Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs are designed to help senior managers hone their leadership skills, and the careers available with Executive MBA degrees usually require that candidates have more than a decade of experience in various management roles. Depending on the industry in which they work, these senior leaders often gained numerous technical skills as young professionals that allowed them to perform well in entry and mid level positions. Participating in an Executive MBA program provides degree candidates with additional management and leadership training that ideally leads to greater job responsibilities as senior managers and corporate executives. Most Executive MBA programs include a core of standard business course topics as well as electives that provide insight into business specialty areas. Here are some examples of the jobs for which business leaders qualify upon graduation from today’s Executive MBA programs.
Chief Technology Officer
A company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is responsible for establishing the company’s technical direction based upon the organization’s mission and vision. The CTO role requires knowledge of business needs as well as insight into the latest technologies that provide potential solutions to improve company performance, increase its growth rate or reduce its lifecycle costs. Many Executive MBA graduates who already have technical academic and professional backgrounds are prepared to properly interpret a company’s strategic business needs and locate technological solutions that will meet those needs well into the future.
Director of Supply Chain Management
Executive MBA graduates who have performed well as procurement managers, process engineers or logistics managers can often gain the necessary skills to move into more senior positions within supply chain management. Supply chain management directors or vice presidents report to Chief Operating Officers and create supply chain strategies based upon the visionary goals of these company executives. Directors of supply chain management oversee the activities of all supply chain functions from purchasing to distribution. This position is particularly ideal for Executive MBA graduates who customized their degree programs with elective course work in topics like operations management, procurement management, global supply chain management, pricing strategies and sustainable logistics.
Chief Financial Officer
The position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is one of the most prominent career opportunities that are available to Executive MBA graduates who have the right combination of skills and experience, according to Investopedia. A company CFO is responsible for the financial health of the organization so that it can efficiently accomplish its mission and remain profitable. Most of the core and elective course topics of Executive MBA programs like advanced corporate finance, corporate development through mergers and acquisitions, venture capital finance and international corporate finance help to prepare graduates for executive level finance positions. However, a senior manager will need more than just an Executive MBA to land the top finance position at most corporations; they also need the right mix of experience. Most of the time these business leaders have held positions like accounting manager, company controller or finance director before they are tapped for the CFO position.
Related Resource: International MBA Careers
Conclusion
Upon graduation from Executive MBA programs, senior managers can expect to have the tools to manage change as well as create new opportunities from those changes. Executive MBA classes are usually held on weekends so that they do not interfere with the students’ full time work schedules, and many of the best careers available with Executive MBA degrees are found with the students’ current employers who often pay for top talent to attend these prestigious degree programs, according to The New York Times.
