Emerging CTO Programme
Drive strategic impact through visionary technology leadership
- Build a global network of senior technology leaders
- Gain exposure to world-class faculty and thought leadership
- Access executive strategy activities, faculty-led live sessions and more
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Transform your technology expertise into strategic leadership
The Emerging CTO Programme from Imperial Executive Education prepares experienced technology leaders to step into the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) role with the strategic perspective required to lead at the enterprise level. As organisations navigate rapid technological change and increasing complexity, technology leaders must move beyond execution to shape enterprise technology strategy, drive innovation and influence business decisions. Over eight months, this programme helps you develop the capabilities to align technology with business priorities and lead organisation-wide transformation.
Through a curriculum combining technology strategy, digital transformation and innovation frameworks with real-world case studies, executive strategy activities and expert-led live online sessions, you will strengthen your ability to lead complex initiatives and guide critical technology decisions. The programme also includes the AI for Business Transformation module, exploring how generative and agentic AI can drive business impact and competitive advantage.
Distinguish yourself with a certificate from Imperial Executive Education and earn Associate Alumni status upon successful programme completion.
What you will learn
Through the Emerging CTO Programme, you will:
Integrate emerging technologies, AI and automation to drive digital transformation and foster a culture of innovation
Evaluate the ROI of technology initiatives to improve financial performance and business value
Design and optimise AI-driven solutions and leverage generative AI and agentic AI for practical business scenarios
Mitigate technology risks, develop robust cybersecurity strategies and incorporate crisis management frameworks to ensure business continuity
Refine data strategies to assess and improve your organisation’s data management and utilisation and align them with technological initiatives to drive digital expansion
Optimise infrastructure management and cloud computing strategies to enhance operational efficiency and scalability
Design innovative business strategies that leverage AI for growth and competitive advantage
Who is this programme for?
The Emerging CTO Programme is designed for aspiring CTOs. The programme empowers experienced tech leaders to navigate the complexities of C-suite leadership and drive significant impact to meet business objectives.
This programme is particularly relevant for, but not limited to, the following roles:
Senior technical leaders looking to enhance their business, leadership and strategic skills to make an organisation-wide impact, set the technological direction for the business and advance to a C-level role
IT operations and security leaders seeking to use technology and strategy to play a more significant role in their organisation, elevate IT’s contribution to business value, shape technology policy and overcome business challenges
Digital transformation managers aiming to develop technical expertise and C-level leadership skills to lead company-wide digital strategies, drive organisational change and advance to the C-suite
Business and technology leaders looking to deepen their technical knowledge and develop executive leadership skills to shape the future of business with technology, make data-driven decisions, build new business models and lead at the executive level
Curriculum
This comprehensive eight-month learning journey will prepare you to confidently navigate the complexities of C-suite leadership and develop the skills to leverage AI, emerging technologies and data to drive innovation, inform strategic decisions and succeed as a CTO in today’s dynamic business and technology landscape.
Gain the executive leadership skills that will empower you to drive impactful change, achieve strategic success and build collaborative relationships. Understand the role CTOs play in leading digital transformation and overseeing sustainable innovation.
Module 1: Organisational Structures: From Hierarchies to Networks
Module 2: Navigating and Influencing Complex Politics
Module 3: Building Alliances and Collaborations at the Executive Level
Module 4: Understanding Enablers and Derailers to Career Progression in the C-Suite
Module 5: Building Trust and Relationship Management
Module 6: Adept Communication: The Art of Storytelling
Module 7: Fostering a Culture of Ethics
Module 8: Inspiring Cohesive, Effective Teams
Module 9: Future Forces Transforming Demands on the C-Suite
Module 10: The Role of the C-Suite in Driving Digital Transformation
Module 11: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG): Balancing Profitability and Responsibility
Module 12: Understanding and Appreciating Diversity in the Workplace
Acquire the strategic insights needed to excel as a CTO in today’s rapidly evolving digital environment, develop essential technology leadership skills and explore breakthrough technologies, including artificial intelligence and automation.
Module 13: Business Acumen for Technology Leaders
Module 14: Planning Organisational Technology Strategy
Module 15: Infrastructure Management and Cloud Computing
Module 16: Emerging Technology
Module 17: Artificial Intelligence and Automation
Module 18: Strategic Cybersecurity
Develop an in-depth understanding of transformation initiatives that are critical for continuity and success in today’s technology landscape. Then, discover the art of balancing innovation, ROI and customer-centricity while adjusting technology strategy to ever-changing market conditions.
Module 19: Crisis Management and Continuity
Module 20: ROI on Technology Initiatives
Module 21: Customer-Centric Approach
Module 22: Fostering an Innovation Culture
Module 23: Strategic Partnership
Module 24: Leading Through Flux
Explore AI as a strategic enabler that transforms business operations, enhances innovation capabilities and supports career advancement in an AI-driven world. Examine key AI concepts, apply them to real-world business challenges and learn how to leverage AI to automate workflows and drive meaningful innovation.
