START
DURATION
HOURS OF EFFORT
MIT CEU’s
LANGUAGE
FORMAT
PRICE
APPLICATION FEE
START
DURATION
HOURS OF EFFORT
MIT CEU’s
LANGUAGE
FORMAT
PRICE
APPLICATION FEE
Effective leadership to optimize product development
Large-scale organizations require effective product leaders to drive operations forward, implement blueprints, and anticipate trends in areas such as technology and manufacturing. In today’s fiercely competitive arena, with specialization and higher standards being offered at unprecedented rates to meet market demand, companies need multifaceted experts to lead the ship while ensuring distinction, quality, performance, and returns, all while fostering customer trust.
80%
80% of those (executives) making investments are allocating resources to improving their e-commerce and shopping platforms.
Source: Deloitte 2021 Consumer Products Industry Outlook
86%
86% of executives agree their organization must train its people to think like technologists.
Source: Technology Vision 2021 – Accenture
30%
Product development time dropped by 30% due to the optimization of product platforms.
Source: NCDPD
Blended Professional Certificate Program: Chief Product Officer
We are facing a rapidly changing digital landscape. The era of the Digital Transformation is upon us.
This has made us look at products differently. There is a rise in production, improvement in features, and advancement in the requirements customers desire. Now more than ever, Companies need C-level executives with strong leadership skills who can navigate complexity, leverage technologies and platforms and design trailblazing, and unique solutions.
This program will provide you with the knowledge, leadership skills, professional direction, and exclusive network required to become a successful Chief Product Officer today.
The Learning Journey
In this 12-month program, participants will explore these four courses that will equip them with the tools and frameworks to drive product strategy and help their organization gain a competitive advantage.
1. Innovative Leadership: Cultivating Impactful Culture
Learn leadership principles that foster a culture of innovation and creativity. This program will boost your management style and aid you in staying ahead in a competitive world
2. Designing Product Families: From Strategy to Implementation
With a focus on the product design, manufacturing, and economies of scale in product development, this program explores how product architecture, platforms, and commonality can help an organization deploy and manage a family of products in an increasingly competitive environment.
3. Designing High Ipact Solutions with MITdesignX
This program examines the optimal methodology for finding efficient solutions to the complex problems you are facing
4. Applied Agentic AI for Organizational Transformation
This course equips product and business leaders with the strategic and practical knowledge required to deploy Generative and Agentic AI across enterprise product ecosystems. Participants will explore how AI agents integrate with existing digital platforms, orchestrate multi-step workflows, and drive scalable automation across the product lifecycle. The course also addresses AI governance, compliance, cybersecurity risks, and responsible deployment, preparing executives to lead real-world AI transformation initiatives.
5. Leadership for the AI Age
Gain a strategic understanding of AI, IoT, and digital twins to lead enterprise-wide transformation. Explore human-machine collaboration, organizational agility, and emerging technologies while building a future-ready leadership roadmap.
6. Impact Project
The Impact Project is a transversal project that will be carried out throughout the Blended Professional Certificate. Participants will work in teams on a series of assignments that will culminate in a final presentation on the MIT Campus.
Participants will be given a choice of two tracks for this project:
- Work on a project with an industry challenge provided by the learning facilitator.
- Work on a project (industry challenge) chosen by the group and approved by the learning facilitator.
Learning Objectives
- Develop individual reflections on the theoretical and practical concepts covered throughout the certificate courses
- Apply knowledge acquired in courses to real-life industry cases
- Integrate and connect ideas from each course, resulting in transversal knowledge acquisition
- Build a community of practice in small groups, proposing concrete solutions to complex industry problems
Premium Access to the MIT Professional Education Ecosystem
You will have exclusive access to networking events, online sessions with guest speakers, company visits, and the international MIT Alumni network.
Career Development
You will participate in sessions with a career advancement coach who will guide you toward your goals and prepare you for new and exciting challenges.
Application Process
To be considered as an eligible candidate, please proceed with the following steps:
Application
Round 1
Deadline: .
Fee: .
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Round 2
Deadline: .
Fee: .
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Round 3
Deadline: .
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What is included in the fee?
- The program fee includes teaching fees, access to online coursework, and transportation to the different activities taking place during the face-to-face events.
- The program fee does not include accommodations for the in-campus weeks, travel expenses (domestic, international, visa fee, and more), and other expenses not specifically mentioned in the fees.
Key Takeaways:
Throughout this professional program, you will:
1.
Develop the necessary leadership skills with the vision needed to address the innovation processes of organizations.
2.
Develop a kit for innovating, incorporating the strategies and tools needed to transform hunches into real-world impact.
3.
Learn about the main methods and tools used in the design of product families and identify and prioritize solutions for complex problems.
4.
Learn how to design and integrate Generative and Agentic AI systems into digital ecosystems to drive intelligent automation, customer engagement, and scalable product innovation.
