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Executive Development Program
Become a Kellogg leader
Helping modern organizations thrive requires a different kind of leadership.
The Executive Development Program supports high-performing managers as they step into broader leadership roles. Through an immersive experience, participants strengthen core management practices while engaging with the strategic, organizational and leadership challenges shaping today’s business environment.Delivered through an intensive three-week on-campus experience, the program creates time and space for sustained focus, meaningful peer connection, and close engagement with faculty. Stepping away from day-to-day demands allows participants to fully engage with new perspectives, test ideas through discussion and reflect on how leadership shows up in their work.
Award-winning faculty and experienced practitioners guide participants in navigating uncertainty, leading through change, and making sound decisions in complex contexts. The program emphasizes perspective, judgment and adaptability — qualities that become increasingly important as responsibilities expand. Leaders will walk away with the skills, dexterity and confidence to find fulfillment in their work, and for the rest of their career.
Participants explore how to anticipate what’s ahead, respond with confidence and meet rising expectations in their next role and beyond.
This program is for executives who:
- Are high-performing midlevel or senior managers, functional leaders, principals of firms, or entrepreneurs preparing for general management responsibility.
- Understand that lasting professional growth comes from how leadership is practiced.
- Value diverse perspectives and rigorous discussion as part of their learning experience.
VIDEO: Learn more about Kellogg's Executive Development Program.
In-Person Experience
- Three-week in-person immersive experience
- Hosted in our Evanston and downtown Chicago Kellogg campuses
- Local hotel accommodations included in Evanston and Chicago
- Meaningful peer-to-peer interactions in the evenings
- Group outings to build networks
- Managed by a dedicated Program Manager
VIDEO: Jenny Echevarria talks about the takeaways she has from our Executive Development Program.
VIDEO: Martin Molinari talks about learning from both faculty and peers during the program.
VIDEO: Tony Isidro talks about his experience with the cohort in the program.
Curriculum
Leadership Foundations
Equip yourself with a common language to reflect on your organization and your role as a leader.
Core Business Linkages
Emphasizes the foundational business skills needed by general managers to understand and lead the workforce. Topics include:
Accounting
Learn strategies for evaluating and linking earnings and cash flow to value creation, developing a clearer understanding of corporate disclosures and non-disclosures, and how companies take advantage of allowable income-increasing strategies.
Finance
Explore cash flow analysis, capital budgeting allocation decisions and capital structure analysis, as well as models for evaluating investment alternatives and the ranking of investment projects.
Marketing
Dive into the impact of decision-driven marketing, design thinking and digital tools on the marketing function through case studies and classroom exercises.
Operations
Take a systemic view of organizations as collections of business flows and supply chains and identify key metrics for targeting improvement.
Strategy
Whether performing a competitive analysis, focusing on growth or creating a system of metrics to drive performance, this module will encourage you to ask if your organizational structures support your strategy and provide tools to drive alignment.
Managing Into the Future
Prepare for unpredictable changes in markets and the workplace, with skills ready to tackle complicated obstacles.
Motivating Your Team
Explore your own unit’s alignment to company values, identify your organization’s motivation culture and discover how it impacts performance.
Leveraging Data for Business Decisions
Learn the underlying structures designed to exploit data, and participate in exercises to analyze decisions around embedding AI and other modern technologies throughout the enterprise.
Communications Essentials for Leaders
Build your expertise in reading your audience, crafting your message and delivering it with confidence to enhance your executive presence and effectiveness as a leader.
Cross-Cultural Negotiations
Gain practical frameworks for negotiating in a globalized marketplace and new ideas and techniques from the field of dispute resolution.
EDP Coaching Package
The EDP coaching package is comprised of a Hogan leadership assessment and five 1-hour one-on-one sessions with an executive coach. Timing typically involves one session prior to the start of the program which includes an assessment debrief, two sessions during the program, and two sessions after the program ends. The fee for the EDP executive coaching experience is $3,800 USD for the assessment and coaching sessions.