Module 25: Fundamentals of Al in Business
Module 26: Generative Al Tools and Prompt Engineering
Module 27: Automating Workflows with Generative Al
Module 28: Innovation and Competitive Advantage through Generative Al
Module 29: Managing Organisational Impacts and Strategic Integration
Module 30: Ethical Considerations and Risk Management in Al
Note: Module topics are subject to change.
Agentic AI live online sessions
Session 1: From Generative AI to Agentic Workflows: How Agentic AI Can Transform Business Processes
This session offers an introduction to how AI agents can accomplish basic end-to-end tasks within a business ecosystem. These tasks include handling routine customer queries, preparing first-draft reports, checking compliance steps and coordinating between systems. You will also learn how to identify the processes most suitable for agent implementation and to evaluate the resulting benefits in clear, measurable business terms.
Session 2: Governing Agentic AI: How to Keep Agentic AI Safe, Reliable and Under Control
This session helps you understand the risks of agentic AI and ways to manage these risks, even without technical expertise. You will also examine some real-world examples from different organisational departments.
Session 3: Building Agentic AI into Existing Teams: Roles, Skills and Real Workflows
Through this live session, you will explore how organisations can practically introduce agentic AI into regular business operations without disrupting teams or inducing fear. You will also focus on the role of people, capability building and workflow redesign in the deployment process.
Note: Session topics are indicative and are subject to change.
Programme highlights
Fixed learning path
Through a fixed learning path and capstone projects, apply AI to real industry problems and develop innovative, scalable solutions.
Peer learning
Engage with diverse senior leaders in forums to exchange perspectives, challenge ideas and enrich learning.
Case studies and industry examples
Learn from real-world business cases and industry examples to understand the evolving CTO role and leadership challenges.
Success coach
Craft your learning journey in line with your career goals with a success coach assigned to your cohort.
Associate Alumni status
Earn Associate Alumni status upon successful completion of the programme.
Executive strategy activities
Throughout the Emerging CTO Programme, you will apply programme insights through a series of practical assignments and projects. These include the executive toolkit activity, the executive workbook and capstone projects in Phase 4. Together, these exercises develop a broad range of leadership capabilities – from hard skills, including AI, to soft skills, including creativity.
Executive toolkit activity
This activity includes interactive, research-based exercises embedded within each module. These activities equip you with the skills needed to lead at the executive level while providing regular opportunities to translate theory into practice.
Executive workbook
The workbook requires you to leverage CTO-specific strategies to build a technology roadmap for your organisation. Each week, you will complete an assignment that develops a plan for how your organisation can navigate the evolving technology landscape and use technology to achieve its business objectives.
Executive AI-focused capstone projects
Each module in Phase 4 includes a mini capstone project in which you will select an industry-specific business problem and propose an AI-driven solution. This exercise deepens your understanding of AI capabilities and their potential to innovate products, services and processes at scale while strengthening your ability to generate original solutions within the AI landscape.
Immersive learning
Experience an immersive learning journey that extends beyond the classroom through live online sessions, peer forums and hands-on activities. You will:
Engage with global peers, guest speakers and esteemed faculty to deepen your understanding of the evolving CTO role
Collaborate with cohort members to exchange ideas and strengthen your learning through peer interaction
Apply programme concepts through executive strategy activities and capstone projects, translating learning into practical capabilities
Receive guidance from a dedicated cohort success coach to align your learning journey with your professional goals
Fireside Chats
Attend fireside chats with leading industry experts to explore the evolving role of technology leaders in driving business success. These informative chats will cover technology leadership, digital transformation and aligning technical strategy with business goals.
You will gain real-world insights on how to manage risk, handle vendor relationships, respond to crises and foster customer centricity.
You will also learn strategies for building resilient teams, enabling cross-functional collaboration and balancing innovation with practical implementation to drive long-term business success.
Case studies and industry examples
Understand how to measure success and drive continuous improvements in tech strategy through real-world examples, including Kodak, Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Waze.
Amazon Web Services
Explore how this cloud computing giant’s carbon reporting tool falls short of helping users optimise emissions reductions.
Capital One
Discover how one of the largest US banks used Amazon Web Services to improve agility and accelerate innovation.
Starbucks
Learn how this coffee retailer used a mobile ordering system to enhance customer experience and streamline order management.
Walmart
Understand how this multinational retail corporation used blockchain technology to bring unprecedented transparency to the food supply chain.
Waze
Investigate how this navigation technology company leveraged crowdsourced data to become one of the most widely used mapping services in the world.
Kodak
Explore how this once undisputed leader in the photography industry failed to adapt to digital photography and embrace innovation, resulting in bankruptcy.
Netflix
Understand how this online streaming giant embraced digital transformation and adapted to changing customer preferences to establish itself as a market leader.
