GCA Executive Program
The Mini-MBA for General Counsel
Upcoming program:
- January 24 – January 29, 2027
Boardrooms need smart GCs/CLOs who also have the leadership skills to make things happen. Combining legal excellence with business sense and leadership development (creativity, communication, cooperation, networking etc) will make you stand out.
Five intensive days you will never forget
The GCA Executive Program is the foundation on which the entire General Counsel Academy is based. For five intensive days, you and a group of up to 22 other GCs/CLOs will dive into an intensive learning experience at the highest possible level in the field of Business Management and the Future of General Counsel.
You will not only learn from the most prominent Professors and Experts, but also from the experiences and ideas of your improving peers. Without exception, it gives participants a boost of confidence to function even better and with more pleasure at C-level. Last but not least: we pay a lot of attention to creating a pleasant and confidential setting where diversity, integrity, mutual respect, transparency and relativity come first. You will get a lifelong, valuable network.
The program
Learning goals & Personal development
by Prof. Dr. Hans van Oosterhout & Dr. Sofya Isaakyan
After arrival in the afternoon, we will kick off with an introduction session in which we will explore your learning goals and personal developments and those of the other participants. During this session, moderated by Prof. Dr. Hans van Oosterhout & Dr. Sofya Isaakyan, we would like each of you to answer a number of questions that will help the program to cater your needs. What do you bring to the table and what does the GCA Executive Program bring you? Moreover, this way you get to know the other participants well in an informal and informative way. This first day ends with a relaxed, but very special form of collaboration.
This session will
- sharpen your learning goals and personal developments;
- help you to identify and overcome your key obstacles and challenges to succeed in times of uncertainty and change;
- ensure you that you get to know your fellow participants in an open and trusted atmosphere.
In Module 8 on Effective Leadership, we bring together key insights and translate them into your own leadership practice.
As the General Counsel function evolves from the traditional role of Chief Legal Affairs towards the contemporary roles of trusted advisor, board secretary, or even member of the executive board, a better understanding of the corporation’s strategy and organizational design becomes a decisive factor for the GC’s effectiveness. This module both delivers the tools you need for this chief executive (c-suite) level strategic analysis, and engages in a scenario-style exercise that will enable you to identify, justify, and take control of the GC’s mandate in contemporary organizations.
You will explore core topics such as:
- Business model analysis and innovation
- First mover advantages and disadvantages
- Competitive strategy and industry structure
- Blue ocean strategy and industry transformation
- Generic strategies and the benefits of focus
- Portfolio analysis and selection
- Organisational Design
Key benefits
- Become a better conversation partner and advisor to c-suite decision-makers.
- Better understand the bi-directional influence between law and strategy.
- Develop a vision of the General Counsel as a strategic change agent.
- Understand how organizational design can help your legal department.
- Strategy in times of crisis.
During this evening, we will delve deeper into corporate venturing and collaborative innovation. This is especially relevant for large organizations that seek to stay competitive in rapidly evolving markets. Technological developments are advancing faster than ever, and market trends and customer preferences are constantly changing. Rapid innovation is often easier for smaller enterprises, which is why it is important for companies to have a strategy around Corporate Venturing. During this module, we will explore how large companies can maximize the success of their collaborations with startups and scale-ups. Additionally, we will explore how General Counsels can play a strategic role in enabling successful corporate-startup collaborations.
During this day, we will explore questions of corporate governance, corporate ownership, and stakeholder management as an integral and essential part of a corporate strategy. Key to this perspective is to understand how the ownership and governance structure of the firm view define the ‘rules of the game’ within which firms can secure, develop, and exploit their resources and business models, in order to create and appropriate value, as well as when and how these rules of the game will need to be revised to unleash value creation and appropriation going forward.
The most important experiential objective of the day will be for you to think and communicate more strategically about some of the core activities that you are involved in as the General Counsel (GC), and develop a perspective on how to complement your existing role as the chief legal expert or manager in the firm with the capability to become a strategic discussion partner for the firm’s c-suite decision-makers.
You will explore the following questions:
- How to understand corporate governance, ownership, and stakeholder management from the perspective of corporate strategy.
- How to develop an ownership and governance strategy as a necessary and integral part of the corporate strategy of the firm.
- How to complement the disciplinary expertise of the GC with a more strategic understanding of GC core activities.
- How to position the GC in order to secure a more strategic role in the management of your firm.
- How to position the GC in times of crisis.
Key benefits
- Understand how and why corporate governance, ownership and stakeholder management are essential and necessary ingredients of a corporate strategy.
- Learn to think and communicate strategically about corporate governance, ownership, and stakeholder management as necessary ingredients of a corporate strategy.
- Discover how the General Counsel may complement his/her disciplinary expertise with a more strategic way of thinking in order to become an all-round discussion partner for the firm’s c-suite decision-makers.
