Boost Your Impact in the Board Room

Corporate boards play an increasingly vital role in today’s disruptive business landscape. As a board member, you can shape the entire future of your organization by providing guidance and oversight on crucial issues facing organizations today, ranging from risk management, business strategy, sustainability, and compliance.

Are you a senior-level executive currently serving on a corporate board, or aspiring to transition into this role? Or maybe you are a senior manager wanting to engage more effectively now with your board: This unique program was designed to give you pragmatic new insights and valuable tools to amplify your impact and secure your organization’s future.

In a dynamic learning forum, industry and academic experts from WHU and IESE Business School will accompany you to ensure you magnify your contribution in your particular role, create strategic value and ensure a sustainable competitive advantage for your organization.

Advanced Management Leadership

Suitable for participants with at least:

15YearsLeadership

20YearsWork

Program Faculty

The IESE & WHU High-Performance Board Member Program uses examples taken from real-life scenarios to illustrate the main challenges and responsibilities of corporate boards, with a focus on strategy, operations, finance, leadership, stakeholder management and the implications for family-owned businesses.

The key areas examined include:

Corporate Board Key Roles and Responsibilities
A Board Members Strategic Toolkit for long term strategy
Corporate Boards as Early Warning Systems (Governance)
Culture and Dynamics: Board/Chair/CEO
Corporate Boards and Digitalization
Navigating Disruption
Activist Shareholders
Finance, Marketing, and Operations: Essential Board Issues
Stakeholder Management
Boards, Executive Succession and Cultivating Next-Generation Leadership
Boards and Crisis Management

Teaching Methodology

The High-Performance Board Program by IESE and WHU will expand your understanding of the main responsibilities, dynamics, and strategic challenges of corporate boards and equip you with actionable insights to boost overall board performance.

With a highly practical approach, the program utilizes a number of proven academic methodologies including the case method, interactive lectures, very senior guest-speaker sessions with supervisory board members from some of Europe’s largest companies, and team-based projects.

Additionally, the program features an engaging immersive simulation that exposes participants, acting in the capacity of board members, to critical events, allowing them to navigate and make informed decisions in real-time scenarios, enhancing their readiness for the dynamic challenges of board leadership.

Two weeks before the program start, you will receive a package of pre-readings, which provide you with the theoretical groundwork to optimize both classroom time and learning outcomes.

Pragmatic understanding of the roles, responsibilities, and best practices of corporate boards and their influence on long-term success
A stronger grasp of the pivotal processes and dynamics of successful corporate boards
Frameworks for analyzing key organizational challenges in evolving institutional and disruptive digital environments
Insights for encouraging an effective board culture, with strategies for managing conflicts and boardroom power dynamics
Key competencies for cultivating strategic partnerships between the board and senior management, advancing stakeholder interests
Essential know-how for leveraging diversity to boost board performance

The High-Performance Board Member Program is designed for:

C-suite executives currently serving on corporate boards
Next-generation leaders preparing to transition to a board role
Top-level public officers
Senior managers seeking to shape and engage their board of directors
Leaders of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) dedicated to enhancing their governance skills and contributing to effective board leadership

This Program consists of three in-class modules covering 9 days in total.

Module 1 - at WHU

Nov 24, 2025 - Nov 26, 2025, Düsseldorf

Module 2 - at IESE

Feb 02, 2026 - Feb 04, 2026, Munich

Module 3 - at IESE

Mar 09, 2026 - Mar 11, 2026, Barcelona

Join Our Upcoming Online Session for Board Members:

Reflections about Good Board Practices

Join WHU Executive Education and IESE Business School for an exclusive online session with IESE Professor Marc Sachon and special guest Dr. Thomas Loesler, Head of the Supervisory Board Office at Allianz.

The session will explore key questions around board effectiveness, such as how the selection and onboarding of board members impact performance and why meeting minutes are more important than you might think.

Participants are encouraged to actively engage in the discussion and share their experiences, making this a valuable exchange for current and aspiring board members.

Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.

Engage in an interactive discussion led by IESE Professor Marc Sachon and Dr. Thomas Loesler, Head of the Supervisory Board Office at Allianz, as they explore what defines good board practices and why they matter.
Gain valuable insights into board member selection, effective onboarding, and the often-overlooked role of meeting minutes in shaping board performance.
Learn how the WHU and IESE Business School's High-Performance Board Member Program can help you gain a better understanding of the workings, responsibilities, and dynamics of a corporate board.

Dr. Thomas Loesler brings extensive international experience in compliance and corporate governance. After earning his doctorate in law from the University of Würzburg, he held senior roles at Deutsche Bank and Allianz, including nearly a decade as Group Chief Compliance Officer at Allianz. He has also served on the boards of several Allianz entities across Europe. Since 2022, he has led the Supervisory Board Office at Allianz.

Registration for the program entails a four-part process:

Complete and submit an online application.
You will receive an email from the Executive Education Department to acknowledge receipt of your application and provide information on program dates, preparatory study materials and payment details.
Payment must be received before the start of the program and submission of preparatory materials. This is a prerequisite to take part in the program.
Two weeks before the start date, you will receive an email with a username to access to IESE’s Virtual Campus, which contains all the necessary study materials.

Apply now!

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High-Performance Board Member Program

Boost Your Impact in the Board Room

Program Content

Program Benefits

Participant Profile

Program Format and Module Dates

Reflections about Good Board Practices