Meet the faculty
The programme faculty are world-renowned experts who foster a rich and comprehensive learning environment, ensuring participants gain essential insights and practical knowledge.
Programme Director; Fractional CTO and Strategic Adviser
Khalil Dimachkie is a technology strategist and CTO with over 20 years of experience leading software engineering, digital transformation and technology strategy initiatives. ...
Lecturer at Imperial Business School
Adam Kingl is a globally recognised expert in enterprise leadership, organisational transformation and the future of work. He teaches and develops executive education programm...
CTO and Technology Adviser
Alfonso Ferrandez is a technology strategist and Fractional CTO specialising in digital transformation, technology strategy and scaling innovation-led organisations. He advise...
Principal Lecturer (Teaching); Admissions Tutor for the BSc Economics, Finance and Data Science degree, Imperial Business School
Danielle Lyssimachou is an accounting expert specialising in financial strategy, corporate reporting and decision-making for senior leaders. With over two decades of internati...
Head of Threat Intelligence for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at UBS
Ali Haidar has a notable career in the cybersecurity landscape, specialising in security operations centers (SOCs) and threat intelligence. Throughout his professional journey...
Advanced Research Fellow, Institute for Security Science and Technology, Imperial College London
Catherine Mulligan is an expert in digital transformation, emerging technologies and enterprise technology strategy. As an Advanced Research Fellow at Imperial College London’...
Programme Director, Imperial Leadership in a Technology-Driven World Programme; Visiting Fellow
Frans Campher is an executive coach, trainer and leadership facilitator specialising in enterprise leadership, strategic decision-making and organisational transformation. He ...
Professor of Digital Strategy and Innovation, Imperial Business School
Christopher L Tucci is an expert in digital strategy, innovation and enterprise transformation, focusing on how organisations adapt business models in rapidly evolving technol...
Associate Professor, Innovation Hub I–X, Imperial College London
Islem Rekik is the Director of the Brain and SIgnal Research & Analysis laboratory. She has led over 90 pioneering research projects at the intersection of AI and healthcare, ...
Emerging CTO Programme with Imperial Executive Education
The Emerging CTO Programme equips you with the strategic perspective required to lead in a technology-driven business environment. Imperial Business School bridges advanced technical knowledge with strategic management to prepare you for the CTO role. Through expert-led learning and real-world insights, you will explore how emerging technologies, including AI, are reshaping business strategy and drive enterprise-wide technology and digital transformation.
Certificate
Upon successful completion of this programme, you will receive a verified digital certificate of completion via email from Imperial Executive Education.
Note: You will earn the Associate Alumni status upon successful completion of the programme. Visit the Associate Alumni page to find out more.
FAQs
The Emerging CTO Programme is a multimodular immersive learning journey that aims to provide you with the skills and knowledge to emerge as a strategic chief technology officer. As an aspiring technology leader, this programme covers a vast number of topics to help you learn executive leadership skills, technology strategy and transformation initiatives for modern CTOs aiming to drive long-term business growth and transformation.
The Emerging CTO Programme is designed for experienced tech leaders who are aspiring to transition into a C-level role. This programme is particularly beneficial for senior technical leaders, IT operations and security leaders, digital transformation managers and business and tech leaders.
The Emerging CTO Programme has been designed with your busy schedule in mind. You will be required to commit not more than four to six hours per week, enabling you to benefit from this transformative programme while fulfilling your day-to-day work responsibilities. This impactful programme offers a blend of self-paced modules and live interaction.
The eight-month learning journey includes live online and video online sessions with renowned faculty, industry experts and global peers. You can take advantage of live sessions and the Slack channel to ask questions and discuss ideas with your cohort success coach and participants. Real-world examples and in-depth programme learnings are delivered through a combination of recorded video and live online lectures.
The programme fee covers teaching fees, all academic materials and access to online coursework.
You can pay the full programme fee upfront or in easy instalments. If you apply well in advance of the programme start date, you can receive a fee benefit. If you would like to approach your organisation with a sponsorship request for this programme, here is a customisable template you can use.
Yes. Closed-captioning and transcripts for all pre-recorded videos and closed-captioning for recordings of live sessions are available.
Emeritus collects all programme payments, provides learner enrolment and programme support and manages the learning platform services.
For the programme refund and deferral policy, please click the link here.
Fees for Emeritus programmes with Imperial Executive Education may not be paid for with (a) funds from the GI Bill, the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Act of 2008 or similar types of military education funding benefits or (b) Title IV financial aid funds.
Connect with a programme advisers for a 1:1 session
Our programme advisers have helped senior executives around the world choose the right programme for their career goals. Schedule a 1:1 session to get a deeper understanding of why the Emerging CTO Programme from Imperial Executive Education is right for you.
Email: learner.success@emeritus.org
Phone: +44 746 045 1107 (UK) / +1 315 236 4838 (US) / +65 3129 7468 (SG)
Early applications are encouraged. Admissions are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Flexible payment options available.
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