Executive Education at Suffolk

The educational resources of the Sawyer Business School aren’t just for graduates and undergraduates. Through its Center for Executive Education, the Business School hosts, organizes, and runs seminars for companies from around the world. Topics include everything from global strategy and leadership skills to finance for non-financial managers.

One of the Center’s regular clients is Manulife, which, every June, sends 30 executives to Boston from across its global centers for three days of intensive learning about compliance, risk, audit, legal, and other topics.

The goal is to “stretch the thinking” of the executives, according to Bill Corson, senior managing director, Head of Global Compliance at Manulife Asset Management. “We might be very familiar with a specific topic on a day-to-day basis, but with the help of Suffolk’s professors, we’re able to do a deeper dive on a topic.”

Unlike other universities that run similar programs, Suffolk works closely with the client to customize the curriculum.

“Flexibility is really our key point of difference,” says Tammy MacLean, director of the Center for Executive Education. “We work closely with clients to take their ideas and give them back a curriculum that’s robust and relevant for the executives.”

Edith Teng is the head of the Legal and Compliance department in Manulife’s Taiwan office. She came to Boston this past June and found the program to be very valuable.

“There were so many aha moments,” Teng says. “I was able to take what I learned from the Suffolk sessions and bring it into my work.”

Mike Allen, chief security officer, Corporate Security, came from the Toronto office and had a similar experience.

“The moderators and instructors had great experience from academia, compliance, and the legal field,” he says. “Their ability to help us see the same problem and solution from different perspectives was eye-opening. I was also impressed how the course helped me to see opportunities for improvement in my leadership and presentation abilities.”

Working with international companies like Manulife, Charles River Labs, and Bose reflects the Suffolk mission to embrace global education and showcase faculty expertise and institutional knowledge.

“More and more, businesses not just from the United States but around the world are recognizing that Suffolk can be an invaluable resource for their executives,” says Senior Associate Dean Michael Behnam. “It speaks to the global mission of the Business School and ties in directly to the University’s strategic plan.”

Learn more about Custom Corporate Learning with Suffolk University’s Center for Executive Education.