Faculty and Program Leads
Julie Hennessy - Academic Director; Clinical Professor of Marketing
Gretchen Baker - Academic Leadership Team, Program Director
Program Benefits
Lead with Impact
- Harness empathy to break down silos, use storytelling to drive engagement, and embody values-based leadership to inspire the courage to move your business where it needs to go.
Expand your knowledge
- Connect the critical dots that make a successful organization run, and practice the leadership strategies essential to guiding modern workforces.
Build an influential network
- Foster connections and grow with a global group of leaders, with a lifetime of benefits.
Realize your potential
- Immerse yourself in a transformative learning experience without distraction, while blending general management principles and leadership strategies to guide your path forward.
Learn from the best and brightest
- Distinguished Kellogg faculty guide you through the program. Their backgrounds include award-winning research, consultancies with the World Bank, and former C-Suite positions.
Immerse yourself in the Kellogg way
- Our experiences are based on a human-centered philosophy that structures how we build methodologies, curriculums, relationships and culture.
Executive Scholar Benefits
When you complete the Executive Development Program, you will become an Executive Scholar with a specialization in General Management and receive the following select benefits from Kellogg:
- A Certificate of Professional Achievement, including a digital certificate for your social media profile
- A 15% discount on all Executive Education Senior Executive and Chief Officer Programs
- A 30% discount on Kellogg Executive Education individual programs
- Membership in the global Kellogg alumni network and access to the online network
- Opportunities to participate in alumni clubs and select events
- Access to cutting-edge research and thought leadership content from Kellogg faculty and leading practitioners
- A Kellogg branded email address
- Membership in a private LinkedIn group for Executive Scholars
- 10% Executive Education individual program discount for your colleagues (cannot be combined with any other offer or discount)
Incentives available for groups and teams of four or more attending open enrollment programs. Learn more
Upcoming Sessions
In-Person Sessions
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October 11 - 30, 2026 Start: October 11 at 5:00 PM End: October 30 at 11:45 AM
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$39,500
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Having trouble applying? Contact us at execed@kellogg.northwestern.edu or call 847.467.6018.
Frequently Asked Questions
Admission Criteria
An admissions committee thoroughly reviews each application and considers the nature and scope of the applicant’s responsibilities.
Kellogg expects that participants will attend all sessions, immerse themselves completely in the experience and free themselves of all other obligations while the program is in session. Class size is limited to maximize classroom and study group participation, so early application is encouraged. EDP applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed upon submission until the program fills.
Sponsorship
To enroll in the program, you must have a sponsor from your organization. This could be the person to whom you report, your organization’s Chief Human Resources Officer or the person responsible for management development in your organization. Should you be interested in self-funding your participation, please reach out to Academic Development Advisor, Nicole Schneider, to discuss options.
Language
This program and reading materials are taught in English. Strong English language skills are essential to comprehend the materials and contribute meaningfully to discussions.
Admissions Process
Class size is limited to maximize classroom and study group participation, so early application is encouraged. EDP applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed upon submission until the program fills.
Certificate
The Kellogg School of Management awards a certificate upon the successful completion of the EDP program.
Cost
The fee is payable in U.S. dollars, which covers tuition, class materials, accommodations, and most meals. Enrollment is not confirmed until full payment is received. Payment may accompany the application, or an invoice may be requested. Full payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If the participant is enrolling within 30 days of the program’s start date, full payment is due immediately. 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.
There is an additional fee of $3,800 for the optional coaching program, which covers all individual coaching sessions (during and after the program). This will be invoiced separately.
Cancellation Policy
It is important to contact us in a timely manner if you must cancel or defer your attendance. To receive a full refund of program fees, written notice of cancellation must be received more than 30 days in advance of the program start date. Participants who cancel with less than 30 days’ notice are subject to the following cancellation fees:
| Notice | Cancellation Fee |
| More than 30 days | 0% |
| 14-30 days | 50% of program fee |
| Less than 14 days | 75% of program fee |
| No show | 100% of program fee |
Do you still have questions about the Executive Development Program? Please contact us at 847.467.6018 or execed@kellogg.northwestern.edu.