The program is designed to help experienced product professionals enhance their leadership and management skills and acquire advanced product development skills for the C-suite.

March 24, 2025

PHILADELPHIA, PA, March 24, 2025: /PRNewswire/ - Emeritus, in collaboration with the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, announces the launch of its six-month Emerging Chief Product Officer (CPO) Program. This program is designed to equip aspiring CPOs with the skills needed for modern product leadership, empowering them to align product strategy with business objectives. Emeritus, the global leader in making high-quality education accessible and affordable, has begun enrollment for this program that starts on June 27, 2025.

Today, the product function plays a crucial role in driving digital transformation and growth, with 70% of Fortune 1000 companies projected to have a CPO by 2027, if not sooner. The Emerging CPO Program equips experienced product professionals with the skills to navigate the responsibilities of a future CPO — including customer-centric product development, agile product leadership, disruption innovation management, and data-driven decision making.

“Customer centricity now dominates the business landscape. To be competitive, businesses must constantly anticipate customer wants and needs, create innovative solutions, and deliver an unparalleled customer experience. CPOs are uniquely positioned to help businesses achieve all three, while directly impacting profit margin. Aspiring CPOs must have a practical understanding of agile product strategy, strategic leadership, and innovation to be successful in the role,” says Marissa King, academic co-director of the program. “The Emerging CPO Program is designed to prepare the next generation of CPOs to be strategic and influential leaders in the C-suite.”

Through a blend of innovative online content encompassing strategic leadership, product expertise, and peer-centered learning, participants will develop the skills to become impactful product leaders and face the challenges of a constantly changing business environment.

“One of the most powerful capabilities you can possess as a CPO is the strategic foresight to identify and capitalize on product opportunities. The Emerging CPO Program is unique in that it places equal emphasis on vision and strategy. Participants will acquire the necessary skills to both pinpoint an opportunity and successfully implement a road map to capture it. Through personalized assessments and evidence-based skills development, this program will prepare aspiring CPOs to excel on both functional and strategic levels,” says Karl Ulrich, academic co-director of the program.

Participants can also elect to attend an optional two-day on-campus networking event, where they can connect with renowned Wharton faculty and meet peers from other cohorts who bring real-world experience from highly regarded organizations. Upon completion of the program, they will be awarded a verified digital certificate from Wharton Executive Education.

This program is ideal for experienced product professionals who want to enhance their leadership and management skills while learning to leverage product development expertise, strategic thinking, and data-driven decision making to elevate their impact and navigate the responsibilities of a future CPO.

"The Emerging CPO Program is built around an innovative curriculum that equips participants with the skills to lead strategically, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and manage organizational dynamics, which will benefit both their careers and their organizations," says Mike Malefakis, president of university partnerships at Emeritus. "We are excited to collaborate with Wharton Executive Education to deliver this cutting-edge program, built around the demands of modern product leadership, that gives participants the momentum needed to advance to a C-level role.”

For more information and to apply, please visit the program homepage.

About Wharton Executive Education

Wharton Executive Education has served as the global leader in executive development for 35 years. Steeped in the heritage and analytical insights of the Wharton School, with an eye toward shaping the future of business, Wharton Executive Education's individual, online, and custom programs prepare more than 100,000 professionals a year to transform their careers and organizations. For more information on Wharton Executive Education's practical business solutions, visit executiveeducation.wharton.upenn.edu.

About Emeritus

Emeritus is committed to teaching the skills of the future by making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies, and governments worldwide. It does this by collaborating with more than 70 top-tier universities across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India, and China. Emeritus' short courses, degree programs, professional certificates, and senior executive programs help individuals learn new skills and transform their lives, companies, and organizations. Its unique model of state-of-the-art technology, curriculum innovation, and hands-on instruction from senior faculty, mentors, and coaches has educated more than 300,000 individuals across more than 80 countries. Founded in 2015, Emeritus, part of Eruditus Group, has more than 2,000 employees globally and offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore, Palo Alto, Mexico City, New York, Boston, London, and Dubai. For more information, please visit https://emeritus.org.

About the Wharton School

Founded in 1881 as the world’s first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With a faculty of more than 235 renowned professors, Wharton has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year 100,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education’s individual, company-customized, and online programs, and thousands of pre-collegiate students explore business concepts through Wharton’s www.wharton.upenn.edu.

Media Contact

Sarah SchwabDirector of Communications Aresty Institute of Executive Education
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania execed-pr@wharton.upenn.edu