Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Program

Emerge as a transformational leader

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Course Dates

STARTS ON

June 29, 2023

Course Duration

DURATION

12 Months
Live Online, Online and On Campus

Course Fee

PROGRAM FEE

US$38,000

US$600 application fee

Program Overview

In an increasingly volatile environment, where business models are continually changing across industries, the chief executive officer's (CEO's) role is also evolving. The Berkeley Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Program has been designed to equip business leaders with the skills required to successfully navigate this era of uncertainty and transformation.

50%

of CEOs believe that external factors like regulatory concerns and market factors will most impact their businesses in the next two to three years.

Source: IBM’s 2021 CEO Study

48%

of CEOs say their most important business priorities revolve around customers, clients, and citizens.

Source: IBM’s 2021 CEO Study

70%

of CEOs are looking to internet of things and cloud computing to deliver results in the next two to three years.

Source: IBM’s 2021 CEO Study

Program Highlights

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High Touch

Live online sessions, executive coaching, and guest lectures by industry experts.

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High Tech

Theater-style virtual classroom brings the world-class Berkeley experience to you, wherever you are.

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Core Curriculum

Kick-start your program journey with 21 weeks of in-depth core sessions in strategic thinking, innovation, culture, leadership, and more.

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Capstone Personal Case Project

Apply your learnings to an enduring leadership challenge you are facing, and develop a personal case codifying the insights.

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Real-World Application

Apply lessons learned to your business immediately.

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World-Renowned Faculty

Learn from subject matter experts and global leaders.

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Interactive Sessions

Take advantage of over 120 hours of interactive learning with faculty, industry experts, and an accomplished peer group.

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Peer Learning

Learn from high-achieving peers from around the globe and build your network.

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Expand Your Network

Interact with peers, industry leaders, and faculty at the three-day in-person networking, conference, and graduation event.

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Alumni Benefits

Earn select Berkeley Haas alumni benefits upon completion of the program.

Curriculum

The Berkeley CEO Program delivers learning that will help you fulfill your potential as a senior leader in driving organizational success. Three core modules will provide you with the tools and frameworks to effectively lead innovation and change. You will explore various leadership styles to emerge as a more strategic leader equipped to build and inspire high-impact teams and drive organizational transformation. Your in-depth learning journey will include lectures by faculty experts and specialists, case studies, group and individual exercises, and discussions with global leaders.
  • Transforming the Business (Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship)

    • Systems of innovation: the Silicon Valley ecosystem as a model
    • Technical platforms: a framework for strategic innovation
    • Customer-focused design
    • The four playbooks of digital strategy
    • Leading growth strategies
    • Intrapreneurship (leading strategic innovation and change)
    • Strategy in competitive markets
    • Future-proof: leading and succeeding in the global economy
    • Corporate strategy: M&A
    • Corporate strategy: sustainability

    Transforming the Self (Leadership and Influence)

    • Leadership and executive presence
    • Leading your team
    • Managing your network
    • Strategic negotiations
    • Strategic storytelling
    • Judgment and decision making
    • Leading across differences: conflict management
    • Driving change and dynamic execution
    • Using influence to lead change

    Transforming the Organization (Leadership and Culture)

    • Your leadership style: what you think it is, what others think, and what it all means
    • Leading strategy execution through culture
    • Organizational canvas (exercise)
    • Leadership in crises
    • Leading high-performing organizations and developing a growth-oriented culture
    • Fostering a culture of innovation through diversity, equity, and inclusion
    • Sustainability, leadership, and ethics
    • Managing the board
    • Taking action and getting traction

    Note: Topics and sessions are subject to change.

  • Learn to make sense of and harness new technologies and trends to design effective strategies and identify solutions to transform your business.

  • The Global Leadership Conference is held annually on the Berkeley campus in the spring/summer time frame (before the end of June) to bring participants from multiple cohorts of the CEO Program together. The networking conference and graduation event gives you the opportunity to interact with peers from your cohort, participants from other cohorts, faculty, and industry leaders.

    The three-day event will include an immersion into the Berkeley ecosystem, networking opportunities, guest speaker sessions, and other activities to make this a memorable, insightful, and meaningful program culmination experience.

Capstone Personal Case Project

Across the Berkeley CEO Program experience, you will complete a capstone personal case project. You will apply classroom lessons to a real personal leadership challenge or opportunity to deliver an actionable solution. You will be informed by faculty content sessions and guided by your executive coach and peers. At the on-campus event in Berkeley, you will share the codified learnings from your experience as a personal case story.

