Grow Your Vision
C-Suite and Executive Education
EXE-101
The CEO Masterclass: Leading at the Top
The CEO Masterclass is deliberately unlike any other leadership programme — residential, intimate, and peer-driven. Faculty are not academics: they are former CEOs and practitioners who have sat in the chair. The programme culminates in a personal CEO Leadership Compact — a written commitment to three strategic priorities, one team action, and one personal change to be delivered within 90 days. A 90-day check-in call with the faculty director is included. Participants frequently describe this as the most impactful professional development of their career.
Purpose-built for Chief Operating Officers, operations directors, and those stepping into COO roles. This residential programme focuses on operational strategy, organisational design, execution excellence, and leading the enterprise delivery machine. The COO is the CEO's most critical partner — this programme ensures that partnership drives exceptional performance.
Modules
1: The COO Role — Operating Model, Authority and Partnership with the CEO |
2: Enterprise Operating Model Design and Transformation |
3: Execution Excellence — Translating Strategy into Results |
4: Organisational Design for Scale, Agility and Performance |
5: Building and Leading High-Performance Senior Leadership Teams |
6: Supply Chain, Operations and Value Chain Optimisation |
7: Digital Operations and Industry 4.0 for COOs |
8: Performance Management Systems — KPIs, OKRs and Accountability |
9: Change Leadership — Managing Complexity and Resistance at Scale |
10: COO Resilience, Influence and Executive Presence
Who attends
Sitting COOs and Chief Operating Officers; Operations Directors preparing for the COO seat; Group Operations and Transformation Directors; Divisional MDs with operational accountability; CEOs of subsidiaries reporting to a group COO; Senior operations leaders in manufacturing, logistics, financial services, healthcare and professional services.
Programme Content
COO role design and authority mapping; Operating model archetypes and selection; Business process architecture; Lean enterprise and operational excellence methodologies; Organisational design principles (spans, layers, structures); Senior leadership team dynamics and performance management; Supply chain strategy and resilience; Digital operations and technology investment governance; KPI framework design and operational dashboards; OKR implementation at enterprise scale; Change management for large-scale operations transformation; COO-CEO relationship and strategic alignment; Workforce planning and capability development; Operational risk management and business continuityHow to apply
How to Apply
Apply online with CV and a 300-word description of the most significant operational challenge you are currently leading. Applications reviewed within 5 working days. Cohort limited to 15. Employer invoicing available.
What you will learn
Design and transform operating models for scale, agility and resilience; Translate strategy into operational plans and measurable outcomes; Build and lead high-performing senior leadership teams; Implement KPI and OKR frameworks that drive accountability; Lead complex organisational change with minimal disruption; Optimise supply chain and value chain performance; Govern digital operations investment and transformation; Operate with strategic influence and authority alongside the CEO and board
How You Learn
Residential five-day immersion with fellow senior operations leaders; Faculty of former COOs, operations directors and transformation specialists; Operational excellence case studies from global organisations; Operating model design workshop — applied to participants' own organisations; Senior leadership team performance simulation; One-to-one executive coaching session during programme; Peer advisory sessions on live operational challenges; Evening sessions on COO career and influence
Learning Experience
An intense, practically-focused programme that works on real operational challenges throughout the five days. The operating model design workshop on day two — in which participants redesign their own organisation's operating model with faculty guidance — is the programme's centrepiece. Participants leave with an Operational Excellence Blueprint — a structured 90-day plan for the most critical operational change they will lead. Post-programme peer cohort maintains contact through a private network.
Faqs
Q: Is this relevant for COOs in service businesses as well as manufacturing?
A: Yes — the programme draws on examples from financial services, professional services, healthcare, logistics and technology, as well as manufacturing. |
Q: Do I need a background in operations or supply chain?
A: No — the programme is designed for operational leaders regardless of their route to the COO role. |
Q: Is accommodation included?
A: Yes — five nights and all meals during the programme. |
Q: Can a CEO attend to understand the COO role better?
A: This programme is for COOs and COO-level leaders. CEOs are better served by EXE-101.
Certificate of Achievement — COO Excellence Programme | Accredited by: CPD Certification Service | Code: EXE-301-2026