Start your journey as a Chief Risk Officer.
Learn the skills you need for an executive role as Chief Risk Officer to identify diverse sources of corporate risk, protect your organization, and seize new business opportunities.
Program Overview
George Mason University Executive Education’s Chief Risk Officer program expands your leadership capability to:
- Establish and lead your organization’s risk management function
- Ensure your organization’s Enterprise Risk Management strategy aligns with the overall mission
- Lead the development of an innovative Enterprise Risk Management strategy
- Create a sustainable risk management ecosystem for the organization
- Understand and manage emerging threats to the organization
Next Cohort: January 2026 - May 2026
Delivery: Hybrid; online sessions and in-person sessions at Mason Square (formerly the Arlington Campus)
Cost: $8,500
Contact: execdev@gmu.edu
Program Details
About the Program
Participants develop the executive-level knowledge needed to effectively execute the responsibilities of a Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and act as a liaison with the other members of a C-Suite and other organizational and business units. The program also provides the opportunity to network with current participants and past CRO alumni, George Mason faculty, as well as leading risk experts from the public and private sector.
Importantly, and unique to Mason’s program, certain sections of the Chief Risk Officer program sessions provide avenues for individuals in both the public (government agencies) as well as private (commercial companies) sectors. Also, participants with be co-mingled with members of the other C—Suite programs, including data, and learning. This is done intentionally to allow for cross-pollination and synergies to form with other functional areas of the firm or organization.
This four-month Hy-Flex, hybrid program blends live in-person instruction at Mason Square (formerly the Arlington Campus) with synchronous and online learning modules. It has been carefully designed to deliver the competencies needed for rising and emerging leaders in the risk domain. Faculty members in the program come from Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing, Costello College of Business, College of Science, as well as industry leaders in the public and private sector.
Who Should Attend?
Emerging leaders in the risk ecosystem who wish to expand their career toward senior and executive level leadership should attend.
The ideal candidate has:
- Passion and drive toward understanding and solving organizational challenges
- Working knowledge of current risk management tools and frameworks
- At least 5 years of relevant managerial experience (recommended)
- Existing leadership and managerial experience
Schedule
- Opening Session: January 12 - January 14, 2026
- Online Sessions: January 20 - February 27, 2026
- Mid-Point Session: March 4 - March 5, 2026
- Online Sessions: March 11 - May 7, 2026
- Closing Session: May 12 - May 13, 2026
Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:
- Establish and lead the risk management function as a strategic and aligned partner with all agency units.
- Think strategically and ensure the ERM strategy fully aligns with and supports the mission and value proposition of the organization.
- Lead the conversation for determining the organization’s risk appetite and tolerance and the threats and opportunities derived from risk.
- In concert with senior leadership, lead the development, a comprehensive strategic enterprise risk management plan with a mission, vision, and specific, measurable goals that are fully aligned with the organization.
- Create and sustain an enabling risk-management ecosystem with conditions to encourage a risk-aware culture and risk management practices.
- Build capacity for being a leader and effectively exercising leadership as a senior executive.
- Lead the organization in viewing risk management as an opportunity for innovation and change to drive mission performance.
Executive Certificate
This program is delivered as a non-degree, executive certificate. Attendees have the opportunity to add a badge credential from Credly for successful completion of the program to their resume for organizational recognition (internal and external) and to indicate the accomplishment of obtaining a George Mason University credential. In addition to the Credly badge, attendees receive 8.5 CEUs upon successful completion of the program.
Executive Education is a proud educational partner of the Association for Federal and Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM).
"I lead the Accounting, Finance, Compliance, and Contracting functions at Avascent, a global strategy, and management consulting firm. In my role as director of finance, I oversee financial forecasting and reporting, internal controls, international tax, and regulatory compliance, and contracting. I had the pleasure to attend GMU’s chief risk officer program. Our instructors were excellent, and I found the content very thorough and timely. I would recommend the program to any finance, risk, or internal audit professionals interested in strengthening their leadership and strategic thinking skillset.”
Program Curriculum
The curriculum is composed of the three core competencies areas that were identified by risk leaders and academics as necessary for the Chief Risk Officer of the Future.
