This program is designed for senior executives who possess cross-functional or general management responsibilities and are looking to enhance their strategy and decision making processes. These individuals have between fifteen and twenty-five years of experience and hold profit and loss responsibility.

Candidates are chosen not only for what they can learn and implement but also for what they can contribute to the overall program experience. AEP is founded upon the premise that the alchemy of today’s top practitioners and leading academics—in an environment dedicated to progress in the field of management—can produce innovative results. AEP participants have reached, or are preparing to reach, the top levels of leadership in their organizations. They are sponsored by their organizations and demonstrate outstanding initiative, drive, and managerial accomplishments.

Members of AEP come from highly diverse backgrounds, and a little over half are from outside the United States. They represent a wide variety of industries ranging from manufacturing and services to not-for-profit and government.

1. C-Level executives, presidents, and vice presidents
2. Division directors, area directors, and senior managers

AEP Participating Organizations
Blue Cross & Blue Shield Briggs & Stratton Cathay Pacific Airways Cisco Systems Deutsche Bank Ernst & Young ExxonMobil GE Aviation Genentech	Johnson & Johnson Kohler Mitsui Monsanto Pfizer Inc. Roche Diagnostics Sunmicro Systems Unilever U.S. Navy

During AEP, you will:

1. Gain an understanding of the present and future role of the general manager
2. Examine the current international sociopolitical and economic environment and its effects on business
3. Update your knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of each functional area
4. Identify and evaluate market-driven strategies for an organization
5. Manage strategic and other organizational changes by identifying barriers and increasing your organization's flexibility and responsiveness
6. Sharpen your skills in evaluating strategic options, sustaining marketplace advantages, identifying performance issues, and making quality decisions
7. Broaden your perspective and expand your peer network

The Program Philosophy

As a general manager, you are responsible for the strategy and performance of your organization. Here at the Kellogg School, we understand that general management is not just a higher form of functional management; rather, it involves far more complexity, conflict, ambiguity, and accountability. Although a decision may seem clear from a functional perspective, the general manager recognizes that it may involve multiple trade offs and hidden risks. 

Over the years, the Kellogg faculty has developed a unique curriculum and teaching methods for the general manager. Our first order of business is to provide you with the tools, conceptual frameworks, and metrics that you need to navigate the general manager's world. We also provide exercises that demonstrate how to apply this information precisely as the general manager should — in a holistic and integrated fashion. While customers and competitors receive in-depth treatment, we also recognize that many non-market players, such as the press, special interest groups, and governments, may significantly affect your organization's performance. Strategies must also be developed to address the unique needs of these stakeholders.

Maximizing Your Experience
The Kellogg School recognizes the commitment you must make to spend a month of your time away from the office, and our executive education programs have been recognized again and again for providing incredible value for both time and money. Our senior faculty have designed an intense and interactive learning experience with a scope and depth of coverage that rivals much longer programs. We have paid careful attention to the pacing and sequencing of each section. Your time here will be spent well, to say the least.

Becoming a More Effective General Manager
Since its first class in 1951, the curriculum of the Advanced Executive Program (AEP) has constantly evolved to embrace the issues of the day and the latest management research and thinking. The emphasis is clearly on charting strategic direction and building a shared vision of the future for your organization. Vision in the absence of execution is simply status quo. Thus, AEP provides you with the general manager’s toolkit for leading and managing the strategic change process and inspires you to put new ideas into action when you return to your organization.

Taking on New Perspectives
The Kellogg School’s participants in AEP come from many different types of companies and industries: large and small, for-profit and not-for-profit, domestic and global, commercial and governmental, capital-intensive and people-intensive. What all of you will have in common, however, are three things: extensive and varied managerial experience, the desire to be highly effective general managers, and the need to bring a renewed sense of purpose and excitement to already successful careers. Reenergizing a successful Management Career AEP offers you an opportunity to question your fundamental assumptions about leadership, discard outdated paradigms, gain an appreciation for the latest thinking, and develop insights into your personal management style. The program inundates you with new ideas, reenergizes your vision, and provides you with a network of new colleagues from a multitude of organizations around the globe.

Collaborating with Peers
The live-in learning experience builds both formal and informal exchanges of ideas into the program. Teamwork and collaboration are hallmarks of the Kellogg School experience, and they have contributed to our position as a premier global resource for management leadership education. Discussion groups, case studies and team projects stimulate fresh thinking and encourage you to reexamine and reformulate both your professional and personal goals and strategies. To provide an exceptional level of peer learning, the AEP admissions committee carefully assembles classes with comparable managerial experience from diverse industries, companies and continents.

Applied, Integrated, Real Time Learning
Because the defining challenge of general management is the integration of all organization functions around an explicit strategy, a hallmark of the AEP is the “live” case exercise during the fourth week. This unique and exciting assignment requires participants to apply the program’s concepts, tools, and best practices, as well as their extensive experience, to an actual organization in real time. The integrative case is “live” in the sense that the class has the opportunity to question in-depth the case company’s senior management team and to present their ideas and recommendations directly to the company’s CEO.