In addition, you will receive a Certificate of Completion
All the participants who successfully complete Chief Product Officer will recieve a Certificate of Completion from MIT Professional Education. Furthermore, the participants who complete the program recieve Continuing Education Units (CEUs)*.
To obtain CEUs, complete the accreditation confirmation, which is available at the end of the course. CEUs are calculated for each course based on the number of learning hours.
* The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is defined as 10 contact hours of ongoing learning to indicate the amount of time they have devoted to a non-credit/non-degree professional development program.
To understand whether or not these CEUs may be applied toward professional certification, licensing requirements, or other required training or continuing education hours, please consult your training department or licensing authority directly.
This Blended Professional Certificate Program: Chief Product Officer is designed for
- Directors, VP, and entrepreneurs responsible for product management, product engineering, innovation, or marketing
- Current product leaders and aspiring C-suite executives who want to keep up to date in trends on product management and innovation.
- Senior executives looking to align product strategy with business strategy and understand the implications of technology on the product portfolio.
Participants are required to have:
- A minimum of ten years of experience working in a managerial position
- At least 3 years of experience managing projects related to technology, innovation, or business development
- International experience is appreciated
Meet the instructors of this program
Listed in alphabetical order
Dr. Anthony is director of the MIT Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Program, co-director of the Medical Electronic Device Realization Center and deputy director of the MIT Skoltech Initiative. He possesses more than 20 years of product realization experience and has won an Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his innovations in broadcast technology. Dr. Anthony designs instruments and techniques to monitor and control physical systems. His work involves the analysis and the design of systems. He also uses mechanical, electrical and optical engineering as well as computer science and optimization to develop solutions.
Dr. Anthony´s research revolves around the design of instruments and techniques for measuring and controlling complex physical systems and includes the development of instruments and measurement solutions for manufacturing, medical diagnostics, and imaging diagnostics. In addition to his academic work, he has extensive experience in market-driven technological innovation, product development and entrepreneurship, and marketing at the point where information technology and advanced manufacturing come into contact. As a teacher, his main interests are the modeling of large-scale systems in a variety of areas involving decision making and the development of optimization algorithms and software useful for analyzing and designing these types of systems. He is an expert in market-driven technological innovations, as well as in entrepreneurship.
Jeremy Gregory researches the economic and environmental implications of engineering and system design decisions, particularly in materials production and recovery systems. Gregory’s research topics include product and firm environmental foot-printing, manufacturing and life-cycle cost analysis, and characterization of sustainable material systems.
He has applied these methods, often with industry partners, to a range of products and industries, including pavements, buildings, automobiles, electronics, consumer goods, and waste treatment and recovery. Gregory earned a BS in mechanical engineering from Montana State University, and an MS and PhD in mechanical engineering from MIT.
Professor Svafa Grönfeldt is a founding member of MIT’s innovation accelerator MITDesignX and a co-founder of the MET fund, a Cambridge-based seed investment fund. Since 2008, she has also been a member of the Board of Directors at Össur. Previously, she held the position of Executive Vice President of Organizational Development at the life science company Alvogen and various roles at Actavis Group, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, where she served as Deputy to the CEO of the company.
In 2006, she published the book Service Leadership—The Quest for Competitive Advantage, along with Judith Strother. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where her major focus was on service orientation and management. She also holds an MSc in Technical and Professional Communication from Florida Institute of Technology.
- Prof. Gronfeldt received her Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from LSE.
- She has been a member of the Board of Directors at Össur since 2008.
- She published the book Service Leadership—The Quest for Competitive Advantage, along with Judith Strother in 2006.
David Niño is a Senior Lecturer in MIT’s Daniel J. Riccio Graduate Program in Engineering Leadership. He had served in this role since 2015 when he launched this program to provide academic leadership education for MIT graduate students in engineering and other disciplines. Under his leadership, the program has grown from one graduate class to a variety of highly-rated academic courses and workshops that educate over 200 graduate students annually. David received a School of Engineering “Infinite Mile Award” for his work in establishing this program, which received a $10 million gift of support in 2022.
David consults with technology executives on topics related to developing leadership among engineers, researchers, and other technical experts. He has published on organizational culture, ethics, engineering leadership, and developing management and leadership skills. David holds a Ph.D. in Management from the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his B.A., B.B.A., and M.A. degrees. He lives in Weston, Massachusetts, with his wife and three children.
David consults with technology executives on topics related to developing leadership among engineers, researchers, and other technical experts. He has published on organizational culture, ethics, engineering leadership, and developing management and leadership skills. David holds a Ph.D. in Management from the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his B.A., B.B.A., and M.A. degrees. He lives in Weston, Massachusetts, with his wife and three children.
Elsa Olivetti’s research spans three levels of materials production: operational-level, industrial network-level and market-level strategies. Olivetti’s research focuses on improving the environmental and economic sustainability of materials in the context of rapid-expanding global demand.