General Counsel, as never before, now need to think strategically. Although their departments do not generally have profit motives, they are under great pressure to be more business-like: to cut their internal and external legal costs, to work more efficiently, to justify their existence in commercial terms, to embrace technology and different methods of sourcing legal work, to show that their set-up is preferable to alternative suppliers and to operate in a world of unforeseen challenges and crises.
On top of their conventional legal services, General Counsel are increasingly also asked to be legal risk managers – to anticipate and avoid all sorts of legal (including regulatory) risks. They are expected to put a fence at the top of the cliff as well as an ambulance at the bottom.
And yet, they have limited resources. Accordingly, they must plan for the long term, prioritize, and ensure that they are bringing value. In other words, they need to formulate their own strategies and take the future and technology seriously.
This session will
- explain relevant trends in the legal industry;
- outline the strategic challenges and practical solutions facing General Counsel of the future;
- offer practical guidance on the formulation of a strategy for in-house legal departments;
- explain the current and future impact of technology;
- discuss alternative suppliers of legal services.
In this interactive session, we explore how reputation can be managed in stakeholder relationships to add value and reduce risks for an organisation. Building on real case examples in international settings, we will explore lessons on how reputation drives employee engagement, customer loyalty, and shareholder trust. Importantly, we will consider how organisations can balance the often competing needs of different stakeholders. At a time of increased societal division and polarisation, we will also explore how managing reputation can reduce risks and inform board decision-making.
The session will include a board role-play that is based on a real-life case, where participants will be invited to consider different roles on the board and take decisions informed by reputation insights.
The day will consider the following key questions:
- How can reputation management add value, reduce risk, and build trust with stakeholders in times of increasing societal division?
- How can organisations balance the competing needs of different stakeholders?
- What is the impact of emotion, narrative and rational thinking when managing reputation?
Key benefits
- Explore how reputation management can inform business strategy and stakeholder engagement.
- Understand how to make decisions that mitigate risk and build long-term value
- Explore the role of the General Counsel and other directors in managing reputation.
In this session, we explore one of today’s most pressing challenges for senior legal leaders: how do cultural differences shape the way we communicate, negotiate, and lead across borders?
Even General Counsel who are experienced, internationally minded, and well-travelled often find that the rules of the business game they play effortlessly at home lose their effectiveness abroad. A negotiation stalls for no obvious reason. A meeting ends with smiles and silence, and you leave unsure whether you have a deal or not. A decision that seemed agreed upon means something entirely different to the other side.
This session offers a practical perspective on what actually drives behaviour across cultures; how people build trust, respond to authority, handle disagreement, and make decisions. We will look at why two equally skilled leaders can walk out of the same room with completely opposite conclusions, and what to do about it.
You will leave with a sharper lens on your own leadership style and concrete insights to apply immediately, whether in a cross-border negotiation, an international team meeting, or your next conversation with a colleague from a different culture.
In today’s organisations, the effectiveness of a General Counsel is increasingly defined by the ability to act as a credible and trusted advisor at C-suite level. This module focuses on strengthening your effectiveness as a leader from within, as the foundation for your impact in a CEO and top management context.
Building on insights from the first-day module on Learning Goals and Personal Development, we bring together key insights and translate them into your own leadership practice. The emphasis lies on understanding yourself as a leader: clarifying the kind of impact you want to have, strengthening your judgement in complex environments, and developing a clear sense of purpose in your role as GC/CLO.
We explore how self-awareness, reflection, and emotional intelligence shape your leadership presence and decision-making. By strengthening these foundations, you enhance your credibility, sharpen your judgement, and become a more effective and trusted voice in the C-suite.
You will explore:
- How to define your role and leadership identity as GC/CLO
- How to clarify your personal vision, purpose, and desired impact
- How to strengthen judgement in complex stakeholder environments
- How to recognise and manage biases in decision-making
- How to enhance self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and leadership presence
Key benefits
- Gain clarity on your role, priorities, and leadership direction
- Strengthen your judgement and decision-making in complex settings
- Increase your self-awareness and effectiveness under pressure
- Enhance your credibility and presence at C-suite level
- Become a more effective and trusted advisor to senior leadership
Time to introduce some GCA Alumni
Diversity is one of our core values. All GCs are welcome. Some GCA Alumni are happy to share their GCA experiences with you.
Practical information
Upcoming program:
- 2027: January 24 - January 29
- Registration is now open
- Throughout the whole week the language of instruction is English.
Program fee
We believe in all-in fees. The tuition fee amounts to € 13,950.- (ex VAT) and includes all lessons, all teaching materials, all overnight stays in private rooms, all food (breakfasts, lunches, dinners and bites during all breaks) and even all drinks during the week (incl wine/beer etc, but except liquors).
Het Roode Koper
The GCA Executive Program of January 2027 will be held in one of the finest Hotel-Estates in The Netherlands called ‘Het Roode Koper’ in the midst of the beautiful National Park ‘De Veluwe’ with a great hospitality allowing you to fully focus on the Program.
