Business School Partnerships Elevate Industry Leaders in Atlanta

Home to 17 Fortune 500 companies and the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta is a top metro for business professionals and startup ecosystems and an international hub of technology design, implementation, and innovation.

There’s much to learn in a place with so much to do that not keeping pace leaves you behind. Top companies remain relevant and sharp by investing in people—and there is no better investment than executive education.“

It’s great for people to be constantly growing and learning—it’s incredibly important and sets people up to be leaders in the future,” says Michele Lillard, the senior director of digital acceleration at Coca-Cola North America. “I believe we do this well at Coke, and there is always room for us to continue broadening our perspective to ensure we stay attuned to the broader macro environment, in addition to our business focus. The program we created is an opportunity to take an abstract concept, interpret it, reassess it and relearn what’s happening externally. It’s been amazing.”

Lillard’s course, CrossTrainU, is a customized program developed by a leading Southeast business school that aims to build cross-functional capabilities with Coke employees across departments.

CrossTrainU, now in its third cohort, has seen 90 Coca-Cola employees exploring a general management mindset while discussing a variety of topics and functions affecting the company.

Earlier this year, pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim hosted the third weekly session of the Sustainable Development Excellence (SDX) program, a training effort created with a nearby university to help its employees become meaningful resources in sustainability. With sections on the environment, human and animal health, and corporate critical thinking, the program paired engaged employees with seasoned academics to promote better business practices.

“Our executive education partner has been great in helping us make strategic recommendations on where the industry is going,” Lillard says. “We’re feedback-driven, and they help us refine based on that feedback and are a strategic partner between us and the professors to make sure we’re constantly redefining what the modules can look like from an operational perspective. The team is incredible, and I know it always has it covered.”

In addition to a strong alum presence in company leadership, academic reputation was important for Veritiv Corporation when choosing a university to facilitate its custom LEAD program. Focusing on a high-level overview of key business and leadership topics with a capstone project for 30 Veritiv employees per cohort, the program ensures the packaging solutions company equips its leaders with the lens to make sound business decisions.“

Communication is a key part of every executive role, and the LEAD program includes components aimed at refining verbal and written communication concisely,” says Nancy Whatley, Veritiv’s senior director of global talent acquisition and learning. “It’s important to step out of your daily routines to see emerging trends and get the perspective from faculty who advise top organizations across different industries.”

Recent management education research shows custom executive education programs created by business schools are more adept at responding to client needs than internal trainers, for-profit institutions, and specialist consultants.

A version of this article previously appeared on terry.uga.edu/news.