During a recent AEP, the live case was a publicly held manufacturer, distributor and marketer of prestige fragrances, skin care products and cosmetics. A recent acquisition had doubled the size of the company with dramatic and far-reaching implications:

1. International sales increased 50x and added distribution in ninety countries;
2. The fundamental nature of the business changed from distributing the brands of other companies to a much greater share of sales and profits emanating from owned and licensed brands; and
3. A large number of brands were added to their portfolio, as well as products in new categories.

In addition to the immediate challenges of integrating the acquisition and restructuring the balance sheet, the company’s markets and distribution channels were undergoing fundamental changes. Men were increasingly using “beauty” products, along with rapid growth in Hispanic and Asian segments. This was accompanied by a shift in distribution channels from traditional department stores to mass retailers, the Internet, and specialty stores, especially in Europe. The company was facing serious channel conflict. Working in small teams and thoroughly briefed by the company’s leadership team, the class’s assignment was to recommend to the CEO a strategy for the future. Of particular importance were the organizational arrangements — culture, structure, skills, information, and people — in support of the envisioned strategy. Following the presentations, the CEO answered questions and provided the class with his reactions to their ideas and fielded a wide variety of questions.

Senior members of the Kellogg School of Management's faculty designed the AEP curriculum to explore the environment in which business operates, the functional areas of management, the development and implementation of corporate and business unit strategy, and the promotion of organizational learning.

Week 1
Offering both a domestic and global perspective, AEP gives general managers an in-depth understanding of the environment in which organizations operate, including the social, political, competitive, and economic forces that shape strategy and performance. Some of the specific Week One topics include:

1. The Economy and Macroeconomic Policy
2. The Ethical Environment of Management
3. International Macroeconomics and the Financial Crisis
4. Money, the Federal Reserve, and the Dollar
5. Crisis Anticipation and Strategic Crisis Management
6. Stakeholder Management

Week One also starts an entire track devoted to strategic management, a topic that is emphasized throughout the four weeks. Strategic management topics include:

1. Strategic Thinking: Concepts and Issues
2. Strategic Management Foundation
3. Concept of Synergy
4. Setting Business-Unit Objectives
5. High Performance Business Strategy

Weeks 2 and 3
These weeks offer a solid grounding in managerial functions and cover finance, accounting, marketing, and information technology from a general management perspective.

Finance: Evaluation of Investment Programs, Cost of Capital, Strategic Investments, Futures and Options

Accounting: Financial Reporting Issues, Performance Evaluation and Transfer Pricing, Cost Allocations and Strategic Cost Management

Marketing: Competitive Marketing Strategy, Competitive Brand Strategy

Operations and IT: Strategic Role of Operations, Sourcing and Risk in the Supply Chain, Competing on Agility, Driving Growth and Innovation

Each function is thoroughly reviewed and includes an examination of the decisions made, the information required to make the decisions, and the latest tools and concepts for approaching them. Those who have extensive experience in a given function benefit from reviews of recent trends and enrich group discussions by contributing their experience.


Week 4
In the final week of AEP, you will integrate your new knowledge and skills and focus on coordinating cross-functional implementation strategies. The week includes a real-world case study written and team-taught by AEP faculty. You will generate solutions and meet the top managers of the case company to present your recommendations.

Since general managers are responsible for the strategy and performance of their organizations, they are clearly in leadership positions. Thus, the second theme of the concluding AEP week is the latest thinking about leadership. Specifically, we address:

1. What general managers need to know about leading high impact teams
2. The role of the general manager in organizational communications and learning
3. Best practices in the art of executive decision making
4. Innovative and collaborative leadership for the general manager

Educating Mind, Body and Spirit
AEP is an all-encompassing experience and the first week includes sessions devoted to maximizing physical energy and the power of full engagement. In this spirit, Kellogg promotes both a healthy body and a healthy mind with our fitness program. An optional health assessment and fitness class are offered during the program.

