Kellogg School of Management Launches Executive Program to Accelerate Development of the Chief Marketing Officer

EVANSTON, Ill., May 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University has announced the launch of an executive development program designed for the next generation of Chief Marketing Officers: The Kellogg CMO Program. This program is the first offered by a premier business school to focus on the specific needs of those ready to make the move to CMO in an organization—or those who have just recently been named to that position.

"Kellogg is widely recognized as a world leader in marketing. We're building on that heritage with this dynamic new program that will explore the CMO's critical role in driving growth and championing a customer-focused perspective," said Kellogg School Dean Sally Blount.

The program is comprised of a pair of two-day sessions on campus, May 21-22 and July 30-31. In between, participants will develop and carry out special projects directly related to the marketing needs of their own organization and their personal development as senior leaders.

Enrollment in the program is limited to 24 participants who have been nominated by their organizations at the invitation of Kellogg to participate in exploring their new roles and the challenges ahead. To encourage free and open dialogue, each group of program participants will be from non-competing organizations.

Serving as Academic Director of the Kellogg CMO program is Gregory Carpenter, the James Farley/Booz Allen Hamilton professor of marketing strategy, former chair of Kellogg's marketing department, and faculty director of the Kellogg Markets and Customers Initiative (KMCI). A recognized expert on competitive marketing strategy, he has recently completed research exploring how customer-focused organizations are being effectively led in the digital age.

"The position of Chief Marketing Officer has grown enormously complex and simply demands a broader perspective than in the past," said Carpenter. "The changing global economy and changing technology are transforming the leadership roles in organizations, and none more than the chief marketing officer's. Our goal is to present the latest and best thinking on how to address the challenges both these changes create."

"Over the years, businesspeople have turned to the Kellogg School as a thought leader in the field of marketing," said Eric Leininger, clinical associate professor of marketing and executive director of the Kellogg CMO Program. "We believe that an intense focus on the CMO challenge, taught by Kellogg's senior faculty members, distinguished Kellogg alumni, and corporate leaders – and bolstered by the peer group effect of the program participants themselves – will be powerful preparation for a move into senior level marketing responsibility." Before joining the Kellogg School, Leininger was a corporate senior vice president and member of McDonald's senior leadership team.

The CMO Program will be led by senior faculty from the Kellogg School, including marketing legend Philip Kotler, and experts in leadership, reputation management, social networks, customer analytics, customer insight, innovation, and growth strategy. Joining the faculty will be business leaders, including distinguished Kellogg alumni Rick Lenny, former CEO of Hershey, and Jim Stengel, former CMO of Proctor & Gamble.

The first group of participants in the program is comprised of people with senior marketing responsibility from Fortune 500 firms in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transportation, hospitality, and technology, among others.  Major not-for-profit organizations will be represented, and about one-half of the participants have global responsibility. While a few of those involved will have been recently named CMO, most are people seen as having the talent and potential to move into such a position in their organizations. 

The program will be held at the Kellogg School's executive education facility the James L. Allen Center, adjacent to Lake Michigan on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston.

About the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is a premier institution for management education – a global community that believes business can be bravely led, passionately collaborative and world changing. Founded in 1908 and based just outside of Chicago, Kellogg is home to a renowned, research-based faculty and MBA students from around the world. The Kellogg School's academic portfolio includes the Full-Time, Part-Time and Executive MBA Programs, the Ph.D. Program, and the non-degree Executive Education Program. The school offers two joint-degree programs: the JD-MBA and the MMM (MBA-MEM). Additionally, the school offers an Executive MBA Program at its campus in Miami and has forged partnerships with leading business schools in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Canada. To learn more, visit www.kellogg.northwestern.edu.

Further information about executive education programs at the Kellogg School of Management is available at www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/execed, by phone at 847-467-7000 or by email at [email protected].

SOURCE Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University