Risk Management for Corporate Leaders

Integrating Best Practices for Superior Strategy Execution

As companies adapt to the aftershocks of the global recession, risk management is a top priority for their senior executives and boards—and for those of nonprofit and public-sector enterprises as well. The financial crisis revealed that risk management processes cannot be effective if they are siloed and fragmented, and that senior executives must understand the assumptions and data used in those processes. To address these challenges, HBS Executive Education has developed Risk Management for Corporate Leaders. In this program, you will learn how to identify the different types of risk facing your company, achieve an appropriate balance between innovation and risk, and protect your company from the consequences of uncertain and unexpected events.

What You Can Expect

This comprehensive program explores the insights, frameworks, and tools needed to classify and measure your company's level of risk. By examining the latest research and best practices, you will learn how to drive and preserve enterprise value across your organization. Key topics include:

Your Course of Study

Through real-world case studies, the program will explore the many ways that strategies and enterprises can fail—as well as how to recognize and avoid these risks. You will learn how to develop and implement effective risk management processes that anticipate, prioritize, mitigate, and manage threats across the enterprise, ranging from failures in compliance and internal controls to risks emanating from strategy to risks caused by external, uncontrollable events. Equipped with the skills to integrate risk management processes with effective strategy execution, you will return to your company ready to pursue highly innovative and potentially high-reward strategies.

Who Is Right for the Program

This program is intended for senior leaders with significant corporate management responsibilities, from chief executive officers, chief operating officers, and chief risk officers to general managers, divisional directors, and divisional leaders. Senior general managers and executive teams responsible for executing and controlling strategy are encouraged to apply. Participants will apply the latest thinking and management tools to address threats before they escalate into crises.

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What You Can Expect

Managing Risk to Drive Value

Designed to help business leaders reassess their approach to risk management, this Executive Education program explores why some companies fail despite having sophisticated models of risk exposure. You will learn why risk management must be a key responsibility for senior executive leadership and corporate boards. Knowing when to turn down seemingly profitable opportunities that could expose your company to excessive risks, you will be better able to drive—and preserve—value across your business.

Turning Risk into Opportunity

By exploring the three levels of risk hierarchy, you will learn how to build and integrate processes that anticipate, prioritize, and mitigate threats across the enterprise. In addition to determining which risks your company should insure or hedge against, you will analyze which risks to retain, mitigate, and manage internally as part of your corporate strategy. Equipped with a personal Key Risk Indicator scorecard that incorporates risk into strategy execution, you will return to your company better prepared to turn short-range risks into long-term opportunities.

"The biggest benefits for me have been the opportunity to walk away with other perspectives on risk, some structured exposure to real-life cases, and more insight into how people have reacted and coped in these situations. This will clearly have an impact on my approach to risk and managerial challenges in the future."
Vince Nicoletti [CFO, Marketing and Commercial], BHP Billiton International Metals, The Netherlands

Your Course of Study

In Risk Management for Corporate Leaders, you will learn how public and private organizations are using cutting-edge methodologies to drive and to preserve enterprise value. As you work through a rich learning experience that blends faculty lectures, case studies, group discussions, scenario planning, and war-gaming exercises, you will expand your capacity to connect strategy formulation to risk management.

The curriculum focuses on five key areas:

Recognizing and avoiding the risks from unexpected and undesirable employee behavior

Integrating risk management into strategy formulation and strategy execution processes

Managing the risks from external, noncontrollable events

Responding to reputational and brand risks

Organizing, managing, and governing the risk management function

Maintaining the creative tension between high innovation and risk management

"The pitch of the course filled a critical gap post global financial crisis. In particular, the scenario-planning session and the courses that had a multimedia dimension had a strong impact. From my personal perspective, it was a wonderful experience—I wish I had done it 10 years ago. Not only have I been raving about the experience, but I am sending the HBS courses link to friends and colleagues as well."
Peter Deans [Director], Alma Grove Consulting Pty Ltd, Australia

Who Is Right for the Program

Risk Management for Corporate Leaders is intended specifically for participants who have significant corporate management responsibilities. Typical titles include, but are not limited to:

"As always at HBS, I looked forward to creating a network of professionals who work on common problems. I also had the opportunity to test and challenge my accumulated insights and opinions on the broad area of risk management. This included listening to the thinking and framing of the subject through the faculty and case studies, absorbing the class contributions for new ideas, and confirming some enduring aspects of managing risk across the worlds of business and government."
Nick Chipman [Partner], PwC, Australia

Meet the Program Faculty

Like all Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, Risk Management for Corporate Leaders is developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors. Our faculty members are widely recognized for being skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors.

Through publishing, consulting, and teaching, they leverage their business expertise and field research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking and encouraging new practices that result in superior business leadership. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.

Paul M. Healy, James R. Williston Professor of Business Administration and Henry B. Arthur Fellow. Senior Associate Dean, Director of Research; and member of the Accounting and Management Unit. Faculty chair of "Audit Committees in a New Era of Governance" and "Strategic Financial Analysis for Business Evaluation”; and faculty cochair of "Leadership in Financial Organizations."

Robert S. Kaplan, Baker Foundation Professor. Member of the Accounting and Management Unit; faculty chair of "Risk Management for Corporate Leaders: Integrating Best Practices for Superior Strategy Execution"; and faculty cochair of "Driving Corporate Performance: Aligning Scorecards, Systems, and Strategy" and "Value Measurement for Health Care."

Anette Mikes, Assistant Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Accounting and Management Unit.

Robert L. Simons, Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Accounting and Management Unit; and faculty cochair of "Driving Corporate Performance: Aligning Scorecards, Systems, and Strategy."

Admissions

Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.

Fees, Payments, and Cancellations

The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.

No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check, bank wire transfer, or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa). Details are included on the program invoice.

If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.

Requirements

Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.

HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.

Language Proficiency

We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.

Application Process

Program participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.

To apply, you may use our online form or download an application. You also may request a brochure by mail.

If you submit your application online, we will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submission via email. In the unlikely event that an email acknowledgment is not received, please contact the Admissions Committee by email: exed_admissions@hbs.edu, phone: +1-617-495-6226, or fax: +1-617-496-1731.

If you choose to submit a printed application, be sure to type or print legibly and sign your application. Send the application to the address or fax number listed on the form. Mailed or faxed applications are processed and acknowledged promptly upon receipt via email.

Complete Your Application

Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.

Meet the Deadlines

We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.

Notification of Acceptance

We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.

To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.

The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.

Need help?

For further assistance, contact our client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).