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Ivan Kitta is Head of Marketing at GoodMills Deutschland: Aurora Mühlen and Müller’s Mühle, as well as Kellogg-WHU EMBA alumnus (EMBA 2020). In fall 2022, he participated in WHU Executive Education’s Advanced Management for Senior Leaders Program (previously named Advanced Management for Senior Professionals Program) in fall 2022. This article unfolds Ivan's reflections, offering a glimpse into the invaluable experiences gained during this empowering program.

"I met a group of highly motivated senior professionals from very different backgrounds: entrepreneurs as well as executives from investment banking, financial services, automotive, and consumer goods sectors. The spirit to excel in business leadership was amazing and lasted throughout all the modules and sessions of the program. I felt privileged to work with my high-caliber peers.

The mix of classic lectures with professors and interactive group work with peers was just perfect and allowed in-depth learning and networking. Professor Jürgen Weigand led us through the main building blocks of a business strategy, providing a step-by-step guide to develop your own business strategy. It was very hands-on and practical. The session, Managing the Unexpected, by Assistant Professor Lukas Löhlein was a great opportunity to discuss sources of strategic risks and strategic choices to manage uncertainty in business. Furthermore, Professor Dries Faems gave a deep dive into disruptive innovation: Starting with Serious Lego Play, we ended up setting up a test for a rapidly developed disruptive minimum viable product for working from home.

The sessions with James Healy (Olivier Mythodrama™) and Karsten Drath (Leadership Choices) gave a different view on leadership and individual resilience. James Healy’s Olivier Mythodrama™ was a top-class exercise in leadership psychology and behavior using core leadership archetypes when facing and managing unprecedented challenges. Executive coach Karsten Drath helped deepen one’s self-awareness as the inner source of resilience. I had the opportunity to practice various techniques and tools as well as peer coaching. In the end, Karsten helped me as well as every other program participant develop one’s individual leadership commitment.

Online sessions with Matthias Hartmann, CEO of Techem Energy Services GmbH and WHU Senior Fellow, and Tobias Rölz, Executive VP at Komax and Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA graduate, provided best practice examples of business leadership in the current #vuca world.

My main gain is the confidence to instantly use the tools and techniques whenever and wherever needed for dealing with my peers and clients. Since I could practice them in the course, I know what and how effectively works for me. I learned the habit of regularly nourishing self-reflection and thereby improving my self-awareness when coping with challenging situations, both expected and unexpected."

About the program

Designed to challenge your view on transformation, executive decision-making, and networked leadership, the Advanced Management for Senior Leaders Program will spark conversations with your peers and faculty. This empowering program consists of two in-class modules, comprised of 3 days each, and additional short online sessions in between modules.

As a takeaway, you will enhance your strategic impact and be ready to compete in market environments with disruptive innovators.

Learn more about the program

In recent years, there have been substantial shifts in the medical profession, and today’s practicing physicians increasingly need to consider aspects of business, financial planning, and leadership in their daily routines. Typically, such topics are not a part of their medical training, neither while studying nor while interning. As such, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, in conjunction with MLP School of Financial Education, has conceived a specialized Executive Education program for physicians scheduled to start on October 1, 2022.

The Advanced Management Programm für Aerztinnen/Aerzte [Advanced Management Program for Medical Doctors] is a compact, intensive course that combines interactive online trainings and in-class sessions, the latter of which will be hosted first on WHU’s Duesseldorf campus and then later on MLP’s campus in Heidelberg. The program has been tailored to fit a medical professional’s often tight schedule. The modules, which are held exclusively in German, will enhance a participant’s ability to make managerial decisions within the context of the medical profession.

Over the course of two in-person modules, reinforced by a series of shorter online workshops, participants will take a comprehensive view on a wide range of topics that touch upon everything from practical matters (e.g., taxation, finance, and the sale of practice) to more recondite subjects (e.g., leadership skills and coping mechanisms). “WHU and MLP SoFE are confident that these highly specialized experts will benefit from all that is on offer. We want to ensure that we address their specific needs with this new curriculum,” says Executive Education Director Rebecca Winkelmann. “With a mix of face-to-face and online sessions, we offer physicians a distinctly flexible format with the latest insights from health economics and leadership.” Those interested in enrolling in the program should submit their applications through the program website by mid-September at the latest.

WHU is one of Germany’s top business schools, specializing in all topics relevant to finance, entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing, and much more. With a series of open enrollment programs already globally recognized by the Financial Times, as well as numerous partnerships with institutions both inside and outside of Europe, Executive Education at WHU continues to expand its course selection. From programs in advanced management skills and specialized coaching to branding and negotiations, WHU’s catalog has been designed with today’s leaders and managers in mind.

Prospective participants can find out more information here.

On November 22, 2021, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and IESE Business School jointly kicked-off the High-Performance Board Member Program at WHU Campus Düsseldorf. It was the first module of a seven-day program which is offered in cooperation by two of the most renowned business schools in Europe.

