Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP)

NAMIC's award-winning Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) is offered in partnership with the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. ELDP is a globally renowned program uniquely tailored for cable, media, and entertainment executives and was recently recognized as a Best Advance in Leadership Development for Racial/Ethnic Minorities. The program was created to meet several important goals:

• Help identify and nurture high-potential executives of color
• Build and strengthen their skills, preparing them for promotion to more senior positions
• Provide useful tools to help them meet the unique challenges that confront professionals of color who occupy key leadership roles
• Assist industry companies’ retention efforts for executives of color

Since 2012, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business has been NAMIC’s academic partner for ELDP. Darden consistently ranks in the Top Five global business schools for course design and faculty, elements considered by NAMIC to be of vital importance. Darden was selected as a partner to reimagine executive preparedness and success in an emerging global, digital marketplace, building on the NAMIC program’s decade of proven success since its founding in 2001 at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

ELDP is unique in its focus on both men and women of color, and its research-anchored exploration of the intersection of business-critical leadership competencies with cultural identity. The program is designed to help solve some of the industry’s most persistent diversity challenges: increasing the diversity of the industry’s executive suites; retention of executives of color; and maximizing the ROI of a diverse workforce within the business environment that demands strategic leadership agility and creative innovation.

The curriculum is shaped to consider the unique challenges executives of color face throughout their careers. It delves into the critical performance competencies that any successful executive in the industry must master. During four visits to Darden, spanning a seven-month program arc, ELDP class members explore topics required for strategic agility and sustainable success in the ever-changing, dynamic telecommunications industry: marketing and financial analysis; corporate strategy; operations management; communication strategies; change management; achieving optimal business results from multicultural teams; and leading innovation.

The ideal candidate for NAMIC’s Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) fits the following profile:

• Executive of color with a minimum of five years at the director level, and above
• A superior performer
• On track for promotion or identified in the company’s formal/informal succession plan
• Aspiring to a senior-level executive position within the industry
• Endorsed by senior management for participation in the ELDP
• Current NAMIC member

The core objectives of the Executive Leadership Development Program at Darden are as follows:

• Deepen understanding of the changing strategic and market context in the telecommunications industry in an increasingly global and competitive environment;
• Develop an enterprise-wide perspective anchored in the overall business and the inter-connections of the functional business areas such as financial management, marketing and strategic talent alignment;
• Enhance participants’ capacities to convert strategy into action;
• Cultivate a learning mindset that drives innovation;
• Introduce the competencies needed to grow and sustain high-performing diverse teams that span organizational, cultural, and ideological spectra;
• Nurture visionary and transformational leaders.

In order to nurture visionary and transformational leaders to achieve these goals, the comprehensive curriculum focuses on four key business pillars:

I. Strategic Thinking and Enterprise Perspective in a Global Context
II. Financial & Business Acumen
III. Customer Orientation and Innovation
IV. Leading Strategic Change and Fostering a High-Performing, High-Engagement Business Culture

Finally, with the help of leading-edge assessment tools supported by certified professional interpretation and coaching, participants will spend time in guided examination of their strengths and development opportunities, how to leverage emotional intelligence, and the unique rapport that executives of color have with power- acquiring it; using it wisely; and comprehending it in all its cultural and organizational complexity.

Please complete the online application in its entirety. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Acceptance in NAMIC's Executive Leadership Program (ELDP) is competitive; thus, submitting an application form does not necessarily guarantee admission to the program.

All applications undergo a review process. Attention is given to every aspect of an application, including the evaluation of current and past achievements, letters of recommendation, and your statement of purpose are all taken into consideration.

All of the information collected is strictly confidential and will be used exclusively in making program enrollment decisions.

Withdrawal from the program must be submitted via email to program@namic.com two weeks before the program's start. An applicant who fails to withdraw on time will be responsible for the fees associated with the program.

Participation in the kickoff webinar is mandatory and critical to the applicant's success in the program.

Tuition: $24,000