Globalising Education for Caribbean Executives

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Executives and industry-leaders from across the Caribbean will soon have a world-class executive education option at their doorstep. The McDonough School of Business of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. has announced its intention to deliver its Executive Education programmes to twenty-first century leaders and organisations in the region. The programmes, which range in length from five days to ten months, are customised to focus on individual companies or specific sectors. The company-focused approach delivers training specifically tailored for senior leaders from the same organisation, while sector-focused programmes are delivered to executives and senior leaders from different companies in the same industry or sector.

Participants design the programme's content, duration and location according to what best suits their objectives. Assistant Dean of the McDonough School of Business, Nancy Tobin, described the programmes as “completely customisable”.

“Our students are educated in the essentials of world-class business principles. We go beyond traditional models to provide executive experiences that capitalise on global learning. We abandoned outdated approaches and are pioneering innovative formats that focus on experiential learning.”

The McDonough School of Business’ Executive Education programme empowers graduates to network with future leaders, build strategy and improve competitiveness in a globalised marketplace. Based in Washington, D.C., Georgetown University's Executive Education programmes draw on the distinct advantage of its location at the global nexus of private enterprise, public policy, government, international affairs, advanced science and technology, the diplomatic community, and multilateral organisations.

“We provide a premier educational experience that transforms executives into global leaders. Through our distinguished faculty and alumni network, our students work directly with senior leaders at pre-eminent business, government and cultural institutions,” said Paul Almeida, Senior Associate Dean of Executive Education.

Since 1994, Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business has worked with dozens of global organisations to deliver these specialised programmes. Since 2012, modules of their executive programmes have been offered in the UAE, Beijing, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Bangalore, Madrid, Buenos Aires, San Paulo, Tel Aviv and Barcelona.

Among their clientele are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Rio Tinto Mining, NII Holdings, Medifast, Booz Allen Hamilton, USAID, Panasonic, FedEx, Gucci, Areva, Alcatel-Lucent, Rolls Royce, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

"The Georgetown McDonough Business School Executive Education custom programmes deliver a lasting impact. The learning process doesn’t stop when the class ends because the custom programmes give participants entry into Georgetown’s distinguished global alumni group with access to key individuals and other resources," said Omo Igiehon, a graduate of Georgetown’s global-focused MBA programme.

"Besides the academic substance and gravitas of the subject matter being imparted to participants, Georgetown provides a context for a meeting of minds for meaningful discourse to address regional issues from a global lens," said Igiehon, who is also a member of the McDonough School’s Executive Education Programme team.

Igiehon, who is of Caribbean and African parentage, is the CEO of Portals, a consulting, investment and logistics company based in Washington D.C., which is facilitating the McDonough Business School’s expansion into the Caribbean and other emerging markets. Portals leverages its partnerships with world-class institutions, companies and investors to provide easy access to financial assets, intellectual resources and organisational capacity.