  • Problem definition and analysis
  • Solution narrowed and chosen
  • Action planning
  • Results
  • Conclusion and codification of insights

Faculty

The Berkeley CEO Program is developed and taught by a team of Berkeley Haas faculty who are renowned experts and skilled educators with a focus on the sociological and psychological processes within organizations. They bring to the classroom their deep research capabilities and rich experience at some of the world’s most prominent enterprises. Through interactive lectures and real-life case studies, they will help you understand how core themes such as decision making, innovation, negotiation, diversity, and culture affect organizational performance. The world-renowned faculty will prepare you to reach and succeed in the highest-ranking role today.

Profile picture of professor Jennifer Chatman

Jennifer Chatman

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs | Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management

World-renowned researcher, teacher, and consultant on leveraging organizational culture for firm performance and leading high performance teams. In her research, teaching, and consulting work, she focuses on how organizations can leverage culture for strategic success and how diverse teams can optimize performance.

Profile picture of professor Kurt Beyer

Kurt Beyer

Continuing Lecturer | Entrepreneurship and Innovation

A faculty member of UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School and Graduate School of Information Science, he teaches Cal’s prestigious Entrepreneurship Program to MBAs, undergrads, and graduate students. The program produces multiple promising startups each year, including recent successes Pokemon Go, Indiegogo, Tubemogul, Lime, Freewire, Traveling Spoon, and Plushcare. World-renowned researcher, teacher, and consultant on leveraging organizational culture for firm performance and leading high performance teams.

Profile picture of professor Juliana Schroeder

Juliana Schroeder

Associate Professor | Harold Furst Chair in Management Philosophy & Values

As a professor in the Management of Organizations group, Schroeder's research explores how people make social inferences about others. She is a faculty affiliate in the Social Psychology Department, the Cognition Department, and the Center for Human-Compatible AI at UC Berkeley. She teaches the Negotiations and Conflict Resolution course at Haas.

Alumni Benefits

Earn select Berkeley Haas alumni benefits upon completion of the program.

Networking and Events

  • Ability to join local alumni chapters or clubs in your region
  • Access to a private network of distinguished Berkeley Haas alumni
  • Invitation to the annual Berkeley Haas Alumni Conference
  • Opportunity to attend select Berkeley Haas and Berkeley Executive Education

Berkeley Resources

  • Access to Haas Amplified — Latest research and thought leadership from industry speakers and faculty
  • 30% discount on the list price of eligible future programs after completion of the Certificate of Excellence in Senior Executive Leadership
  • Get an @haas.executivealumni.berkeley.edu email forwarding address
  • Public visitor access to select campus libraries and university database services. (Remote and onsite access available for select services)

News and Communication

  • One-year complimentary digital subscription to the California Management Review
  • Berkeley Haas alumni newsletter
  • Subscription to the Berkeley Haas alumni jobs e-newsletter with latest job postings from distinguished employers

Note: All benefits subject to change.

Participant Profile

The Berkeley CEO Program is designed for senior executives who are ready to accelerate their career to the highest level of leadership. It is designed for CEOs as well as for senior leaders who are identified as critical to a company's succession plan.

Participants are expected to have:

  • A minimum of 15 years of work experience
  • A demonstrated track record of leading regional/global teams and motivating by example
  • The agenda and ability to drive transformation in a complex, uncertain business environment
  • Substantial work experience, including significant time as a business leader, ideally across regions and cultures
  • Readiness to immerse themselves in a transformative learning experience that offers an opportunity for serious self-assessment
  • Fluency in written and spoken English

FAQs

  • The Berkeley Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Program is a multimodular immersive learning journey that aims to provide participants with the tools and frameworks to lead innovation and drive transformation. You will learn about different leadership styles and craft one of your own to emerge as a dynamic visionary leader.

  • The CEO Program is designed for CEOs as well as executives who will take on a C-suite leadership position in the next phase of their career. Your duties and responsibilities include leading regional or global teams and you are ready to accelerate your career to the highest level of leadership.

  • The program has a total of three core modules and a short course. It concludes with a three-day networking event where you get to meet peers from multiple cohorts on the Berkeley campus in California.

  • Upon completing the program, you will receive a Certificate of Excellence in Senior Executive Leadership and earn select Berkeley Haas alumni benefits.

  • Applications to the CEO Program are to be made online. Application fees vary by rounds. Applying earlier helps your chances of being accepted into the program.

Apply Now

Early registrations are encouraged. Seats fill up quickly!

Flexible payment options available. Learn more.