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Leadership Academy

Applications are now closed for the 9th Cohort of the Leadership Academy.
If you are interested in the 10th Cohort for 2025-26, please contact Taryn Streed at tarynstreed@uniconexed.org to be added to our waiting list.

About the Academy

The UNICON Leadership Academy is an eight-month development program designed specifically for university-based executive education professionals seeking to transition into leadership roles within member schools. The Academy is designed for individuals seeking T-shaped leadership development within the Executive Education industry and Director-level leaders, with two years of University experience.

The Academy is geared towards analyzing the Business Model proposition and is fully integrated into the Team Development Conference. The program includes teamwork, projects, webinars, mentoring, individual development planning, peer coaching, and an in-person session to coincide with the annual team conference on November 5th. The 2024 Team Development Conference will be hosted by Nova School of Business and Economics in Portugal November 6-8. The Leadership Academy registration fee is $2,000.

Please note that the above fee does not include the Team Development Conference fee. You must register/pay for the Team Development Conference separately.

Check out recent testimonials from current participants!

About the Academy

The UNICON Leadership Academy is an eight-month development program designed specifically for university-based executive education professionals seeking to transition into leadership roles within member schools. The Academy is designed for individuals seeking T-shaped leadership development within the Executive Education industry and Director-level leaders, with two years of University experience.

The Academy is geared towards analyzing the Business Model proposition and is fully integrated into the Team Development Conference. The program includes teamwork, projects, webinars, mentoring, individual development planning, peer coaching, and an in-person session to coincide with the annual team conference on November 5th. The 2024 Team Development Conference will be hosted by Nova School of Business and Economics in Portugal November 6-8. The Leadership Academy registration fee is $2,000.

Please note that the above fee does not include the Team Development Conference fee. You must register/pay for the Team Development Conference separately.

Check out recent testimonials from current participants!
Apply Now for Fall 2024!
Seats are limited!
Sign Up for Fall 2024
Available to
UNICON members only.
Apply Now
Apply Now for Fall 2024!
Seats are limited!
Sign Up for Fall 2024
Available to
UNICON members only.
Apply Now

About the Academy

The UNICON Leadership Academy is an eight-month development program designed specifically for university-based executive education professionals seeking to transition into leadership roles within member schools. The Academy is designed for individuals seeking T-shaped leadership development within the Executive Education industry and Director-level leaders, with two years of University experience.

The Academy is geared towards analyzing the Business Model proposition and is fully integrated into the Team Development Conference. The program includes teamwork, projects, webinars, mentoring, individual development planning, peer coaching, and an in-person session to coincide with the annual team conference on November 5th. The 2024 Team Development Conference will be hosted by Nova School of Business and Economics in Portugal November 6-8. The Leadership Academy registration fee is $2,000.

Please note that the above fee does not include the Team Development Conference fee. You must register/pay for the Team Development Conference separately.

Check out recent testimonials from current participants!

Meeting other professionals from the industry that are willing to share, discuss and give me a good understanding of the possibilities and challenges that exists in the industry has definitively been the highlight so far. This is very well facilitated by the Academy!

Photo of Wenche Martinussen

Wenche Martinussen

Sales and Marketing Director, BI Norwegian Business School

I am new to Executive Education, and I thought the Leadership Academy would provide me a great opportunity to network within the industry, learn more about the industry as well as learn new tools to improve our own processes.

Carmen Eide

Associate Director, Business Development – Carlson Executive Education

I chose to join the Leadership Academy because I value what UNICON has to offer our industry and felt this would be a wonderful opportunity to network with like minded people.

Ashley Toscano

Custom Programs Administrator, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas, Austin

I chose to join the Leadership Academy because I value what UNICON has to offer our industry and felt this would be a wonderful opportunity to network with like minded people.

Ashley Toscano

Custom Programs Administrator, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas, Austin

Meeting other professionals from the industry that are willing to share, discuss and
give me a good understanding of the possibilities and challenges that exists in the
industry has definitively been the highlight so far. This is very well facilitated
by the Academy!

Wenche Martinussen

Sales and Marketing Director, BI Norwegian Business School

Photo of Wenche Martinussen

I am new to Executive Education, and I thought the Leadership Academy would
provide me a great opportunity to network within the industry, learn more about the
industry as well as learn new tools to improve our own processes.

Carmen Eide

Associate Director, Business Development – Carlson Executive Education

I chose to join the Leadership Academy because I value what UNICON has to offer
our industry and felt this would be a wonderful opportunity to network with
like minded people.

Ashley Toscano

Custom Programs Administrator, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas, Austin

I wanted to join the Leadership Academy because I believe that our profession has a lot to
contribute in the area of learning and development for companies. In order to realize our full
potential, it is important that we take time to learn from and with each other to maximize our
learning and experiences so that we can create high-impact experiences for our clients.

