Executive Programs
Cecil Bozarth
“Working with our Executive Programs, I am not only providing working professionals with valuable new skills, but am also gaining new real world insight about today’s services environment that I integrate into my MBA courses. “
Cecil Bozarth Associate Professor, Supply Chain & Operations, Department of Business Management
A custom Executive Program – the Service Delivery Leadership Program – that I developed and delivered to about 100 managers, directors and vice presidents at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, provided the participants with essential service management knowledge and skills.
A central piece of the six day program was a real world project in which the participants worked in teams, applying what they learned to tackle real business problems and present real solutions for their company. This is very similar to the hands-on approach to learning in our degree programs.
Ian Gordon, senior vice president of Commercial and Government Operations (CGO) at BCBSNC, said the company “identified enough cost savings opportunities in the first round to pay for the whole program. This was the one of the best things to hit the operations area of the company in a number of years,” he said.
The learning has gone both ways. Through my interactions with the BCBSNC participants, I personally gained valuable new insight into the practical issues associated with managing service operations in a complex, changing environment. Our students here at the college are benefiting from that insight, as I have been integrating what I learned back into my MBA courses.”
The relationship – and knowledge flow – between BCBSNC and the College of Management continues as I prepare to deliver additional custom Executive Programs.
