Course Preview | Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Program from Wharton Executive Education

Greetings everyone, and welcome to our Chief Technology Officer Program. I am Lori Rosenkopf, and I am honored to serve as the academic director of your program. In this video, I’d like to give you a brief overview of the 18 weeks of the program's core content. This content has been designed by 10 of our most prominent faculty, specialists in technology-focused topics, such as innovation management, strategy, and entrepreneurship. I’m so excited for you to see them and learn along with them. And also, for you to build your networks in this amazing cohort of learners, who have joined the program.

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Our 18 weeks of core content are organized into three phases: Technology strategy, trends in technology,  and then tools, techniques, and execution. During each six-week phase, you’ll get to meet either three or four of our terrific faculty members. So, let’s look at each phase in a little more detail. Phase I covers technology strategy. I’ll work with you during weeks one and two to discuss the CTO role, its responsibilities, and relationships, and we’ll also consider the challenge of embracing more radical innovation, while simultaneously managing incremental improvements in existing businesses. During week two, we’ll cover some fundamental building blocks that you will return to, throughout the program: basics of strategy, models of technological change, and principles of network theory.

During weeks three and four, Professor David Hsu will join us to cover technology strategy from an attacker's perspective. First, the generation and evaluation of commercial ideas, and then, specific entry strategy.  Professor Rahul Kapoor will close out our technology strategy phase during weeks five and six, with an established firm lens on strategic adaptation and renewal, and then, an examination of the ecosystems where collaboration is required. Phase II focuses on trends in technology, and Professor Sonny Tambe will join us in weeks seven and eight to help us understand current trends in artificial intelligence and machine learning,  and their competitive implications for your technology strategy.

We’ll follow that up with Professor Kevin Werbach, who will address blockchain, cryptocurrency, and then broader technology policy, in weeks nine and ten. Professor Zeke Hernandez will join us in week 11, to discuss the implications of talent and knowledge clusters for your technology and personnel requirements.  And we’ll close Phase II with Professor Witold Henisz introducing environmental, social, and governance aspects that impact the CTO role. Phase III introduces tools and techniques that can help you execute effectively. Professor Gad Allon will cover scaling businesses in week 13, and appropriate metrics in week  14. He’ll be followed by Professor Karl Ulrich, who will help you think more deeply about assessing risk and uncertainty in innovation in week 15 and then cover design thinking and agile development in week 16.

Last but not least, our closer is Professor Harbir Singh, who’ll offer an integrated perspective on exploring new product domains in week 17, and then, on effective acquisitions and strategic partnerships in week 18.  As you can see, we have got a great slate of faculty and content, and I cannot wait to get started. Best wishes for a wonderful journey with us, and I will see you again soon.
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