Getting Ahead of Challenges in Uncertain Times for Senior Leaders - Our Programmes

An MGA Exclusive Executive Education Programme

Getting Ahead of Challenges in Uncertain Times for Senior Leaders

BY PROFESSOR KISHORE SENGUPTA

Professor of Operations Management, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

MyCo ID

202501012329

Programme ID

10001558090

Dates

15 July 2025

Time

9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Venue

Hilton Kuala Lumpur Hotel

Fee

RM 2,800

per person

The cost of the programme includes lunch and other refreshments, as well as programme materials for one participant. It is not inclusive of any applicable taxes.

This programme can be delivered in-house for your organisation. However, this option is on a first-come-first-served basis as availability is limited to the duration of Prof Sengupta’s visit to Malaysia.

Programme Outline

Morning Session

AI BEYOND THE HYPE: IMPLICATIONS FOR LEADERS
Learning Objectives
Understand the challenges and opportunities posed by AI beyond the cycle of hype
Make informed decisions on strategy, organisations and operations
The hype around Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reached a crescendo with breathless announcements on how industries will be cannibalised by the next big development, skyrocketing valuations of companies with no product, and dystopian views on how business will evolve. Big investments have been made in technologies such as large language models, Agentive AI and GenAI.

The reality under the hype is more prosaic. As with other technologies, AI has much promise for organisations and is indeed disrupting industries. However, there is little by way of silver bullets or existential threats. Creating value requires conventional methods of understanding how AI impacts industries, strategy and operations. This is the objective of the session.

Accordingly, the session has three parts. The first looks beyond the hype to form a view on the evolution of AI. The second part looks at two industries that AI has impacted significantly. In the final part, participants discuss implications for their own industry and organization.

Afternoon Session

TIME: A SYSTEMIC PERSPECTIVE - LIVING IN A WORLD OF TIME SCARCITY
Learning Objectives
Understand the systemic nature of how time is used and the unintended consequences
Understand principles for effective choices in making time investments
Create guidelines for making choices on using time more effectively
We live in a world of time scarcity. The problem is particularly acute for professionals in mid to senior levels who must continuously wrestle with multiple burdens: immediate vs. longer-term, acquiring vs. delivering work, or attending to crisis vs. focusing on business as usual.

The session looks at time from a systemic perspective: all commitments of time draw from the same source and are connected systemically. Through a series of exercises, participants understand four archetypical ways in which they make commitments of time.

Many commitments, which initially appear necessary, do not make sense systemically. They prevent individuals from making effective investments of time for the long term. Success creates overuse of time, tipping individuals towards disastrous consequences for their health and personal lives.

Participants work on their priorities and leave with a clear plan for making choices on their time.

Learning Methodology

The programme will be a blend of lectures, vignettes/case studies, simulations and in-class development of practical illustrations to allow for a hands-on and deep learning experience.

Programme Faculty

Professor Kishore Sengupta

View Bio

Professor Kishore Sengupta

Professor of Operations Management

Judge Business School (CJBS), University of Cambridge

Prof. Kishore Sengupta’s current research, teaching and consulting activities are focused on managing complex projects, complexity in organisations, and the future of work in the age of technological discontinuity.

His academic and professional career has been in the United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Hong Kong and India. He joined CJBS in 2014 and was CJBS’s Director of Executive Education during 2016-2019. In this period and its immediate aftermath, the FT rankings for CJBS Executive Education rose sharply - the fastest year-on-year rise in the table of rankings in that period. Prof. Sengupta is Senior Member and Fellow of Hughes Hall, a College in the University of Cambridge.

Before joining the University of Cambridge in 2014, Prof. Sengupta held faculty positions at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France (2000-2014), the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA (1989-2000), and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (1996-1998). He has also worked at the AT&T Network Software Center and Ernst and Young. He has served as advisor on complex projects to large organisations and the U.S. Government Department of Defense. Prof. Sengupta’s consulting activities involve organisations in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Prof. Sengupta has taught extensively in executive education, MBA and EMBA at CJBS, INSEAD, and the Seoul National University. He has created several executive education programmes at CJBS, including the flagship Senior Management Programme, Leading Strategic Projects Successfully and Integrating Risk into Strategic Decision Making. Prof. Sengupta teaches Leading Effective Projects and Innovation Management in EMBA. He has created several teaching cases, simulations and other pedagogical material for which he was awarded the European Case Award.

Prof. Sengupta has published in top journals in various academic disciplines, including Management Science, Organization Science, Academy of Management Journal, MIS Quarterly, and IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering. He has also published in the business literature, e.g., Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, and European Business Review. Among them is a widely acclaimed article in the Harvard Business Review on how managers fail to learn from experience. Prof. Sengupta has also contributed to the online section of the Harvard Business Review. His research has been highlighted in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. His most recent writing for senior leaders is in the Financial Times . Prof. Sengupta has co-authored a recent article on How Megaprojects Are Damaging Nigeria and How to Fix It. He is currently working on a book on how we spend time in the workplace.