In October 2019, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, in partnership with the NNS Foundation, a UK charity settled by Nassef Sawiris and the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, launched a one-of-a-kind executive education program in El Gouna, Egypt. According to Emad Abdel Malek, Country Manager, BASF Construction Chemicals Egypt SAE, attending the program was an “experience of a lifetime.”
Similar high praise came from other participants in this unique program. “The diversity in the classroom captivated me. It was a great opportunity to network with people from different fields, industries, backgrounds, and stages of life. I would definitely recommend this program as a lifetime opportunity and crucial experience in one’s career,” says Howaida Barakat, Undersecretary and Head of Sustainable Development Unit, Ministry of Planning, Monitoring, and Administrative Reform.
Then came the pandemic, and uncertainty about when the next cohort could be held. Now, two years later, Booth will be back in Egypt with the second offering of the Chicago Booth Executive Program in El Gouna, Egypt–a comprehensive management program that provides Egyptian private and public sector executives with the transformational skills to address key challenges facing Egypt. “As an experiential program that weaves collaboration and network-building into the design, we strongly felt the program should be delivered in-person. We are thrilled to be able to launch the second offering in Spring 2023, with an updated curriculum to meet challenges brought on by the global disruptors,” says Meena Wehrs, Associate Dean of Chicago Booth Executive Education.
How The El Gouna Program Started
Recognizing how much Egypt’s economy has been evolving–even pre-pandemic–Wehrs recalls that the program stemmed from Nassef Sawaris’ innovative idea to position Egypt to be successful amid such change. “We conducted extensive interviews with Egyptian leaders in banking, in telecom, construction, multiple sectors, and the government, and created a custom-designed program that brings private and public sector leaders together,” she says.
The resulting Chicago Booth Executive Program in El Gouna, Egypt, was created in partnership with the NNS Foundation and Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, which significantly subsidizes participant attendance. The Foundation covers the program fee for public sector attendees and significantly subsidizes the program for private sector attendees.
Sawiris Foundation Executive Director Noura Selim comments, “We are very happy to launch this program and facilitate public-private partnership, and to support participants as we introduce novel topics relevant to their work.” The program, Selim continues, “is customized to the Egyptian context. It has renowned Chicago Booth faculty and cutting edge topics. and brings together a very high caliber of decision makers from public and private sector that would not normally come together for a duration that enables such powerful connections to be made. Fourteen days is sufficient time to get to know each other and to delve deep into the content. It’s not just a superficial view but also not too much time that, as someone senior, you can’t take it out of your schedule. It’s a good balance.”
The Participant Experience
These fourteen days will be full ones. Learning is based around “The Chicago Approach to business” —a multi-disciplined, collaborative approach to help participants define issues, ask better questions, and develop better solutions across the areas of leadership, strategy, decision-making, and finance. “Participants will learn from Booth faculty, guest speakers, and interactive classroom exercises with peers. Attendees will gain the frameworks to address and tackle problems, ask better questions and make data-driven decisions.” says Wehrs. And when reflecting on the program, Susan Lucia Annunzio, President and CEO at Center for High Performance and program faculty, says “Leadership is not for the faint of heart; brave leaders face challenges head-on.”
Program participants will receive a certificate of completion, which is awarded in a program-closing ceremony with the Dean of the University of Chicago Business School. Those who complete the program will also receive a digital badge to be shared on social sites, and a subscription to the Chicago Booth Review.
More information on the program can be found on the University of Chicago Web site.
Prospective Participants
The El Gouna program is highly selective, with hundreds of applicants expected to fill approximately 50 spots (20 allotted for the public sector and 30 for the private sector). Potential candidates should be senior-level with minimum 12 years of experience, empowered to make decisions and influence organizational change.
Diversity in age, sector, industry, and other characteristics add to the varied perspectives of the program. All participants must be sponsored and recommended by their organization, but only one or two per organization are expected to be admitted.
“The private/public sector mix was outstanding,” says Mohamed AbouShady, Head of Sales & PepsiCo Egypt Business at Pepsi Cola Egypt.
Next Steps
The Chicago Booth Executive Program in El Gouna, Egypt will take place on March 4–17, 2023. The application deadline is November 27, 2022. For more information and to access the application, visit the Chicago Booth Executive Education website.
You are also invited to attend information sessions on Tuesday, August 16 and Tuesday, August 23. Both sessions will be held virtually at 6.00pm Cairo time. To register for the sessions, please click here: Tuesday, August 16 session–Tuesday, August 23 session.