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Learning the Ropes
The New CEO Workshop at Harvard Business School is open only to
newly appointed CEOs of companies with annual revenues of $2
billion or more. In keeping with the mission of HBS—to educate
leaders who make a difference in the world—we introduced this
workshop several years ago to address the distinctive challenges
facing first-time chief executives in large, complex
enterprises. We personally invite each participant, to ensure
the appropriate size and composition of the group, which
typically includes about ten CEOs whose organizations cover a
broad cross section of industries. These CEOs run public
companies based in advanced economies. They have been appointed
and are either waiting to take office or within the first few
months of tenure.
Sessions of the workshop occur twice per year
in the Spring and Fall. Since the program’s inception several years
ago, close to 100 new CEOs have participated, from world-leading
companies such as Applied Materials, BellSouth, Cadbury
Schweppes, Caterpillar, Lloyds TSB, Lowe’s, Novartis,
Schlumberger, UPS, and Walgreens. Workshop
participants also have the opportunity
to reconvene to review the first two
years in the job and to recalibrate their agendas.
The workshop offers a unique perspective from which to explore
both the predictable and the surprising aspects of becoming a
CEO. We interview all participants in advance, using a
structured set of questions about strategy,
relationships with the board, and immediate and longer-term
challenges. Discussion sessions during the
intensive one and one-half day program are
built around these topics and other areas where new CEOs face
unfamiliar challenges.
The workshop faculty are also senior Harvard
Business School professors with deep experience
working with CEOs in major corporations and
serving on boards. Sessions are extremely interactive, and
discussions involve in-depth sharing of personal experiences and
active participation by the faculty.
See related Harvard Business Review article,
Seven Surprises for New CEOs.
Faculty:
Michael E. Porter, Chair
William W. George
Jay W. Lorsch
Nitin Nohria
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