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:

Risk and Strategic Management as a Board Function

Join WHU Executive Education and IESE Business School for an exclusive online session on June 24 with WHU Professor Lutz Johanning and special guest Bernhard Günther, Member of the Supervisory Board of ThyssenKrupp AG.

The session will explore key questions around risk management, regulation, and board responsibilities, black swans and macro-risks, exploring real-world case studies, integration of risk and strategic management. In addition, you will experience a live AI analysis.

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: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Engage in an interactive discussion led by WHU Professor Lutz Johanning and Bernhard Günther, Member of the Supervisory Board of ThyssenKrupp AG, as they explore Risk and Strategic Management as a Board Function.
Gain valuable insights into risk management, regulation, and board responsibilities, black swans and macro-risks, exploring real-world case studies, integration of risk and strategic management.
In addition, you will experience a live AI analysis.
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.

Lutz Johanning has held the Chair of Empirical Capital Market Research at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management since 2007 and is Associate Dean Executive Education & Business Engagement since October 2024. His research focuses on capital market efficiency, best execution, risk and cost transparency, and behavioral economics. He is also Scientific Director at Source For Alpha AG and Senior Advisor at the B2B financing platform credX. He serves in the advisory boards of BSW, EFF, and FIRM and was member in various supervisory boards i. a. Union Asset Management Holding AG and vwd AG. From 2008 until 2022, he was member of the Eurex exchange council. From 2015 to 2020, he advised as a member of the EU’s Consultative Expert Group the EU supervisory bodies ESMA, EBA, and EIOPA for the PRIIPs regulation.

Bernhard Günther was Group CFO at RWE, innogy, and Fortum, where he led major transformation projects such as the RWE–innogy split, innogy’s integration into E.On, and preparations for the Fortum–Uniper merger. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of St. Gallen and started his career in consulting before joining RWE in 1999. His roles spanned finance, power generation, and energy trading. Over time, his focus expanded from finance and strategy to systemic and cultural aspects of leadership. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of ThyssenKrupp AG.

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

Risk and Strategic Management as a Board Function

Risk and Strategic Management as a Board Function