Inspiration for Today and Tomorrow

Next-generation technologies meet the Executive MBA (Monday, Oct. 27)
Thornton May, Futurist, Adviser, Educator

Just as technology platforms require regularly scheduled updates so, too, does the curriculum that Executive MBA faculty use to teach next-generation (nextgen) business leaders. Transformations in information technology (IT) require changes in the skill set that executives need to successfully lead the organization of the future.

Every several years, a major new mode of operation, such as outsourcing, software-as-a-service, or Web 2.0, significantly impacts the work of IT. Every year a major new application area, such as mobility, business intelligence, or social networking, expands the portfolio. Every quarter a new technology advance makes something that was once impossible or too expensive possible.  Every month a law change affects IT resources. Every week business requirements demand IT attention. What do nextgen business leaders need to know about nextgen technologies? How can Executive MBA Programs prepare leaders to ride the wave of technology to greater success?

Recently named one of eWeek’s 100 Most Influential People in IT along with Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, and Jeff Bezos, Thornton May has established a reputation for innovation in executive education. He pioneered the multi-client research working group model, as well as the Lyceum, a time-compressed, intense learning experience for chief information officers. He has taught in executive education programs and shares his insights with publications such as the Harvard Business Review, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal, among others.

Future of the Executive MBA takes shape (Tuesday, Oct. 28)
Dipak Jain, Dean, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Ted Snyder, Dean, Graduate School of Business (GSB), University of Chicago

With a rich and diverse corporate community, the city of Chicago has served as home to many of the country’s top business leaders and the first Executive MBA Program. The conference offers an opportunity to bring the heads of two leading business schools together to explore the future of the Executive MBA brand.

What trends in business education today will impact the shape of executive education in the future? What can Executive MBA Programs do now to strengthen their brand in the future? Deans from Chicago GSB and Kellogg will hold a fireside chat to share their perspectives on those trends and their impact on Executive MBA Programs.

A distinguished teacher and scholar, Dipak C. Jain has been dean of the Kellogg School of Management since July 2001. He brings more than 20 years of experience in management and education to his position at the school’s helm. The Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor in Entrepreneurial Studies and marketing professor at the Kellogg School, he has been a member of the faculty since 1987.

Dean Jain’s areas of research include the marketing of high-tech products; market segmentation and competitive market structure analysis; cross-cultural issues in global product diffusion; new product diffusion; and forecasting models. He has had more than 50 articles published in leading academic journals.

Edward A. Snyder joined the University of Chicago as dean and the George Pratt Shultz Professor Economics in 2001.  He previously served as dean and Charles C. Abbot Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School, University of Virginia, and held other academic positions at the University of Michigan and the Center for the Study of the Economy and the State at the University of Chicago. He also worked as an economist and a consultant for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

His scholarly interests include industrial organization, antitrust economics, law and economics, and financial institutions.

The Global Executive MBA Brandscape: Executive MBA Marketing Best Practices From Around the World (Wednesday, Oct. 29)
Tim Westerbeck, Managing Director and Principal, Lipman Hearne

With knowledge capital the key to competitive advantage, demand for management education will only intensify competition among Executive MBA Programs. This plenary session explores the worldwide marketing best practices that programs use to build brands.

The presentation will focus on how markets are segmenting globally and what defines brand value among target audiences. It also will look at the most effective channels for reaching prospects and core product differentiation strategies that leading institutions use. The session will provide participants with “universal best practices,” as well as with specific strategic and tactical ideas that they can adapt to their particular marketplace.

Currently managing director and principal at Lipman Hearne, Westerbeck has provided strategic marketing and branding counsel to a blue-chip list of leading global corporations and nonprofit organizations, including the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Stanford Law School, the American Medical Association, Yale School of Management, Duke University, the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, CNA Insurance, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Previously he served president of Westerbeck Communications, a national brand marketing consulting firm in Chicago, which Lipman Hearne acquired in 2002. Westerbeck writes and lectures on marketing strategies and is a regular contributor to Biz Ed magazine, which AACSB International publishes. He was designated a Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Faculty Star for his presentation on branding at the 2002 CASE International Assembly.

A leading marketing consulting and communications firm that is dedicated exclusively to serving nonprofit organizations, Lipman Hearne provides services to a colleges and universities, foundations, think tanks, arts organizations, NGOs, advocacy organizations, and governments around the world.