AEP: Week One
	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Sunday		Program Introduction	Study Groups
Monday	Strategic Thinking	Concept of Synergy	Maximizing Physical Energy
Tuesday	Stakeholder Management	Macroeconomic Policy	Ethical Environment
Wednesday	Ethical Environment	Money, the Federal reserve and the Dollar	Orientation
Thursday	Monetary Policy and the Dollar	Strategic Crisis Management	The Power of Full Engagement
Friday	HigInternational Economic Development	Crisis Management Simulation	Application Workshop
Saturday	Setting Business Unit Objectives	Chicago Tour	Free Time
AEP: Week Two
	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Sunday	Free Time	Accounting Tutorial	Understanding Organization
Monday	Financial Reporting	Performance Evaluation and Transfer Pricing	Free Time
Tuesday	Strategic Role of Operations	Providing Accurate Response in the Supply Chain	Leadership and Organizational Communication
Wednesday	Innovation in a Networked World	Perspectives on Innovation	Study Groups
Thursday	Organizations: Strategy, Structure, and Behavior	Strategic Alliances	Course Application Workshop
Friday	Leading Teams	Supply Chain	Free Time
Saturday	Free Time	Free Time	Free Time
AEP: Week Three
	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Sunday	Individual Study	Finance Tutorial	Study Groups
Monday	Evaluation of Investment Programs	Advanced Market Strategy and Exectuive Guest Lecture	Individual Study
Tuesday	Cost of Capital	Perspective on Business Innovation	Study Groups
Wednesday	Strategic Investment	Organizational Culture	Innovation in a Networked World
Thursday	Competitive Brand Strategy	Advanced Marketing Strategy ll	Dinner Off Campus
Friday	Futures and Options	Differentiation t Achieve Customer Advantage	Free Time
Saturday	Innovative Products and Solutions	Free Time	Free Time
AEP: Week Four
	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Sunday	Individual Study	Individual Study	Introduction to Integrative Case
Monday	Leadership and Organizational Communication	Executive Decision Making	Alumni Presentation
Tuesday	Integrative Case	Integrative Case	Case Work Groups
Wednesday	Integrative Case	Case Work Groups and Course Application Workshop	Prepare Case Presentations
Thursday	Integrative Case Presentations	Leadership: Four Essential Qualities	Concluding Dinner
Friday	Leadership, Innovation, and Collaboration	Closing Reception

Sponsorship
All applicants to AEP must be sponsored by their organizations. A sponsor is someone who is familiar with the applicant's background and motivations for attending AEP. The sponsor should be the person to whom the candidate reports, the organization's chief human resource officer, or the person responsible for management development.


Admissions Criteria
An admissions committee thoroughly reviews each application and considers the nature and scope of the applicant's responsibilities. For the benefit of the class, sponsoring organizations, and the program, the committee seeks to admit people with comparable management responsibilities who have diverse skills and experiences.


Language
Strong English language speaking, reading, and writing skills are imperative. The faculty and other participants will expect you to be able to contribute fully to classroom and study group discussions.

It is expected that AEP participants will immerse themselves completely in the experience and be free of all other duties. Participants are expected to attend all sessions except in the case of an emergency.


Admissions Process
Class size is limited to maximize classroom and study group participation, so early application is encouraged. AEP applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed upon submission until the program fills. For your convenience, you may apply on-line or download an application and mail it in. 


Certificate
The Kellogg School of Management awards a certificate upon the successful completion of the AEP program. Along with the certificate, participants also receive benefits as executive education alumni of the
Kellogg School of Management. 


Cost
The enrollment fee covers tuition, class materials, accommodations and most meals. Payment is due in US dollars upon receipt of invoice. Enrollments in Kellogg programs are highly competitive, and places will not be guaranteed until your payment is received.

It is expected that applicants have their own health insurance valid in the United States. The University is not responsible for medical expenses incurred by participants during the program.


Cancellation Policy
Because attendance at a Kellogg School executive program requires significant advance preparation and demand often exceeds capacity, it is important that you contact us in a timely manner if you must cancel or defer your attendance. To receive a full refund of tuition, notice of cancellation must be received more than 30 days in advance of the program start date. Participants who cancel less than 30 days in advance will not receive a refund but may nominate an acceptable substitute or attend a future session of the same program within one year.

Albert Isenman - Academic Director; Clinical Professor of Management & Strategy; Director of Custom Programs, Executive Education

Michelle L. Buck - Clinical Professor of Management & Organizations; Director of Leadership Initiatives

Stephen Burnett - Professor of Management & Strategy

Gregory Carpenter - James Farley/Booz Allen Hamilton Professor of Marketing Strategy; Director of the Center for Market Leadership; Faculty Director, Kellogg Markets and Customers Initiative (KMCI)

Sunil Chopra - IBM Professor of Operations Management and Information Systems

Daniel Diermeier - IBM Professor of Regulation and Competitive Practice; Director of the Ford Motor Company Center for Global Citizenship

Ronald Dye - Leonard Spacek Professor of Accounting Information & Management

Janice C. Eberly - James R. and Helen D. Russell Professor of Finance

Martin Eichenbaum - Professor of Economics, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences; Professor of Executive MBA, Kellogg School of Management

Harry M. Kraemer - Clinical Professor of Management & Strategy

Lakshman Krishnamurthi - A. Montgomery Ward Professor of Marketing

Robert Magee - Keith I. DeLashmutt Professor of Accounting Information & Management; Director, Accounting Research Center

J. Keith Murnighan - Harold H. Hines Jr. Professor of Risk Management

Artur Raviv - Alan E. Peterson Professor of Finance

Mohanbir Sawhney - Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation Clinical Professor of Technology; Director of the Center for Research in Technology & Innovation

Beverly Walther - Professor of Accounting Information & Management