Corporate Governance: Maximize Your Effectiveness in the Boardroom
Drive strategic directions and succeed as a board member
Boardroom fundamentals
Today’s organizations operate in an environment of rapid change, where strong boardroom governance is essential to sustain accountability, transparency, and trust. By focusing on the fundamentals of boardroom governance, leaders can anticipate risks, monitor performance with confidence, and respond effectively to stakeholder expectations.
Led by renowned Wharton faculty, the Corporate Governance program from Wharton Executive Education provides a curriculum focused on the responsibilities of board members, spanning financial oversight, succession planning, and strategic guidance. You will build a clear understanding of how boardroom governance translates oversight into impact, ensuring boards are positioned to lead with resilience and create long-term enterprise value.
155%
67%
Watch the program preview
Get a firsthand look at how this program strengthens your boardroom leadership and governance expertise.
Board governance outcomes
Wharton’s Corporate Governance program explores the role, structure, and responsibilities of corporate governance to help you succeed as a board member. This program will enable you to:
Define board roles, responsibilities, and leadership qualities that shape effective decision making
Strengthen proactive governance by anticipating risks and guiding board responses
Recognize key considerations of compensation and succession planning
Define strategies that enable board members, executives, and ESG integrators to make informed decisions in response to conflicting demands and societal challenges
Plan boardroom decisions that balance the competing interests of stakeholders and shareholders
Program modules
Boardroom learning experience
Discussion boards
Engage with fellow directors in governance-focused discussion boards.
Polls
Evaluate board leadership challenges and oversight issues through polls.
Reflections
Reflect on board-level decision making and governance ethics.
Industry examples
Explore governance models and compliance practices in industry examples.
Assignments
Apply board responsibilities in governance-focused assignments.
Live office hours
Discuss director challenges and oversight scenarios in live office hours.
Try-it activities
Simulate boardroom strategies in try-it activities.
Self-study quizzes
Test governance knowledge and board applications with self-study quizzes.
Board governance in action
This online program brings boardroom governance to life through board-level case studies from leading organizations. You will explore how real boards navigated challenges, made critical decisions, and shaped organizational outcomes.
Apple: board diversity in action
Examine Apple’s board demographics to understand how diversity in background, experience, and skill set strengthens governance and decision making.
Disney: Board independence and oversight
Understand the importance of board accountability and how a captive board can reduce oversight in governance via this example of Disney’s board being comprised of friends and acquaintances of its president Michael Ovitz.
Mylan: Boards and non-market pressures
Learn how Mylan’s board responded to non-market factors, including regulatory and societal expectations, and the implications for governance integrity.
Starbucks: Embedding ESG in board practices
Explore Starbucks’ governance strategies, how it takes diversity to heart, and the influence that a diverse board can have.
Wells Fargo: Lessons from governance failures
Recognize the impact of diversity in background, experience, and skill set through an analysis of Wells Fargo’s board composition.
Who is this program for?
The Corporate Governance: Maximize Your Effectiveness in the Boardroom program is designed to give participants a deeper understanding of corporate governance and help boost their effectiveness on a corporate board.
The program is ideal for:
Current board members and senior executives interested in joining a board who want to understand the various aspects of proactive governance and help drive strategic direction, risk oversight, and the establishment of compensation
C-suite executives looking to explore the duties and nuances of board service, help strengthen their company’s financial return; enterprise risk management, and governance diversity; and learn to effectively take on existing and emerging issues
Attorneys engaged in legal services who are seeking to learn the fundamentals of corporate governance from a variety of angles and how to assess the effectiveness and execution of governance roles and responsibilities
Board governance toolkit
This program enables you to explore the processes and responsibilities that drive corporate governance while equipping you with practical boardroom tools and resources. It also includes a handbook designed to help you reflect on program content and apply it to your role as a board member. Topics addressed in the handbook include:
Laying the groundwork: Draft your director bio and understand the importance of positioning yourself effectively
Conducting a personal skills audit: Use structured evaluation tools to assess your strengths and identify gaps relevant to board positions
Finding your director doppelgänger: Apply networking strategies to connect with directors whose experience and profiles mirror your target boards
Demonstrating your grit: Sharpen your ability to articulate crisis management experience with confidence
Completing a leadership style assessment: Leverage diagnostic resources to evaluate how your leadership style influences stakeholder engagement in the boardroom
Putting the pieces together: Formulate your guiding principles into a clear board value statement that communicates your fit and readiness
Board leadership success stories
Faculty
Bantwal Family Goldman Sachs Presidential Associate Professor; Associate Professor of Management, Organizational Behavior, The Wharton School
Mary-Hunter McDonnell studies organizational behavior within challenging institutional contexts, such as contentious social environments and uncertain regulatory environments....
Guest speaker
Partner, Mayer Brown
Sean McDonnell is a partner in Mayer Brown's Washington D.C. office and a member of the global litigation and dispute resolution practice. Previously, Sean was an assistant Un...
Board Governance Leadership Certificate
Upon successful completion of the program, you will earn a digital certificate of completion from Wharton Executive Education. This credential signals your readiness to contribute effectively in the boardroom and demonstrates your commitment to governance excellence.
Note: After successful completion of the online 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.
Boardroom Readiness Program
FAQs
Didn't find what you were looking for? Write to us at learner.success@emeritus.org or Schedule a call with one of our Program Advisors or call us at +1 680 205 5118 (US) / +44 185 845 9995 (UK) / +65 3135 1422 (SG)
Flexible payment options available.
Starts On