UC Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy

What UC Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy does

The UC Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) is a non-degree executive training program operated by the Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of California, Berkeley. It is designed to develop leadership capacity among senior administrators of universities and higher education systems, including chancellors, presidents, provosts, and deans. Programming is delivered as an annual, application-based cohort that convenes in person on the Berkeley campus, supplemented by a 'Breakfast with George' mentorship track and an international arm, the ELA China Program, run in coordination with the Berkeley Institutes on Higher Education (BIHE). CSHE itself is positioned as the nation's first established research institute devoted to the study of higher education, and ELA is one of several CSHE training and research units alongside the SERU Consortium, the Gardner Program, and the Visiting Scholars program.

ELA's core product is the multi-day executive leadership intensive, with curriculum grounded in CSHE's policy and higher education research and in practitioner experience contributed by senior figures such as former UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal. The program does not sell a technology platform; there is no proprietary software, app, or AI-enabled product disclosed. Technically, the offering is a people-intensive professional service: curated faculty, advisory board governance, cohort facilitation, and the in-person convening infrastructure of UC Berkeley.

Commercially, ELA operates as a fee-based training program within a public research university. Revenue is generated through participant program fees, with pricing not publicly disclosed; the customer base is segmented into domestic university executives and international higher education leaders, with China as the named international market. Distribution is direct, via the CSHE website, UC Berkeley communications channels, and the Advisory Board's professional networks, with no third-party resellers, paid media channels, or enterprise sales motion indicated.

Name

UC Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy

Legal name

Executive Leadership Academy

Website

https://cshe.berkeley.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The UC Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy is an executive training program under CSHE at UC Berkeley that delivers cohort-based leadership development for chancellors, presidents, provosts, and deans, with an international China track run via BIHE.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Education

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Education & Corporate Programs (Non-degree) (EDAHAHAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Executive Leadership Summits (C-Suite, Board, Strategy Offsites) (THAHAMAA)

Keywords

• Executive leadership training
• Higher education programs
• Professional development
• University administrator training
• Cohort-based education

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Training Program Fees: The Executive Leadership Academy generates revenue through participant program fees for its executive leadership training programs targeting higher education professionals and university executives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The UC Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) is a cohort-based executive training program operated under UC Berkeley's Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE). It delivers intensive in-person leadership development to university executives and senior higher education administrators, with international programming through the ELA China Program and the Berkeley Institutes on Higher Education (BIHE).

Product overview

The UC Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy is a unified training program within the Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) that offers executive leadership development for higher education professionals. The program consists of the core Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) providing leadership training and the ELA China Program offering international programming for Chinese higher education leaders. The program is affiliated with the CSHE Training division and is overseen by an advisory board including George Blumenthal, former Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) A leadership training program for higher education executives offered by UC Berkeley's Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE), providing executive education, mentorship, and professional development for chancellors, presidents, provosts, deans, and other senior university administrators.
• ELA China Program International programming component of the Executive Leadership Academy, providing leadership training and development specifically focused on higher education leadership for participants in China.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• ELA Advisory BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Executive Leadership Academy maintains an Advisory Board that provides governance and strategic direction for the program, composed of higher education leaders including George Blumenthal, former CSHE Director and Chancellor Emeritus of UC Santa Cruz.
• SERU ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SERU (Student Experience in the Research University) Consortium is an academic and policy research collaboration based at CSHE, working in partnership with Etio and member universities to generate and analyze comparative data on the student experience. The consortium supports research-driven insights that inform ELA programming.
• Berkeley Institutes on Higher Education (BIHE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBIHE is a program under CSHE targeted to higher education leaders from nations outside the United States, focusing on essential characteristics of major research universities with particular emphasis on the University of California as a case study, linking programs with CSHE-based policy research.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education: Harvard Kennedy School runs senior executive programs in leadership, governance, and public policy that overlap with ELA's curriculum themes (governance, strategic decision-making) for an overlapping audience of institutional leaders.
• Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB): AGB provides governance, leadership, and board development resources for higher education trustees and senior administrators. It addresses an overlapping buyer (university leadership) but with a wider governance focus rather than ELA's cohort-based executive training format.
• American Council on Education (ACE): ACE is the major US membership association for higher education leaders and runs leadership development programs (e.g., ACE Fellows) for the same chancellor/president audience as ELA. It is a broader incumbent operating across many higher education policy and professional development functions.
• Berkeley Haas Executive Education: Berkeley Haas Executive Education offers general executive leadership programs at the same UC Berkeley campus. While its audience is broader corporate executives rather than higher education administrators specifically, it shares the Berkeley institutional brand and serves as an adjacent executive education comparison.
• Huron Higher Education Consulting: Huron's higher education practice advises university presidents and provosts on strategy, leadership, and operational transformation. It is adjacent to ELA in serving the same leadership audience but through consulting engagements rather than cohort executive programs.

Emerging players

• EAB (formerly Advisory Board Company): EAB provides research, consulting, and professional development services to higher education leaders and administrators. It targets the same chancellors and provosts as ELA but through subscriptions and consulting rather than cohort-based executive training.
• Aspen Institute Higher Education Programs: The Aspen Institute runs leadership programs and seminars that include higher education leaders among their participants, sharing ELA's cohort-based, values-driven executive development format for senior institutional leaders.

Direct peers

• Harvard Graduate School of Education Executive Education: Harvard GSE offers executive education programs for higher education leaders and administrators. It is the most direct competitor to UC Berkeley ELA in the niche of professional development for university executives, sharing the same customer base (chancellors, deans, provosts) and the same brand-driven premium positioning.
• University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education Executive Programs: Penn GSE Executive Programs deliver leadership development for education leaders at the doctoral and executive level. Like ELA, it targets senior administrators and combines research-backed curriculum with executive-format delivery.
• Stanford Graduate School of Education Executive Programs: Stanford GSE runs executive programs and leadership institutes aimed at education leaders, including higher education administrators. Comparable to ELA in audience (senior academic leaders), delivery model (cohort executive programs), and brand-led premium positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BerkeleyCSHE
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEklL-hSi_5SCYuiAq-N3Mw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uc-berkeley-executive-leadership-academy
• Instagraminstagram.com/https://www.instagram.com/berkeleycshe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UC Berkeley Executive Leadership Academy