Airport Executive Leadership Program

The Airports Council International (ACI) and the Aviation Management Institute (AMI) at the John Molson School of Business (JMSB), Concordia University, have partnered to deliver an Airport Executive Leadership Program (AELP). Targeted at future CEOs, Deputy CEOs, or Vice-Presidents of airport operating organizations, this program aims to develop airport industry leaders and to advance the professionalism of airport management practices.

Each two-month course employs a combination of face-to-face and web-based sessions using state-of-the-art communications technology along with lectures, case studies and role play in a mock council meeting setting. Participating airport professionals undertake the program while remaining employed on a full-time basis.

Objectives

To foster the development of airport industry leaders, by assisting them in developing their leadership and strategic management skills;

• Provide participants with:
  • Advice on strategies to handle leadership responsibilities in an effective manner;
  • Global, regional and cultural perspectives
  • New professional opportunities
• We create a global forum for professional networking among possible future leaders

Outline

During the first three weeks of part-time distance learning, participants will:

• Post an introductory message and take a personality-type questionnaire.
• Identify strategic challenges facing their respective organizations.
• Read articles on contemporary leadership theory, and complete an individual assignment

During the six days full-time face-to-face classroom segment, participants will:

• Attend presentations on Global Strategic Outlook, Systems Theory, Leadership, Management of Change, Ethics, High-Performance Work Organizations, Teamwork, Innovation, Conflict Resolution, and Communicating Across Cultural Diversity.
• Work in heterogeneous teams (i.e., based on expertise, cultural background, personality style, years of experience, gender, etc.) to carry out assignments.
• Complete exercises to integrate useful theoretical concepts into practice and discuss possible ways to address specific industry strategic challenges.
• Undertake a major program integration exercise that culminates in a role-play activity (possibly in the capacity of the “ACI Governing Board”) with the participation of an expert group of airport CEO’s as resource persons.

During the last four weeks of part-time distance learning, participants will:

• Complete a group project with a virtual work team while members of the resource team monitor their progress.
• Prepare a personal professional leadership plan, which is submitted as the final AELP assignment.

Eligibility

The selection of participants is made based on recommendation from the applicant’s chief executive and a letter of motivation.

Participating airport professionals undertake the program while remaining employed on a full-time basis. By using a combination of distance learning and classroom sessions, the AELP has a minimum disruption on the participant’s work.

Successful participants receive a joint ACI/JMSB-Concordia University certificate, but this is not the end of the program for them. It is the entry card to an exclusive club of international airport professionals.

In the past, many Governing Board members have enrolled promising executives in AELP. Indeed a number of these graduates have already moved to the top positions at their airport companies. AELP is one of ACI’s most successful value-added products and we hope you will seriously consider this unique opportunity.

Registration

If you wish to nominate someone for an upcoming session, please refer to the ACI Global Training Hub web page.

The fee for this course is $6, 200 USD, which is payable upon acceptance into the program. Please note that this does not include the cost of travel and accommodations for the face-to-face week.