Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Program

The Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Program from Wharton Executive Education is a 9- to 12-month program that equips senior HR leaders and aspiring CHROs to align talent strategy with organizational objectives and lead enterprise transformation. In today’s fast-evolving business environment, where talent is central to growth and resilience, the CHRO must act both as a strategist and a change agent, driving workforce transformation, business performance, and sustainable advantage.

Led by Wharton faculty, the program integrates HR strategy, organizational development, and leadership capabilities with customizable electives to prepare you for organization-wide impact. You will gain the strategic insights, leadership mindset, and advanced tools to elevate the HR function, strengthen organizational performance, understand emerging AI applications, and help shape the future of work.

Program Highlights

Learn at your own pace with online sessions and customize your learning journey with a wide array of electives
Glean fresh insights from global industry experts with guest lectures throughout the program
Examine real-world business cases and understand how to apply the learnings to your job immediately
Interact with and learn from top-ranked faculty who teach in Wharton Executive Education’s senior executive programs
Build your professional network with high-achieving peers from around the world

PROGRAM DETAILS

Duration: 12 months

Location:
Blended (Online + In Person)^*

*Includes an optional two-day immersion on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia, USA

Learn more and apply

Pricing does not include accommodation for the on-campus recognition ceremony and networking event, and transport expenses (domestic, international, visa fee, and more).

What AI Skills and Insights Will You Gain From the Wharton CHRO Program

Technical AI Leadership
Assess how AI systems and autonomous agents interpret information, shape discovery, influence decisions, and impact productivity across enterprise functions.

AI Insights for Strategic Decision Making
Gain practical tools for ethical and compliant AI adoption to assess risks, identify AI use cases across HR processes, and connect AI initiatives to business outcomes.

Expert-Led AI Sessions
Engage in live sessions on AI-mediated markets, responsible AI governance, and performance measurement. Examine how AI systems research, recommend, transact, and drive real productivity impact.

AI Strategy Applications
Explore how AI is influencing research, evaluation, decision making, and ways of working while preparing data, processes, and business functions for AI-enabled environments through a strategic HR lens.

What will you learn in the live AI sessions?

These live, faculty-led online sessions* explore how AI is influencing enterprise strategy, customer ecosystems, regulatory landscapes, and organizational performance.

AI and Search: From SEO to LLMO, Led by Kartik Hosanagar
Session focus: How AI systems and autonomous agents research, recommend, and purchase on behalf of consumers and enterprises
Topics covered: The shift from SEO to AEO and AAO, its implications for brand and go-to-market strategy, and the changing role of marketing, sales, and customer experience

Responsible AI: Ethics, Regulation, and Governance, Led by Kevin Werbach
Session focus: Ethical, transparent, and regulation-aligned AI adoption in enterprise decision-making
Topics covered: Responsible AI governance, oversight, accountability, and global regulatory approaches

Measuring Productivity Gains of AI in the Workplace, Led by Pinar Yildirim
Session focus: Measuring the impact of AI on workplace productivity and business performance
Topics covered: Relevant metrics, meaningful experiments, realistic expectations, and dashboards that identify genuine productivity gains

*Note: Session topics and speakers are subject to change.

What does the capstone project include?

Move beyond theory into practical application through a progressive capstone project designed to help you reimagine HR management within your organization. Drawing on concepts explored throughout the program, you will develop a proposal centered on an identified opportunity for improvement, analyze organizational challenges, and explore strategic solutions with real business relevance.

Integrated throughout the program are key capstone checkpoints that help you shape and strengthen your final proposal. These checkpoints include:

Week 3: Identifying an HR challenge in your organization and initial solutions
Week 6: Determining a strategic HR initiative
Week 9: Considering current and future employees in relation to this initiative
Week 12: Establishing a talent management plan
Week 15: Discovering new leadership styles and cultural changes in your organization necessary for this initiative

The capstone culminates in a final slide deck and proposal pitch that you will design for decision makers within your organization and present to your cohort.

Program Format

The CHRO Program combines an online curriculum of 18 weeks of core modules and electives, culminating in two days of invaluable on-campus connection and networking. Choose three out of eight topical electives (of six weeks each) to gain relevant skill sets specific to your role.

Three core modules

(18 weeks total)

Elevating the CHRO Role	Human Capital and Talent Strategy
Leading Culture and Organizational Change

Three online electives

(Six weeks each)

Executive Presence and Influence: Persuasive Leadership Development	Corporate Governance: Maximize Your Effectiveness in the Boardroom
Mastering Talent Management: Hiring, Engaging, and Rewarding A+ Talent	M&A and Corporate Development Strategies
Future of Work: Leading Modern Workplaces	HR Management and Analytics: Unlock the Value of Human Capital

Two-day on-campus recognition ceremony and networking event

Who Should Attend

The CHRO Program is designed for senior HR leaders who are ready to expand their influence from functional expertise to enterprise-wide strategy. It is ideal for:

Current and aspiring CHROs or chief people officers seeking to strengthen their strategic HR leadership capabilities, act as strategic partners to the C-suite, and advise senior leadership or the board of directors
Senior HR executives, including VPs or heads of talent acquisition, people management, compensation, employee engagement, diversity initiatives, or operations, who are responsible for advancing organizational development and enhancing the HR function
HR leaders who are tasked with aligning people strategy to organizational objectives, applying a strategic mindset, and driving workforce transformation that improves organizational performance at scale

Program eligibility criteria include:

A minimum of 10 years of work experience
Fluency in written and spoken English

Pathway to Wharton Alumni Status

After completing the CHRO Program and subsequent open-enrollment programs, subject to further qualification criteria and additional tuition, you have a pathway to apply for Wharton Alumni Status.

Executives who successfully complete the CHRO Program have the option of applying to the General Management Program (GMP), the Advanced Finance Program (AFP), or the Owner/President/CEO Program (OPC).

Upon qualifying for Wharton Alumni Status, you will be eligible to receive:

Full access to become a member of 77+ Wharton Alumni Clubs
Invitation to attend future Wharton Global Alumni Forums
A Wharton forwarding email address

Please also note that participation in the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Program (a) will not result in a degree from, alumni status with, or earned credit at the University of Pennsylvania or the Wharton School (or, to Wharton’s knowledge, any other institution), (b) will not be recorded on a University of Pennsylvania or Wharton transcript; and (c) does not guarantee or suggest that a participant will be admitted to the University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School, or to any other university or institution.

To learn more, please contact:

+1.561.486.7448
wharton_chro@emeritus.org

Learn More and Apply

Delivered in collaboration with program partner Emeritus:

Matthew Bidwell, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Xingmei Zhang and Yongge Dai Professor; Professor of Management, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Careers, contingent work, firm boundaries, human resource management, knowledge workers

Andrew M. Carton, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Associate Professor of Management, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Managing intergroup relations; establishing a sense of purpose

John Paul MacDuffie, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Professor of Management, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Human resource management systems, managing people over distance, organizational learning and collaboration

Nicolaj Siggelkow, PhDSee Faculty Bio

David M. Knott Professor; Professor of Management; Co-Director, Mack Institute for Innovation Management, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Competitive strategy, firms as systems of interconnected choices

Learn More and Apply