IIM Kozhikode and Emeritus Announce Chief Product & AI-Driven Strategy Officer Programme to Build AI-First Product Leaders

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 5: As product leadership becomes a critical differentiator in a rapidly evolving digital economy, organisations are seeking professionals who can merge product vision with a data-driven and AI-first strategy. According to the Products That Count report (2025), 70% of Fortune 1000 companies are expected to have a Chief Product Officer by 2027, underscoring the growing importance of product leadership in shaping business outcomes. To meet this demand, the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK), in collaboration with Emeritus, has announced the Chief Product & AI-Driven Strategy Officer Programme, featuring an online certificate course by Kellogg Executive Education. This is an 11-month advanced leadership journey designed to empower senior product professionals with AI-enabled strategic capabilities.

The CPAIO programme is designed for senior product professionals, business leaders, and entrepreneurs looking to scale their organisations through product-led and AI-enabled strategies. It is ideal for Chief Product Officers, Product Heads, Product Strategy Consultants, Product-Led Founders, and functional heads in Product, Engineering, and Marketing, who aspire to strengthen cross-functional leadership and deliver measurable growth through AI-driven innovation.

Speaking on the programme, Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM Kozhikode, said, "For the ambitious, future-thinking product leader, this programme expands many horizons from a bird's-eye view of product drivers in a dynamic global economy to hands-on, data-driven product execution. By blending product strategy, product finance, advanced analytics, and AI-first thinking, we are preparing CPO-calibre leaders who can deliver sustained product growth."

Avnish Singhal, Executive Vice President, Head India & APAC, Emeritus, added, "Organisations need product leaders who can translate AI capability into business outcomes. The CPAIO programme combines IIM Kozhikode's deep academic rigour with Emeritus's delivery excellence to equip leaders for product-led growth in the age of AI."

The Chief Product & AI-Driven Strategy Officer (CPAIO) Programme is an 11-month blended learning programme, combining live online sessions by IIM Kozhikode faculty, pre-recorded sessions by Kellogg Executive Education, and a 3-day in-campus immersion at IIM Kozhikode. The curriculum provides a holistic foundation across three pillars: Product Strategy & Vision, Product-Led Growth & Innovation, and Product Leadership. It integrates core disciplines, including strategy, design thinking, product finance and control, lifecycle management, and AI-first product innovation.

Participants will explore modules such as AI-Driven Marketing and Growth, Generative AI and Agentic AI Applications, Product Lifecycle and Rapid Prototyping, Cloud & DevOps for Product Leaders, Ethics, Governance, and Legal Considerations for AI Products. A dedicated Kellogg Executive Education online certificate in AI Strategies for Business Transformation complements the curriculum, providing a global perspective on how AI enhances customer experience, operations, and strategic decision-making.

Programme highlights include 90+ hours of synchronous online sessions, 15+ hours of live IIMK In-campus sessions, 16+ hours of Kellogg sessions, two business simulations (Product Strategy and Leadership and Change Management) and a capstone project. Participants will also attend a three-day campus immersion at IIM Kozhikode for in-person learning and networking.

Through this programme, participants will be able to:

* Design and lead product strategies that integrate AI and data capabilities across the product lifecycle* Translate financial and analytical frameworks into accountable, outcome-based product decisions* Apply AI-first approaches, including LLMs, NLP, RAG, and Computer Vision to accelerate ideation and go-to-market strategies* Lead teams through business simulations and real-world case applications* Build ethical, responsible, and scalable AI-led product systems* Strengthen professional credibility with credentials from IIM Kozhikode and Kellogg Executive Education, and gain eligibility for IIM Kozhikode Executive Alumni Status Programme Details

* Start Date: December 30, 2025* Duration: 11 months* Format: Live online sessions (IIMK) + pre-recorded certificate course (Kellogg) + 3-day campus immersion (IIM Kozhikode)* Eligibility: Graduate/Diploma holder (10+2+3) with a minimum of 8 years of work experience* Programme Fee: INR 5,45,000 + GST* Certification: Upon successful completion of the programme, participants will receive a certificate from IIM Kozhikode and a Certificate from Kellogg Executive Education

For more details, visit the programme page here.

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