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In a world where artificial intelligence is reshaping every industry, business leaders face a pressing question: How do you stay ahead without hitting pause on your career? To tackle this challenge, Chicago Booth and MasterClass launched MasterClass Executive, the first business school experience for the AI era, built with collaboration from OpenAI.
The new program aims to equip participants with the skills they need to stand out and lead in today’s rapidly evolving AI era. This first-of-its-kind and innovative certificate program leverages AI to deliver personalized education through a self-paced, 12-week program. The inaugural cohort will begin in early summer 2026.
Several members of Chicago Booth’s faculty will lend their expertise to MasterClass Executive, including Sanjog Misra, who will focus on the intersection of AI and decision-making. “I’m excited to be involved in this program because it creates an opportunity to engage leaders on one of the most important shifts affecting business today. There is a real need for thoughtful discussion about how AI is changing decision-making, organizations, and strategy,” says Misra, the Charles H. Kellstadt Distinguished Service Professor of Marketing and Applied AI, and the faculty director of the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence. “We will focus on concrete examples of how AI can deliver tangible value, but also on topics that are more strategic about the role AI will play in reframing and creating new decision environments.”
Participants will engage in AI-native learning experiences, including live labs where AI experts will teach them how to apply artificial intelligence to financial decisions, growth strategy, and other business challenges. They’ll also learn distinctly human skills that are necessary to excel in business, including negotiation, persuasion, and the ability to lead teams through change.
“The program is an exciting opportunity to learn about and be involved in combining teaching and AI,” adds Steve Kaplan, the Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance and Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In his content for the program, Kaplan will cover topics such as how to become and succeed as a CEO, and how to evaluate private equity and venture capital investments.
“MasterClass Executive is an exciting opportunity to extend the reach of Booth’s world-class faculty to ambitious leaders at every stage of their career—people who are driven to grow but need the flexibility to do so on their own terms.”
— Starr Marcello
Other participating Booth faculty include:
- Doug Diamond, Merton H. Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance and 2022 Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences
- Jean-Pierre Dubé, James M. Kilts Distinguished Service Professor of Marketing and Charles E. Merrill Faculty Scholar
- Nicholas Epley, John Templeton Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science, Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow, and faculty director of the Roman Family Center for Decision Research
- Eugene Fama, Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor of Finance and 2013 Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences
- Ayelet Fishbach, Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing
- Alex Imas, Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Professor of Behavioral Science, Economics, and Applied AI and Vasiliou Faculty Scholar
- Anil Kashyap, Stevens Distinguished Service Professor of Economics and Finance
“This innovative partnership allows Booth to reach a new group of business professionals and prepare them for today’s AI-driven market,” says Madhav Rajan, dean of Chicago Booth, the George Shultz Professor of Accounting, and the chief global strategist at the University of Chicago. “Through programs like these, our research and scholarship are translated into high-impact learning experiences for those who will influence business and society.” Dean Rajan will also serve as faculty director of the program.
Additional instructors for MasterClass Executive include global leaders who are shaping the world of business, AI, and policy, such as entrepreneur Mark Cuban; Turing Award winner Jack Dongarra; Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman; and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi.
“MasterClass Executive is an exciting opportunity to extend the reach of Booth’s world-class faculty to ambitious leaders at every stage of their career—people who are driven to grow but need the flexibility to do so on their own terms,” says Starr Marcello, deputy dean for MBA and masters programs, special advisor to the provost, and adjunct associate professor of entrepreneurship. “By combining Booth’s intellectual rigor with MasterClass’s global storytelling platform, we’re reimagining what business education can look like. This partnership reflects Booth’s commitment to meeting today’s leaders where they are and to equipping them with the tools to shape what comes next.”
The curriculum is tailored to each participant’s unique role and team so they can apply lessons at work immediately. The program also uses AI to adapt in real time to each participant’s pace and performance while maintaining Booth’s high academic standards.
In addition to gaining a competitive skill set, participants will have access to virtual and in-person events at Booth and beyond, where they can network with industry leaders who are looking for candidates with the skills the program provides.
The program is primarily virtual with an optional in-person experience. Spots are limited and admission is competitive.
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