Furthermore, Olivetti’s research addresses improving the sustainability of materials through increased use of recycled and renewable materials, recycling-friendly material design, and intelligent waste disposition and understanding the implications of substitution, dematerialization, and waste mining on materials markets.
Olivetti is a part of MIT’s Climate Nucleus, a committee established to address MIT's ambitious new plan, “Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade.” Furthermore, she is the founder of The Olivetti Group, which focuses on quantifying the impact of and providing strategies for increasing the resource, economic, and environmental effectiveness of materials in the context of rapidly expanding global markets.
Gilad Rosenzweig is an architect and urban planner with vast experience in community development, urban tech, and design. As Executive Director of MITDesignX, the venture accelerator of MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning, he is laying the groundwork for new technology to improve the comfort and efficiency of buildings, places, and cities. Before MITDesignX, Gilad created Smarter in the City, an accelerator for high-tech startups in underrepresented communities. He is a graduate of MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Bartlett School of Architecture in London.
Dr. Sanchez is the architect of the global network “The Internet of Things” and data analysis platforms for SAP, Ford, Johnson & Johnson, Accenture, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Altria. In cyber security, he has developed cyber-attack impact analyses for the U.S. Department of Defense and a password firewall for the IARPA.
Dr. Abel Sanchez holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and teaches MIT courses in cyber security, engineering, blockchain and data science. He has been involved in developing educational software for Microsoft and establishing the Accenture Technology Academy. He has produced over 150 educational videos, has 10 years of experience with learning management systems and has made deployments in the Americas, Asia and Europe.
Timothy W. Simpson is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. He holds affiliate appointments in Engineering Design and the College of Information Sciences & Technology. His research interests include product family design and platform-based product development, multidisciplinary design optimization, trade space exploration, and additive manufacturing. He has over 250 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and he is the lead editor on two books, Product Platform and Product Family Design: Methods & Applications (2005) and Advances in Product Family and Product Platform Design: Methods & Applications (2013). His research has been supported by a variety of federal and state agencies, including NSF, ONR, DARPA, EDA, and DCED, as well as numerous companies, ranging from startups to multi-national corporations. He has worked with over 30 different companies to apply his research methods to improve their product lines and product development practices, and he helped establish and manage the Product Platforms Group on LinkedIn.
Dr. George Westerman is a world-recognized thought leader in leading transformation and competitive advantage through technological innovation. He works at the intersection of executive leadership and digital innovation to provide continuous valuable insights to leaders in all industries.
As a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, he researches digital transformation and innovation culture. As a pioneering researcher on digital transformation, George regularly conducts keynote presentations, senior executive workshops, and Board presentations worldwide. George is the author of three award-winning books, including Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation. He has also written numerous contributions for publications such as Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, and academic journals.
As a principal research scientist for workforce learning in MIT’s Office of Learning, George conducts transformative research aimed at improving job readiness and career advancement for workers around the world. His research on transforming corporate learning and development processes, bridging the gap from educators to employers, and improving career development has received widespread attention from leaders around the world. He is also the founder of the Global Opportunity Forum, which is building a community of like-minded academic and corporate leaders to co-create the future of workforce learning.
George is a member of the Digital Strategy Roundtable for the US Library of Congress, Co-Chairman of the MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Awards, and Faculty Director for several MIT executive courses.
- George earned a doctorate from Harvard Business School.
- Prior to returning to academia, he gained more than a dozen years of experience in product development and technology leadership roles.
- He has engaged closely with senior leadership teams in dozens of large companies to improve digital transformation and workforce learning.
Olivier de Weck is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned degrees in Industrial Engineering from ETH Zurich and Aerospace Systems from MIT where he is the faculty director of the Engineering Systems Laboratory.
His main research is in Systems Engineering with a focus on how complex technological systems are designed and how they evolve over time. He has authored or co-authored over 400 publications for which he has been recognized with twelve best paper awards since 2004.
He is a Fellow of INCOSE and a Fellow of AIAA where he is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. As a former Senior Vice President of Technology Planning and Roadmapping at Airbus he was responsible for roadmapping a $1-billion R&D portfolio for the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer.
His passion is to improve life on our home planet Earth through research and education, while paving the way for humanity’s future off-world settlements.
Professor John R. Williams’ research focuses on the development and application of computing algorithms in distributed cyberphysical systems. He was director of the Auto-ID Laboratory, where the Internet of Things was invented. He is considered, along with Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, one of the 50 most powerful people in “Computer Networks”.
He is author and coauthor of more than 250 articles in journals and conferences. Professor Williams teaches courses on the basics of programming, modern software development, the architecture of web, cloud and blockchain systems. In addition, he holds a BSc in Physics from Oxford University, an MSc in Physics from UCLA, and a PhD from the University of Swansea.