19 C-level executives from various industries such as Software, Media, Engineering, Non-Profit, Healthcare Services, Consulting, Manufacturing & Production, and Energy experienced a vivid program mix of interactive lectures and networking opportunities. Professor Markus Rudolf, Dean of WHU, was delighted to welcome the executives during the formal dinner on the first day. “It is great to see that two of the best business schools in Europe joined their forces to offer such a high-caliber program for senior executives. It was great to welcome them at our campus in Düsseldorf coming from Portugal, Spain, Poland, Russia, Turkey, and Germany. It makes me proud that we were able to welcome back some of our WHU alumni for the program,” said Professor Markus Rudolf.

During the first part of the program, which took three days, renowned faculty from IESE and WHU including Professor Marc Sachon (IESE), Professor Serden Özcan (WHU), Professor Govert Vroom (IESE), and Professor Martin Glaum (WHU) shared their knowledge on corporate boards, including insights on disruption, and financial reports. Furthermore, Dr. Christian Vocke (Baker & McKenzie) and Jürgen Steinemann (Supervisory Board, METRO AG), shared best practice insights during their guest lectures. Module two and three will take place at the respective IESE campuses in Munich and Barcelona in spring 2022.

The High-Performance Board Member Program is most suitable for executives currently serving on boards and next-generation leaders preparing to transition to a board role. It illustrates the main challenges and responsibilities of corporate boards while using examples taken from real-life scenarios. Additionally, the program offers an opportunity to discuss current challenges in strategic corporate management on an equal footing and in a protected space. It is meant to provide a highly practice-oriented approach and is the starting point of IESE’s and WHU’s fruitful cooperation.

In November 2020, a group of 42 selected senior professionals came together in a virtual format to reflect upon their individual leadership challenges in times of a pandemic. The group of senior professionals attended inspiring sessions on crisis leadership to prepare them for events that could happen during their future time as a leader. In addition, participants were encouraged to reflect upon their personal as well as organizational resilience to cope successfully with unforeseen and stress-provoking events and change.

“I am thrilled to see that we created an intimate learning environment so that our participants had the opportunity to discuss their personal leadership challenges”, says Dr. Rebecca Winkelmann, Managing Director WHU Executive Education, who initiated the “Leading beyond the crisis” program. High-profile guest speakers from different industries complemented the academic and self-reflection sessions. They shed light upon the challenges of their corporations during the pandemic, and gave insight into innovative solutions. Participants appreciated the possibilities to personally interact during the seminar and to learn from each other in a fully virtual environment. A few of them share their personal learnings and take-aways:

“The topic and curriculum of the seminar could not have been timelier. What impressed me most was the seniority of the participants and the speed at which a mutual sense of trust was formed which, even in a fully virtual classroom, quickly fostered highly valuable discussions and peer-group connections.“

Armin Häberle, Head of Business Media Division & Managing Director „Die Stiftung“ Media GmbH

“Leading beyond the crisis Program” defined leadership differently with exchanges of real-life experiences and nowhere-to-be-found group works. Leadership during a time of crisis will never be easy, but I feel I will be able to understand the meaning, reason, and purpose better and more importantly, convey this understanding to my team.”

Ali Inal, IT Director of Enerjisa Üretim

“The Leading beyond the crisis Program successfully directed our awareness and understanding of resilience. What does resilience mean for me, my team, and the organization? How to handle the first signs of misbalance? The well-experienced coach Karsten Drath helped us gain a deeper understanding, and the exchange with peers in the online break-out groups was extremely valuable.

Friday and Saturday were filled with insights from industry speakers and consecutive deep dives into resilience. We later summarized that it was especially good to see that we were not the only ones with concerns, challenges, and questions on what this challenging time of Covid-19 is doing to us and our work lives. A lot of food for thought!”

Jutta Kaiser, Head of Retail Development - Strategy & Governance @ Customer Support at BMW AG

Fourteen participants, all working in the non-profit sector, spent five days at WHU Campus Düsseldorf where they learned new conceptual insights and discussed a wide range of topics and questions with their peers.

The agenda of the theory-based yet practice-oriented curriculum included the following topics: the effects of climate change on the foundation's work, changes in the structures of volunteer work in the civil society, and the digitalization of non-profit organizations. Furthermore, the topics of "Managing employees in VUCA environments" and the use of storytelling in management and everyday work were discussed. The speaker range included representatives of WHU, foundation managers, and other experts on focus topics.

At the end of the week, Dr. Gereon Schuch, Managing Director of the Deutsche Stiftungsakademie, concluded: "The positive feedback from the participants confirms our decision to host the program on-site in Düsseldorf. Similar to other certificate courses of DSA, the exchange in a protected environment is a significant added value for the participants, especially with regards to networking aspects.

Dr. Peter Kreutter, Director of the WHU Foundation and Faculty Director for the program added: "We are very pleased that the joint Executive Education program of DSA and WHU has taken place for the third time already and that we were able to execute it on-campus under these special circumstances. Furthermore, I would like to especially thank the Stiftung Mercator, which made it possible for representatives of small foundations and small organizations to participate in the program.”

The next program run of the "Management-Führungskräfteprogramm für Non-Profits" will take place on September 6-10, 2021 at WHU Campus Düsseldorf. You can find more information here.