Curriculum

Our curriculum blends state-of-the-art educational content from renowned MIT faculty with practical voices from the boardroom, including governance and policy experts from ITAM (our Mexican partner), as well as current directors, consultants, and search and legal professionals from across Mexico and globally.

Phase 1: Mexico City

November 12-13, 2025

Kickoff: two, 3-hour virtual interactive sessions on Mexican accounting for boards and corporate governance led by Sylvia Meljem, MSWoB faculty member, ITAM accounting professor, and Mexican corporate governance expert. Professor Meljem will provide this introduction or refresher to ensure a common framework of foundational knowledge across our cohort. The sessions will be late afternoon/evenings and recorded.

November 19-21, 2025

An intense 3-day in-person kickoff Roundtable hosted in Mexico City at the beautiful executive education campus of MIT’s Mexico academic partner ITAM in Santa Teresa. The Roundtable will 1) build community and connections among the cohort, 2) provide a deeper dive on legal, ethical, financial and accounting issues that are central to good governance for Mexican boards and 3) provide a clear playbook to identify the right board for you while managing the obstacles and leveraging the opportunities in the process.

Tentative Roundtable 1 Content

Spotlight on Substance:

Expert voices: Partners from leading law firms, accounting firms and consulting firms
Board spectrum: Issues for public, private, tech, family-controlled, non-profit
Spotlight on family-controlled firm boards: Risks and opportunities in a volatile world
Critical director issues: Ethics, duties, liability risks
Committees: Power, roles, limitations

Spotlight on Process:

Framing your personal board goals
Role of search professionals
Tactics playbook: Board CV, Board pitch, Board interviews
Perspectives from current directors
Board search journey roadmap

Phase 2: Virtual Learning

To be held between December 2025 and February 2026

Live, interactive courses on critical topics directly relevant to board success. All Phase 2 class sessions will be taught by leading MIT Sloan faculty members.

Virtual learning courses will spotlight critical operating and board topics for boards, from a primarily global perspective, Phase 2 consists of 20 live sessions of 90 minutes each. All sessions will be recorded, although real-time attendance is strongly encouraged.

Proposed 2025-2026 Curriculum Includes:

Artificial Intelligence and Boardroom Impact
Leadership and Board Dynamics
Risk Management for Boards
Board-Level Corporate Strategy

Phase 3: Boston

March 9-11, 2026

The concluding 3-day in-person Roundtable on the MIT campus, hosted in Cambridge, Massachusetts, includes a program graduation ceremony for successful participants. Day 1 focuses on the global director experience, with an overview from Latin American directors serving on US boards, as well as key legal, ethical and regulatory requirements imposed by the US and other markets. Day 2 and 3 integrate the key innovation of Roundtable 2: the in-person participation of Mexican “Decisionmakers”—current and former large board chairs and directors. They will share, formally and informally, their perspectives on board success (and failure) and strategies for the search process. Day 3 is built around a board crisis simulation. Decisionmaker interactions are focused on small groups, allowing for meaningful and substantive engagement.

Sample Roundtable 2 Content:

Board Skills:

Small group workshopping: Leading with expertise
Small group workshopping: Ethics challenges
Taking the chair: Succeeding as board and committee chair
Current trends and topics in the boardroom

Capstone Topics:

Global corporate governance overview: Beyond Latin America
Introduction to US boards: Best practices and emerging trends
Global board search journey playbook

Action Phase

The Action Phase stands as a distinctive hallmark of MSWoB. Within this phase, we offer dynamic support channels tailored for our MSWoB “Associates” (program graduates) as they navigate their board search journeys post-program.

Harnessing the extensive networks of MIT and beyond, we actively foster formal and informal connections essential for navigating the intricate process of successful board selection.

Central to our mission is the active engagement of Associates with the pivotal “Decisionmakers” of the boardroom: the incumbent directors and influential figures responsible for appointing new board members.

Elements of the Action Phase:

Continuous Learning: Participants can enhance their knowledge beyond their cohort’s graduation. Upon completing the program, they gain access to future cohorts’ virtual course offerings.
Networking: Formal and informal MIT-linked and other gatherings and events with Decisionmakers and other influencers in the selection process.
The MIT Magic List: Selective distribution to boards and search professionals of our Associates’ profiles. The Magic List includes high value Associate insights through our Promoter Channel.
Broader Reach: Active collaboration with partner communities to leverage Associates’ profiles: ITAM, 50/50 WOB, BIVA, BMV/AMIB, among others.
Mentorship: Associates can choose to be paired with an MSWoB Mentor. Mentors are professionals with current or previous corporate board experience who will support and advise Associates on their board search journeys.
The Promoter Channel: Perhaps most powerfully, an Associate can link her Magic List profile to the support of an MSWoB “Promoter.” Promoters are respected business leaders and influencers who agree to provide the high-value, relationship-driven form of reference and recommendation so common in the mostly informal board selection processes of today. The Promoter Channel is featured in our Magic List. The human insight amplifies the value of its recommendation.