Christine Gravelle

Director – Client Engagement, Texas A&M University

I highly recommend the LA for skill building and motivating key team members. One
thing the pandemic has taught us is that yesterday’s ways of doing Executive Education
are not sufficient to ensure success in the future and the LA helps keep everyone who
attends up-to-date with some of the latest developments around our industry.

Mike Malefakis

Former CEO & Associate Vice Dean, Wharton Executive Education

The Leadership Academy is a unique program for leaders in our relatively
niche industry. Whilst I’ve had the opportunity to participate on non-industry-specific
leadership programs previously, this UNICON program is all about the issues,
challenges, and opportunities for leaders in University based Executive Education!

Yuk Meng Foo

Deputy Director, Executive Education National University of Singapore

Yuk Meng Foo

It’s been wonderful meeting such a diverse, open, and sharing group of individuals.
Hearing of others' experiences and realizing how much you share in those
experiences helps to validate what you do and feel less alone.
Being able to learn from the cohort has been invaluable.

Maria Sierra-Wilburn

Associate Director Enrollments, Chicago Booth Executive Education

To me, people are definitely the highlight of the Academy. From the speakers and
coordinators to participants, they are all devoted, serious and energetic about the program
which makes it successful and valuable. I treasure our monthly meetings as I
can talk to people who truly care and are willing to share about the industry.

Karen Tse

Manager, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The UNICON Leadership Academy has provided several managers within my team
with a unique opportunity for tailor made talent development. The program is run
by experienced executives from our industry, and the highly relevant content,
as well as the peer-to-peer learning facilitation, is invaluable.

Lise Hammergren

UNICON Board Chair, Executive Vice President, BI Norwegian Business School

Meeting other professionals from
the industry that are willing to share,
discuss and give me a good
understanding of the possibilities
and challenges that exists in the
industry has definitively been the
highlight so far. This is very well
facilitated by the Academy!

Wenche Martinussen

Sales and Marketing Director,
BI Norwegian Business School

Photo of Wenche Martinussen

I am new to Executive Education,
and I thought the Leadership Academy
would provide me a great
opportunity to network within the
industry, learn more about the
industry as well as learn
new tools to improve our
own processes.

Carmen Eide

Associate Director, Business Development
Carlson Executive Education

I chose to join the Leadership
Academy because I value what
UNICON has to offer our industry
and felt this would be a
wonderful opportunity to network with
like minded people.

Ashley Toscano

Custom Programs Administrator
McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas, Austin

I wanted to join the Leadership
Academy because I believe that our
profession has a lot to contribute in
the area of learning and
development for companies.
In order to realize our full potential,
it is important that we take time
to learn from and with each other
to maximize our learning and
experiences so that we can create
high-impact experiences for our clients.

Christine Gravelle

Director – Client Engagement, Texas A&M University

I highly recommend the LA for skill
building and motivating key team
members. One thing the pandemic has
taught us is that yesterday’s ways of
doing Executive Education are not
sufficient to ensure success in the
future and the LA helps keep everyone
who attends up-to-date with some
of the latest developments
around our industry.

Mike Malefakis

Former CEO & Associate Vice Dean,
Wharton Executive Education

The Leadership Academy is a unique
program for leaders in our relatively
niche industry. Whilst I’ve had the
opportunity to participate on
non-industry-specific leadership
programs previously, this UNICON
program is all about the issues,
challenges, and opportunities for
leaders in University based
Executive Education!

Yuk Meng Foo

Deputy Director,
Executive Education National University of Singapore

Yuk Meng Foo

The UNICON Leadership Academy has
provided several managers within my
team with a unique opportunity for tailor
made talent development. The program
is run by experienced executives from our
industry, and the highly relevant content,
as well as the peer-to-peer learning
facilitation, is invaluable.

Lise Hammergren

UNICON Board Chair,
Executive Vice President,
BI Norwegian Business School

To me, people are definitely the highlight
of the Academy. From the speakers and
coordinators to participants, they are all
devoted, serious and energetic about the
program which makes it successful and
valuable. I treasure our monthly meetings
as I can talk to people who truly care and
are willing to share about the industry.

Karen Tse

Manager,
The Hong Kong Universityof Science and Technology

It was actually interesting to see how
similar the challenges are between the
different Executive Education units
regardless to university size. And how
solutions are, in general, quite similar.The
networking is giving me access to
generally non-competing peers who
have been and, I’m confident, will
continue tobe willing to share their
experiences facing different challenges or
advise to avoid obvious pitfalls.

Mohamed AbdelSalam

Executive Director,
School of Business Executive Education,
The American University in Cairo

Mohamed Abdelsalam

It’s been wonderful meeting such a
diverse, open, and sharing group of
individuals. Hearing of others'
experiences and realizing how
much you share in those experiences
helps to validate what you do
and feel less alone. Being able to learn
from the cohort has been invaluable.

