Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Program
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Program overview: The CTO Program
The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Program from Wharton Executive Education equips senior technology leaders and aspiring CTOs to align innovation with business strategy and lead enterprise transformation. In a business economy that’s rapidly changing with emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, the CTO must act as both strategist and change agent, driving sustainable growth and competitive advantage for their organizations.
Led by Wharton’s world-renowned faculty, this 9- to 12-month program combines technology strategy, emerging trends, and execution frameworks with customizable electives. You emerge with the strategic insight, leadership mindset, and advanced tools to champion innovation, scale technology solutions, and shape the future of your enterprise.
Wharton's Chief Technology Officer Program equips leaders with expertise in technology strategy, trends, and execution. The customized learning journey is tailored for senior executives to evaluate technology trends, hone strategic acumen, and determine the most efficient ways to address the role of a CTO.
Past participant profiles
The Wharton Executive Education CTO Program attracts individuals who have diverse backgrounds, come from different industries, and bring unique experiences. The inclusive nature of the cohort ensures that you engage with like-minded peers and gain valuable insights to address the challenges faced by your organization.
Past participants till date
Work experience
Top industries
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Where past participants come from
Disclaimer: All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Use of product and company names does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by the holders.
The list of companies is only indicative and not exhaustive.
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What past participants say about the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Program
Who is the CTO Program for?
The Wharton Executive Education CTO Program is designed for senior technology leaders who are ready to expand their influence from technical oversight to enterprise-wide strategy. It is ideal for:
Current and aspiring CTOs seeking to strengthen their strategic technology leadership capacity and drive business transformation
Senior technology executives, including VPs of engineering or heads of architecture, responsible for shaping and executing technology strategy
Senior technology leaders tasked with evaluating, adopting, and scaling emerging innovations to deliver enterprise growth
Participants are required to have:
A minimum of 10 years of work experience
Fluency in written and spoken English
Learning outcomes: CTO Program
The Wharton Executive Education's CTO Program will enable you to:
Explore strategy, adaptation, and renewal in organizations
Investigate ideation and entry strategies for organizations and ecosystems
Examine implications of technology trends: blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and talent clusters and migration
Survey organizational privacy policies and environmental, social, and governance practices
Relate risk and uncertainty in innovation
Consider effective frameworks and metrics of an organization’s readiness to scale
Investigate new product domains, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships
Learning Journey
The Wharton CTO Program is designed with the needs of busy executives in mind. You will learn through online sessions, including fireside chats and guest lectures from leading researchers and global industry leaders. The flexible format of the CTO Program allows you to customize your learning journey for maximum career and business impact.
Note: A registration fee of US$250 is applicable for the on-campus event.
What you will learn in the CTO Program
The CTO Program will enable forward-thinking executives like you to learn from a cutting-edge curriculum that reflects current industry trends. The program is organized into two components — 18 weeks of core modules followed by three online electives of six weeks each.
The program’s core modules are divided into three overarching pillars — Technology Strategy; Trends in Technology; and Tools, Techniques, and Execution. Led by esteemed Wharton faculty and industry experts who are at the cutting edge of innovation, the CTO Program prepares you to be a strategic CTO capable of bringing about transformative change.
Live faculty-led online sessions
As part of the CTO Program, you will engage in case study discussions and explore real-world applications of cutting-edge research through live online sessions led by Academic Director Lori Rosenkopf. Gain valuable insights into industry challenges and opportunities, with a focus on emerging technologies, digital transformation, and innovation.
Case Study 1: Deloitte Pixel -
Discuss ambidextrous organizations, disruption, and change management as key to unlocking technology's value.
Case Study 2: Online Education in Elite Business Schools -
Understand approach to buy, borrow, or build when it comes to entering new markets/implementing new technologies.
Research Applications Deep Dive -
Explore the impact of networks, mobility, and influence in tech-driven industries.
Integrated live webinars on AI and ML advancements
In addition to the core curriculum, the CTO Program features a series of live webinars dedicated to the latest trends in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). With a special focus on emerging technologies like generative AI (genAI), these webinars provide cutting-edge insights and practical applications to help you leverage these technologies effectively in your organization.
Join industry leaders and experienced faculty for in-depth discussions and thought-provoking lectures on how AI/genAI is enhancing productivity and customer experience and how ML is transforming industries by enabling strategic decision making, automating complex processes, fostering responsible innovation, and driving ethical governance.
