The forces reshaping senior decisions
Oxford Executive Leadership Programme 2027
Leading through change.
Strategy. Technology. Influence. Judgement. One intensive week for leaders responsible for what happens next.
An independent programme organised by Oxford Global Education.
Programme at a glance
Sunday arrival to Saturday departure
Residential in college
Business, government and public institutions
From briefings to live simulations
All-inclusive programme fee
All-inclusive programme fee
Selective admission
Apply for 2027.
Every application is reviewed individually. We consider current responsibility, professional experience and what each applicant would contribute to a deliberately cross-sector cohort.
01The programme
The decisions that matter rarely arrive with instructions
Judgement that survives contact with reality.
Senior leaders make consequential decisions with incomplete information, limited time and no universal support. They balance commercial priorities, political realities, people, technology and risk.
For one intensive week, leaders from business, government and public life examine those problems with Oxford and Cambridge academics, experienced practitioners and one another. The focus is practical: better diagnosis, stronger decisions and clearer action.
One week. Oxford. Real decisions. Exceptional perspectives.
02Five areas of executive decision-making
A week organised around the choices leaders actually face.
Each day approaches leadership from a different angle. Strategy sets direction. Technology changes the operating model. Influence moves institutions. Finance tests ambition. Government and geopolitics set the wider constraints.
Strategy and Executive Judgement
Making choices when information, time and resources are limited.
What deserves attention, capital and commitment?
AI, Technology and Transformation
Understanding what emerging technology changes, and what it does not.
Build, buy or partner?
Power, Influence and Negotiation
Moving people and institutions when formal authority is not enough.
How do you build a coalition under pressure?
Growth, Finance and Performance
Turning strategic ambition into measurable organisational performance.
Where is value created, and where does it disappear?
Government, Geopolitics and Institutional Leadership
Leading through regulation, uncertainty and public scrutiny.
What changes when commercial judgement becomes political judgement?
03How the programme works
Six formats. One connected system.
The programme moves quickly between insight and application. Participants frame a problem, test it, make a decision, defend it and revise when new information changes the situation.
Executive Briefings
Oxford and Cambridge academics frame a difficult question or emerging issue with the evidence leaders need.
Decision Labs
Participants apply ideas immediately to strategic, financial and organisational choices.
Simulations
Evolving scenarios introduce new information, competing interests and pressure.
Leadership Conversations
Candid discussions with people who have led institutions through real change.
Executive Roundtables
Small-group discussion of contemporary questions across sectors and countries.
Oxford Experiences
Relationships and serious conversation continue beyond the formal sessions.
A deliberately cross-sector room.
Selection is not based on title alone. We look for meaningful responsibility, a perspective worth testing and the willingness to contribute. The value of the room comes from leaders working under different constraints.
Business
Government
Technology
Finance
Entrepreneurship
Professional services
International organisations
Public institutions
04The Oxford Executive Simulation
One organisation. One leadership team. Changing circumstances.
The simulation runs throughout the week. Participants work from a live data room containing financial performance, organisational information, stakeholder interests, media coverage and confidential correspondence. Every decision changes what happens next.
MondayDiagnose
TuesdayTransform
WednesdayNegotiate
ThursdayDecide
FridayRespond
The Crisis Room
Pressure reveals the quality of the decision.
A cyber incident, an internal leak, government intervention, media scrutiny, a senior resignation and a market reaction arrive across one evolving day. The week closes with a Final Board, where teams defend both their decisions and the reasoning behind them.
08:40Cyber incident
09:55Internal leak
11:20Government intervention
12:45Media scrutiny
14:10Senior resignation
15:30Market reaction
05The Executive Challenge and outcomes
Bring one real professional problem
Leave with a credible 90-day plan.
The challenge may concern growth, market entry, structure, technology, reform or people. It is defined before arrival, challenged by faculty, pressure-tested by peers and converted into a course of action.
Before OxfordDefine
MidweekFaculty challenge
ThursdayPeer pressure-test
Departure90-day plan
06The week in Oxford
Seven days with a clear rhythm.
Formal teaching, live decisions and private reflection are held inside a residential Oxford experience. The setting is not decorative. It creates the time, proximity and seriousness required for difficult conversations.
SundayThe Room
Arrival, welcome reception and dinner.
MondayStrategy and Judgement
TuesdayAI and Transformation
WednesdayPower and Influence
ThursdayPerformance and People
FridayLeadership Under Pressure
Crisis Room, Final Board, Forum and gala.
SaturdayWhat Happens Next
Reflections, network and departure.
Meet the cohort on Sunday evening.
Small conversations throughout the week.
Argument, persuasion and public judgement.
Conversation continues beyond the seminar room.
07Faculty and contributors
Oxford and Cambridge thinking, tested against practice.
Economists interpret markets and incentives. Technologists examine systems and limits. Political and institutional experts frame power and public scrutiny. Experienced practitioners test whether the ideas survive real constraints.
Professor Alexander Bird
University of Cambridge
Philosophy, scientific reasoning and the quality of judgement under uncertainty.
Dr Oğuz Karasu
University of Oxford
High-growth sectors, emerging markets and the space economy.
Dr Kate Roll
University of Oxford
Innovation, management and the institutional conditions for inclusive change.
Dr Kubilay Ahmet Küçük
University of Oxford
Artificial intelligence, trusted computing and the practical limits of technology.
Lucy Wayman
University of Cambridge
Better questions, clearer reasoning and the discipline of intellectual challenge.
Junaid Aziz
Stanford University
Design thinking, life design and turning complex problems into testable choices.
08Practical information and joining
Oxford Executive Leadership Programme 2027: cost, dates and eligibility
What does the programme cost?
The organisation-funded fee is £4,950 excluding VAT at 20%. The self-funded fee is £5,940 including VAT. Full payment details appear directly below.
When and where is it held?
The seven-day residential programme takes place in August 2027 at Queen’s College, Oxford. Joining details are supplied to successful applicants.
Who is eligible to apply?
It is designed for senior leaders from business, government and public life. Applications are reviewed for responsibility, experience and likely contribution to the cohort.
Is it a University of Oxford programme?
No. It is independently organised by Oxford Global Education. College names identify programme venues and university names identify individual contributors’ affiliations; they do not indicate endorsement by the University of Oxford.
Organisation-funded
Programme fee
£4,950 excluding VAT at 20%
A £1,299 deposit forms part of the total. The remaining VAT-inclusive balance of £4,641 is due within 30 days of the deposit.
Self-funded
Programme fee
£5,940 including VAT
All-inclusive programme fee.
A £1,299 deposit forms part of the total. The remaining VAT-inclusive balance of £4,641 is due within 30 days of the deposit.
Read the terms and conditions for the approved cancellation and refund terms.
Selective admissions
Three steps to Oxford.
01
Apply
Professional details, current role and a short statement of relevance.
02
Review
We consider responsibility, experience and likely contribution to the cohort.
03
Offer
Successful applicants receive a formal offer and joining instructions.
Applications close February 2027
For leaders responsible for what happens next.
Bring a real decision, contribute to an exceptional room and leave with a stronger way to judge what the situation requires.