Transformational Organization Leadership (Fulfills ECQ 1 & ECQ 2)
The C-Suite Leader in an Organization
Begin by exploring the pivotal role executive leaders take in shaping organizational success and culture. Together with all C-suite programs, this session will delve into the essential leadership skills required for C-suite executives, including decisiveness, integrity, team-building, and problem-solving. Participants will gain insights into how leaders can navigate changes while contributing to the overall goals of an organization. The session aims to equip aspiring and current C-suite leaders with the tools necessary to lead effectively, foster innovation, and drive positive outcomes for their teams and organizations
Faculty
- TBD
Being a Strategic C-Suite Leader
In today’s rapidly evolving environment, C-suite leaders need to go beyond operational execution to think strategically. This session will explore what strategic thinking means and how executives can cultivate it to drive their success.
We will examine strategic discovery, the process of uncovering opportunities and anticipating shifts in a world of uncertainty. Additionally, we will discuss how leaders can achieve strategic alignment to ensure that vision and execution are coherent across their teams.
Participants will engage in a mix of thought-provoking discussions and practical activities that will enhance their appreciation of strategic thinking and execution.
Faculty:
- Dr. Greg Unruh, Arison Chair in Values Leadership/Associate Professor, School of Integrative Studies
Cultivating a Positive Organizational Culture
Investigate the construct of emotional culture and the importance of cultivating a positive emotional culture for employees, teams, divisions, and organizations. Distinguish among the key emotions impacting culture and describe how individuals and organizations can achieve enhanced employee health and wellbeing. This session will provide evidence-based techniques that managers can integrate into their daily work practices to increase personal and professional success.
Faculty:
- Mandy O’Neill, Associate Professor of Management, Costello College of Business, George Mason University
Communication Techniques for Dynamic Teams
Participants will explore how improv techniques can revolutionize team communication and leadership strategies. Led by the Business Improv team, this session focuses on enhancing executive communication skills through active listening, adaptability, and collaboration. Participants will engage in interactive exercises designed to break down communication barriers and foster a culture of innovation and trust. By embracing spontaneity and flexibility, the group will gain practical tools to improve decision-making and problem-solving in dynamic business environments, empowering them to lead with greater effectiveness and creativity.
Innovative Business and Operational Acumen (Fulfills ECQ 3 & ECQ 4)
AI and the Future of Business
Examine the transformative role of artificial intelligence in reshaping business sectors. Designed for business leaders and decision-makers, this session emphasizes AI's disruptive potential while exploring the necessity for organizations to embrace it to thrive. Participants will learn AI fundamentals, its integration into business processes, and implementation strategies to enhance efficiency and innovation throughout the organization.
Faculty:
- TBD
AI Risk: Leadership Challenges
Delve into the leadership challenges for Chief Risk Officers posed by AI. Participants will explore the complexities of integrating AI technologies within organizational frameworks, focusing on identifying, assessing, and mitigating potential risks associated with AI implementation. The course will provide insights into developing robust governance structures and ethical guidelines to ensure responsible AI use. Chief Risk Officers will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the evolving landscape of AI technologies, addressing strategic and operational challenges while safeguarding organizational integrity and reputation.
Faculty:
- Larry Koskinen, Federal Executive Consultant, Former Departmental Chief Risk Officer, US Department of Housing and Urban Development
Analytical Decision Making
Focus on utilizing data-driven approaches to enhance decision-making processes, emphasizing statistical analysis, predictive modeling, and optimization techniques. Develop skills to systematically evaluate complex scenarios and make informed decisions that drive organizational success.
Faculty:
- TBD
Understanding Organizational Change
People often dislike uncertainty at work and often fear or avoid change altogether. One of the most important roles of leadership then is to manage change and cope with uncertainty in your teams and organizations. This session explores the challenges and opportunities involved in change management, especially the areas of employee resistance, how to overcome it, and how to champion results. This session is a joint session with other C-Suite participants.
Faculty:
- Victoria Grady, Instructional Associate Professor, Management
Creativity and Innovation
Participants will practice using the construct of Appreciative Intelligence® for creativity, new ideas generation, and innovation. Using experiential approaches, participants will learn to develop new insights into typical leadership challenges and develop the capacity to question traditional approaches to management respectfully and non-judgmentally. Honoring the applied nature of the program, we will practice tools for developing a creative mindset during the half-day session.
Faculty:
- Tojo Thatchenkery, Professor; Director, Organization Development and Knowledge Management Program
Influencing and Negotiation
Dive into the fundamentals of negotiation and conflict management theory and best practices in organizations. Most individuals have incorrect assumptions about the best ways to manage conflict in organizations and how to negotiate in the most effective way. Further, many people avoid conflict because of preconceived notions about what is going to happen to them and/or inherent fears. The purpose of this session is to both change those incorrect assumptions while getting participants to feel more comfortable in a variety of negotiation / conflict management contexts.