The webinars are designed to help participants like you stay ahead in the fast-evolving technological landscape and gain practical AI/ML skills.
| 1 | How LLMs Took the World By Storm Explore how AI and ML can drive strategic decision making, optimize business processes, and unlock new opportunities for growth. |
| 2 | LLM Challenges in the Workplace Understand how professionals are leveraging emerging technologies like AI, genAI, and ML to reshape workforce dynamics, adapt to big data-driven processes, and foster innovation, redefining the human-AI collaboration frontier. |
| 3 | Frameworks for Accountable AI: AI Laws, Regulation, and Governance Dive into the evolving regulatory landscape of AI, discussing key laws, governance frameworks, and strategies for implementing responsible AI practices. |
Note: Topics and the schedule are subject to change.
Recognition ceremony and networking event (two days | on campus)
Meet your cohort peers and faculty in person on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia at an optional two-day recognition ceremony and networking event*. This event takes place once every four cohorts. It gives you the opportunity to network with not just your peers but also professionals from other cohorts.
*A registration fee of US$250 is applicable.
Executive reflection: CTO Program
Over the course of the CTO Program, you will work on a reflection journal by leveraging program insights and apply them to analyze challenges in your current or previous organization. For the executive reflection, you will select an issue currently confronting your organization and develop a set of potential solutions to remedy the situation. You can take advantage of weekly live sessions and the Slack channel to ask questions and discuss ideas with your success coach and cohort peers.
At the end of the program, you will make a final presentation, which will be a valuable asset when proposing initiatives to decision makers in your organization.
There are three reflection journal submissions in total — one at the end of each phase:
Week 1: Initiate your project by determining a technology challenge or initiative for your organization.
Week 6: Examine the experiences of implementing technology strategies to address the challenge at an organizational leadership level.
Week 12: Examine the experiences of implementing technology trends to refine the chosen initiative or challenge.
Week 18: Examine the tools, techniques, and methods for implementing the initiative and assess its deployment.
All reflection journal submissions and the final presentation of the executive reflection are required to complete this program.
Meet the faculty
World-renowned Wharton faculty in the CTO Program will prepare modern technology leaders to face a wide array of challenges. You will leverage their insights and domain expertise to better understand your business and industry and immediately apply the learnings to your organization.
Academic Director for the CTO Program, Wharton Executive Education; Simon and Midge Palley Professor; Professor of Management; Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship, The Wharton School
Jeffrey A. Keswin Professor; Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions; Director, Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, The Wharton School
Richard A. Sapp Professor; Professor of Management, The Wharton School
Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management; Director, Wharton Political Risk Lab; Founder, Wharton ESG Analytics Lab, The Wharton School
Max and Bernice Garchik Family Presidential Professor of Management, The Wharton School
Professor of Management, The Wharton School
Mack Professor; Professor of Management; Co-Director, Mack Institute for Innovation Management; Wharton School Faculty Director for the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, The Wharton School
Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions, The Wharton School
CIBC Endowed Professor; Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions; Professor of Management, The Wharton School
Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics, The Wharton School
Program highlights
Customize your learning journey with a choice of electives in topics aligned with your career goals.
Learn at your own pace with a weekly commitment of three to five hours of sessions and activities.
Glean insights from renowned Wharton faculty and industry experts who are at the cutting edge of innovation.
Network with accomplished peers from around the globe and gain new approaches to strategic technology leadership.
Engage with your success coach to craft your learning journey through regular check-in sessions.
Benefit from experiential sessions combining theory with case studies on real-world technology challenges and apply learnings.
Meet peers from multiple cohorts and faculty during the optional two-day on-campus networking event.
Following successful completion of the program and subsequent open-enrollment programs, subject to further qualification criteria and additional tuition, you have a pathway to apply for Wharton alumni status.
Pathway to Wharton alumni status
For more than 135 years, Wharton has been the place where visionaries, inventors, and trailblazers get their start. After completing the CTO 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 CTO Program have the option of applying to the General Management Program (GMP). The GMP provides further opportunity to enhance your leadership skills and business acumen with a flexible curriculum. The CTO Program provides one credit towards the six required to complete the GMP and earn alumni status. More details on the GMP are available at Wharton Executive Education.
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 email address
Certificate
Earn a Wharton Executive Education digital certificate upon successful completion of the CTO Program. As a past participant of this transformative program, you get exclusive access to a wide range of professionals, events, and networking opportunities. Furthermore, you can also benefit from additional tuition assistance upon enrolling in further online electives from Wharton Executive Education.
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 Chief Technology Officer (CTO) 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.
FAQs
Connect with a program advisor for a 1:1 session
Our program advisors have helped senior executives across the world choose the right program for their career goals. Schedule a 1:1 to get a deeper understanding on why the CTO Program is the right fit for you.
Email: wharton_cto@emeritus.org
Phone: +1 561 486 7448 (U.S.) / +44 1135 191350 (U.K.) / +971 80 0088601095 (U.A.E.) / +52 55970 90243 (LATAM)
Early applications are encouraged. Admissions are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Flexible payment options available.
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