Maria Sierra-Wilburn

Associate Director Enrollments,
Chicago Booth Executive Education

Andrea Lam
Andrea LamAssociate Portfolio Director, Comprehensive Leadership Programs, Harvard Business School
Read More
The in-person portion of the Leadership Academy has been the highlight so far. Being able to see each other in person after a couple of Zoom sessions really brought the cohort to life. We were able to work on a hands-on project in real time (many post-it sticky notes were used!), and the energy that I felt connecting face to face, in addition to seeing each other after the Team Development Conference, was a delight.
Joanna Legler
Joanna LeglerSenior Director of Learning Partnerships, Yale School of Management
Read More
The in-person portion of the Leadership Academy has been the highlight so far. Being able to see each other in person after a couple of Zoom sessions really brought the cohort to life. We were able to work on a hands-on project in real time (many post-it sticky notes were used!), and the energy that I felt connecting face to face, in addition to seeing each other after the Team Development Conference, was a delight.
Kylie Monteith
Kylie MonteithAssociate Director of Business Development, Ivey Business School
Read More
I really enjoyed the in-person component that we participated in before the UNICON Team Conference. It’s so nice to meet people, and it gave an opportunity to continue those conversations during the conference. I also really liked the session on January 10th regarding the assessment.
Maha Ismail
Maha IsmailDirector of Management and Operations Programs at The American University in Cairo, School of Business, Executive Education.
Read More
The topics are very relevant and contemporary and the highlight for me is the interaction with the participants. It is really interesting to engage in discussions around these topics and share opinions and experiences.
Matthew Cox
Matthew CoxAssociate Director; Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management
Read More
The highlight of the academy so far has been the in-person experience at the UNICON Conference. The all-day session was very impactful. In groups, we were tasked with developing a program for a potential participant. It was so awesome to hear everyone’s varied approaches at the end of the day.
Laura Howells
Laura HowellsAssociate Director, Market Insights & Analytics Harvard Business School Executive Education
Read More
The in-person session has been a highlight of the Academy so far. I enjoyed meeting colleagues from across the industry and globe who shared a common interest in executive education. Working together on the design thinking exercise was truly energizing. I also enjoyed the more recent session where we learned the results of our Belbin assessment. Learning more about how my team sees me as a leader was insightful and will help me design future projects around their strengths as well.
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Networking

Build new relationships with other executive education professionals and industry giants.

Industry Knowledge

Gain new insight, skills, and approaches to burning topics.

Career Mentorship

Mentorship for career advancement.

Expectations for Leadership Academy:

Leverage an expanded network of colleagues facing similar challenges and opportunities within the Executive Education industry, creating a platform for peer learning and knowledge sharing to further support individual, team, and industry growth.

Analyze and navigate competing stakeholder expectations to successfully position Executive Education as a key player for business schools as well as clients.

Innovate more effectively, applying newly acquired frameworks and best practices to increasingly complex industry challenges.

Utilize more advanced problem solving, decision making, and critical thinking skills for personal and professional development within the context of the Executive Education industry.

Program Structure Example

October

  • The Ever-Changing Landscape and Its Challenges - 2 hours
  • Revaluing Executive Education - 2.5 Hours

November/December

In-person program at Team Development Conference:

  • Navigating Current Trends & Challenges in Exec Ed through Advanced Analytics
  • Creating a Value Proposition and a Business Model
Online session:
  • Delivering Value to Our Customers - 2 Hours

January/February

  • Reaching Out - 2 Hours
  • Leading Self in ExecEd - 2 Hours
  • Operational Excellence and Organizational Structures - 2 Hours

March/April

  • Leveraging Technology and Partnerships - 2 Hours
  • TBD - 2 Hours

May/June

  • Financial Strategy - 2 Hours
  • Reflective Process/A Career in Exec Ed - 2 Hours
  • Making the Most of Your Skillscope and Mentorship Process (optional)

Hear from a Program Director

Monica Sacristan Fanjul, Dean

University Extension and Executive Development at ITAM
UNICON Leadership Academy Program Director

Watch on Youtube

Hear from Our Participants

David Deegan, Director of Practice Development

Cranfield Executive Development, Cranfield University
Leadership Academy Participant 2020-2021

Watch on Youtube

Hear from Our Participants

Kaitlin Dumont, Associate Director of Business

Leadership Programs at Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth College
Leadership Academy Participant 2019-2020

Watch on Youtube

Connect with the Leadership Academy 

Interested parties can contact Taryn Streed directly with any questions or concerns. To learn more, visit the UNICON YouTube channel and view recent Leadership Academy informational webinars.

Contact Taryn
Visit YouTube
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