Faculty:
- Kevin Rockmann, Professor of Management, Costello College of Business
Business and Process Excellence
Operational processes are designed to deliver exceptional value to customers and clients, both internal and external. However, over time inefficiencies creep in or new technology is created to improve processes. Designing and managing processes involves identifying bottlenecks, using appropriate metrics, and innovating to improve value, while managing variability. Lean management tools help to deliver value while identifying wasted time and activities. In this session, we discuss the role of operational excellence in facilitating change and delivering value.
Faculty:
- Ioannis Bellos, Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Program Director
Policy, Regulations and Compliance
Develop an understanding of how an organization’s ERM program and its risk environment is influenced by the nature of the legal, regulatory, and compliance requirements imposed on the organization. Those obligations and constraints form a crucial part of the context in which organizations function and include the interests of governance entities (e.g., Board of Directors, political and congressional oversight, etc.), business executives, organizational risk managers, and external stakeholders. CROs can influence how the organizations address their compliance mandates.
Faculty:
- David Halwig, Co-founder and President, IntelliVen
- Dr. Temika Edwards, Chief Financial Officer, US Department of State
Business Continuity
Introduces participants to the role of the CRO in building a Business Continuity Plan and the best practices for current crisis planning. The Focus of this session is the evolving role of the CRO to assist in business impact analysis, BCP training and exercise development, as well as BCP plan development and strategizing.
Faculty:
- Mark Livingston, Assistant Director, Personnel Security, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency
Mastery of the Risk Management Ecosystem (Fulfills ECQ 5)
The CRO as a Leader in the Organization
Explore the role of a CRO, potential risk management areas of scope for a CRO, and a view as to what a CRO could be across multiple industries, setting, or government agencies. It concludes by providing the road map for the program.
Faculty:
- TBD
Data Analytics and Metrics for ERM
Provides the key frameworks to understand the value of ERM data and how data analytics and metrics can be leveraged for risk assessment, mitigation, and management. CRO’s live in an environment with increasing data availability but need to know how and when to use it. Session also provides an overview of IT Risk Management, information security and data privacy, and different qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Faculty:
- Dr. Ronald Black, Managing Partner, Osprey Cove LLC
Risk Management Strategies, Tactics and the Future of ERM
Participants will gain an understanding as to why risk strategy is critical to the ultimate success of their organization through risk-informed decision-making. The session emphasizes the role played by risk management tactics as well as the methods, practices, tools, techniques, and policies that actualize risk management now and into the future.
Faculty:
- Chris Mandel, Founder, President, and Managing Consultant for Excellence in Risk Management, LLC
Scenario Analysis and Stress Testing
Examine the necessary frameworks to understand and appreciate scenario analysis and stress testing of organizational systems and procedures. Participants will see how these tools can be leveraged for risk assessment, mitigation and management as well as how to analyze the output of different stress testing techniques. Participants will also see how to create scenarios themselves, assess controls or mitigants and understand outcomes.
Faculty:
- Soubhagya Parija, Former Director Risk & Strategy – Walmart International
The Evolution of ESG to Sustainability and Resilience
Understand the role played by ESG at the strategy setting level in organizations and the contribution it makes to ultimate mission delivery. Emphasis will be placed on understanding “what’s” material to business and operating models and how the fundamentals of risk management can be applied within the ESG paradigm. Participants will examine the various international frameworks and standards that comprise the current state of ESG knowledge and how these contribute to the current state of Governance of Organization’s principles
Faculty:
- Peader Duffy, Chief Executive Officer, The ESG Exchange
- Chris Mandel, Founder, President, and Managing Consultant for Excellence in Risk Management, LLC
Linking Human Centered Design Principles to ERM
Focus on the design of ERM tools through a human-centered design thinking lens to improve effectiveness. ERM practices are often slowed by cultural barriers that exist within an organization. Business leaders will learn to focus on what barriers are present inside their organizations to determine what needs to be done to remove them so progress can be realized.
Faculty:
- Dr. Karen Hardy, Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Leadership Advisors LLC
“The George Mason [University] program for business executives is unparalleled. You will experience fast-paced, relevant education from pre-eminent practitioners alongside peers at the top of their game. I am unsure which was more impressive...my classmates or my professors! Be prepared to challenge your own thinking and possibly change your convictions with immediate application to your job the next day in many cases. I would certainly recommend this program for any individual serious about their discipline and ready to elevate their innovation."