO Program

The Chief Executive Officer Program prepares current and aspiring CEOs to make high-impact strategic decisions, accelerate AI and emerging-technology adoption, build resilient organizations, and drive growth in an increasingly complex and competitive landscape.

Over four months, participants progress through three live online courses covering growth strategy, innovation and disruption, and organizational resilience. The online learning is followed by a dedicated three-day CEO Immersion and a shared two-and-a-half-day CXO experience at the Chicago Booth campus.

Throughout the program, participants explore how customer demand, AI-driven transformation, geopolitical and economic change, talent strategy, organizational culture, and stakeholder expectations are reshaping the CEO mandate. They develop practical frameworks to evaluate emerging technologies, prepare the workforce for AI-led change, strengthen organizational performance, and lead through uncertainty.

Upon completion, participants will be prepared to lead as next-generation CEOs who can align executive teams and stakeholders, build AI-ready organizations, and drive sustainable growth.

• Craft and execute a strategic vision to drive growth through innovative, demand-driven approaches.
• Build a resilient, agile organization that can adapt to change and disruption.
• Evaluate and accelerate the adoption of AI and emerging technologies to strengthen efficiency, competitiveness, and organizational performance.
• Prepare the workforce for AI-led change through talent strategy, upskilling, and digital capability building.
• Align boards, executive teams, and key stakeholders to execute transformation and build trust.
• Communicate with clarity and confidence, especially during crises and recovery.
• Cultivate a values-driven culture and CEO legacy that create lasting impact.

This program is designed for senior business leaders, including:

• Current CEOs seeking to strengthen their strategic decision-making, leadership agility, and ability to navigate disruption.
• Aspiring CEOs preparing to assume enterprise-level leadership responsibilities.
• Senior executives seeking to build resilient organizations and drive sustainable growth.
• C-suite leaders responsible for organizational transformation, innovation, or enterprise strategy.
• Executives seeking to strengthen board alignment, stakeholder management, and cross-functional collaboration.

Please note that guest speakers and instructors are representative and subject to change.

Across three focused courses, build the capabilities to drive growth, navigate disruption, accelerate AI adoption, and strengthen organizational resilience.

Course 1: Growth Strategy and TSR for CEOs

In the program’s first course, you will learn how to take a forward-thinking, demand-driven approach to growing your company’s market share and thereby increasing total shareholder return (TSR). You will develop a comprehensive growth strategy focused on consumer demand and build the organization, culture, and team mindset needed to implement sustainable methodologies for growth and market leadership.

Course 2: Managing Innovation & Disruption

This course examines how organizations can adapt to global shifts and seize opportunities created by disruption, including AI-driven transformation and political and economic change. You will learn to assess different forms of disruption, evaluate strategic vulnerabilities and opportunities, create financial strategies for periods of uncertainty, and develop adaptive plans that align innovation with organizational values and culture. You will also explore how to sustain organizational performance through transitions and disruption.

Course 3: Building a Resilient Organization

This course explores the CEO’s role in fostering innovation, transformation, and agility, with a focus on accelerating AI and emerging-technology adoption. You will assess organizational AI readiness, prepare for disruption, and build the capabilities required to compete in a rapidly changing environment. You will also examine how talent strategy, upskilling, and competition for digital talent can enable workforce reinvention and long-term organizational resilience.

*The modules are subject to change.

1. CEO Immersion Experience

Chicago Booth’s Global CEO Program combines live online learning with a dedicated three-day, in-person immersion designed to help participants translate strategy into action. Building on the online curriculum, the CEO Immersion Experience brings together instructor-led sessions, collaborative discussions, and executive peer learning focused on the responsibilities of today’s chief executive.

Over three days, participants will explore:

Day 1: Leading a Values-Driven Company
Instructor: Rishad Tobaccowala

• Develop and lead a values-driven organization that’s day-to-day operations align with its culture, mission, and business performance.
• Lead with ethics and purpose by making strategic decisions that reinforce governance, leadership, purpose, and performance.
• Lead stakeholders while remaining grounded in personal values.

Day 2: Crisis Leadership
Instructor: Melissa Harris

• Master crisis communication and stakeholder management.
• Lead confidently through litigation, activism, and public scrutiny.
• Develop crisis management playbooks for strategic response.
• Cultivate calm, clarity, and credibility in high-pressure situations.

Day 3: Creating Your Legacy as a CEO
Instructor: Dennis Chookaszian

• Lead effectively from your first day through succession planning.
• Build and mentor your executive team for long-term success.
• Develop frameworks for continuity and governance.

The immersion also provides opportunities to engage directly with Chicago Booth faculty, industry leaders, and senior peers while experiencing the Chicago Booth campus and the vibrant city of Chicago.

Experience Highlights

• Instructor-led sessions
• Executive peer learning
• Industry perspectives
• Chicago Booth campus experience

2. CXO Experience

The program concludes with a two-and-a-half-day shared CXO experience, during which participants learn alongside senior executives from across Chicago Booth Executive Education’s portfolio of CXO programs.

Designed to encourage cross-functional exchange, the experience gives participants an opportunity to broaden their leadership perspectives beyond the CEO role. Participants strengthen relationships developed throughout the program, engage in collaborative discussions with executives from different business functions, and learn from Chicago Booth faculty and industry leaders.

Experience Highlights

• Cross-functional executive networking
• Instructor-led sessions
• Industry speakers
• Chicago Booth campus experience

*The in-person experience agendas, session topics, instructors, speakers, and activities are subject to change.

Flexible Live Online Learning
Participate in one instructor-led live online session each week. Across three focused courses, explore growth strategy, AI-driven disruption, emerging-technology adoption, and organizational resilience through discussion, strategic reflection, and practical application.

CEO Immersion Experience
Participate in a dedicated three-day, in-person immersion focused on values-driven leadership, crisis leadership, succession planning, and building an enduring CEO legacy.

CXO Experience
Expand your executive perspective during a shared two-and-a-half-day experience with senior leaders from across Chicago Booth’s CXO portfolio through instructor-led sessions, industry perspectives, executive networking, and cross-functional collaboration.