Emerging Chief Product Officer (CPO) Program

In a market dominated by customer centricity, chief product officers (CPOs) play a key role in driving financial success. As technology continues to transform the consumer experience, CPOs must capture customer value and create competitive advantage in more efficient and innovative ways, requiring a unique blend of leadership, strategy, and product-development expertise.

The six-month Emerging Chief Product Officer (CPO) Program from Wharton Executive Education is designed to empower experienced product professionals to align product strategy with business objectives, gain organization-wide support for product initiatives, and make critical decisions amid dynamic market conditions. Through the curriculum, you will gain the expertise to succeed as a future CPO by mastering customer-centric product development, agile product leadership, disruptive innovation management, and data-driven decision making. At the end of the program, you will possess the strategic skills to navigate the evolving product landscape, the foresight to identify product challenges and opportunities, and the expertise to foster a powerful professional network that will help propel your career to the C-suite.

Program Highlights:

Comprehensive curriculum — Immerse yourself in a comprehensive curriculum that gives you the momentum to transition to a C-level role
Individualized focus — Cultivate future-ready leadership skills through personalized assessments and evidence-based exercises, webinars, and career workshops
Leadership-development action plan — Create a detailed strategy to evolve your leadership abilities that propel you toward your objective of becoming a CPO
Live sessions — Experience real-time learning in live sessions that give depth to key leadership concepts
Expert insights — Acquire rich real-world insights into product leadership and social networking through the expertise of world-renowned Wharton faculty
Case studies and industry examples — Experience the power of modern product strategies and leadership practices as they come to life with real-world examples
Executive-development workshops — Venture deeper into key leadership tenets to gain hands-on skills and confidently tackle complex challenges as you take on the CPO role
Networking opportunities — Expand your professional network through virtual meet-ups, and an on-campus event with a global cohort of peers
Success coach — Optimize your learning journey through weekly check-ins with a success coach assigned to your cohort

PROGRAM DETAILS

Duration: 6 months

Location: Online + On Campus

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The program fee is US$14,000 and covers all program materials. The program fee does not include accommodations for the (optional) networking event, travel expenses (domestic, international, visa fee, and more) and other expenses not specifically mentioned in the fees.

Program Format

The Emerging Chief Product Officer (CPO) Program is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to navigate the responsibilities of a future CPO. You will learn to lead with a strategic mindset while developing a powerful network of connections that will be a valuable resource on your journey to the C-suite.

Core Executive Modules

(14 weeks)

Foundations of Effective Leadership	Leadership-Development Action Plan
Leading through Complexity	Leading for Long-Term Sustainability and Growth

Specialized CPO Modules

(Six weeks)

Strategies for Product Leaders

Specialized CPO Modules

(Four weeks)

CPO Transformation Imperatives

Two-day on-campus recognition ceremony and networking event

Who Should Attend

The Emerging Chief Product Officer (CPO) Program will help experienced product professionals enhance their leadership and management skills, enabling them to leverage product-development expertise, strategic thinking, and data-driven decision making to elevate their impact and continue on their path to becoming a CPO.

The program is ideal for:

Vice presidents, directors, and heads of product seeking to develop the skills and mindset to lead enterprise-wide product strategy and accelerate their career growth
Product managers looking to leverage innovative frameworks and data-driven decision making to stay ahead of emerging trends and take on new leadership opportunities

Participants are required to have:

A minimum of 8 years of work experience
Fluency in written and spoken English

Note: This program is tailored for product professionals on the path to C-suite roles and is not intended for individuals currently serving as CPOs.

Certificate

Earn a Wharton Executive Education digital certificate upon successful completion of the program. Participants of this transformative program get exclusive access to a wide range of professionals, events, and networking opportunities.

Note: After successful completion of the program, your verified digital certificate will be emailed to you in the name you used when registering for the program. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of the Wharton School.

Please also note that participation in the Emerging Chief Product Officer (CPO) Program (a) will not result in a degree from, alumni status, 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 any other university or institution.

To learn more, please contact:

+1.561.486.7448
wharton_epai@emeritus.org

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Delivered in collaboration with program partner Emeritus:

Karl Ulrich, ScDSee Faculty Bio

CIBC Endowed Professor; Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions; Professor of Management; Dean’s Office Advisor on Asia Strategy, The Wharton School

Research Interests: Environmental issues, product design and development, innovation

Marissa King, PhDSee Faculty Bio

Alice Y. Hung President’s Distinguished Professor; Professor of Health Care Management; Professor of Management, The Wharton School

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