From 2030 Vision to Realization

The 2030 Leaders Program aims to prepare more than 1,000 Saudi Arabian leaders to bring their country’s strategic transformation plan, Vision 2030, into reality.

Call to Action

Vision 2030 is a pathway to the future, a transformative and highly ambitious strategic plan intended to unlock the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s potential, setting a diversified and innovative precedent for the benefit of future generations.

In this context, the 2030 Leaders Program, sponsored by the Misk Foundation, has been designed to offer an evolutionary journey for over 1,000 of Saudi Arabia’s leaders. These individuals are being called to guide the renewal of the country in accordance with the Vision 2030 strategic plan.

In response to the challenge raised by the Misk Foundation, ESADE Business School has articulated an ecosystem of learning partners to bring a highly innovative and hands-on approach to the leadership program. Orchestrated by ESADE, the partnership ecosystem joins the school with another business school, CCL; two well-known consulting firms, WTW and EY Parthenon; and Minerva, an academic organization specializing in learning innovations. This alliance builds on the unique strengths of each partner institution to offer participants a differentiated and innovative program that meets the needs of Vision 2030 and goes beyond the capacity of any individual institution.

The program is composed of five modules that, together, follow a specified process for developing a business idea or project. The program moves through the following steps: (1) Awareness, in which participants discover trends and more; (2) Discovery, or understanding needs and leading others; (3) Building the business model; (4) Growing the business at scale; and (5) Evolution, focusing on innovation and change. The capstone project, designed as the program’s cornerstone, links each program cohort to a specific challenge of Vision 2030, helping to root the program in the Saudi Arabian context.

Innovation Description

The 2030 Leaders Program has been designed as an integrated learning experience built around the competencies that Saudi leaders require to achieve the Vision 2030 plan. The main components of this innovative design include the following:

• A unique competency model. The 2030 Leaders Program has identified competencies required for effective Saudi leadership. The model supports leaders in balancing polarities in decision-making to help them become progress drivers, strategic shapers, constant learners, and leaders who are principled and powerful forces for the future.
• An application process in four stages. The process is based on several assessments reflecting the behaviors and traits relating to the 2030 Leader Competency Model, a proprietary competency framework developed by Egon Zehnder for the program.
• A unique blend of leaders. Program participants come from a diverse set of academic and professional backgrounds; they are business executives, entrepreneurs, public servants, nongovernmental organization leaders, and more.
• A leadership journey aimed at further developing participants’ skills at four levels. The levels are as follows: leading self, leading teams, leading organizations, and leading innovation and change. The journey is supported by a coaching process.
• Innovation-driven curricula. The curricula is designed to help participants gain the managerial skills needed to identify business and social opportunities and to help participants develop, grow, evolve, and implement innovative transformation at scale.
• The capstone project at the center of the solution. Participants work in small groups, applying their new skill sets to develop innovative proposals meant to bring economic transformation at scale, along with strong social impact, through Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision.

Innovation Impact

The 2030 Leaders Program is a five-year initiative, split into 10 cohorts, and targeting over 1,000 leaders in Saudi Arabia with the goal of achieving 50 percent participation by women. The program aims to accomplish the following:

• Provide a beneficial academic experience by building an ecosystem of partners. The partners will align and work beyond client-supplier relationship standards.
• Change the perspective on the future for more than 1,000 Saudi leaders. This change should contribute to the realization of the 2030 Vision.
• Continue its initial impact. The first six cohorts of the program have already captured the attention of more than 35,000 applicants, suggesting its launch has had a tremendous impact.
• Maintain significant participation. The program has had more than 360 graduates, and 180 participants have enrolled in its third year of operation.
• Provide direct applicability. Linking the capstone project to real-life challenges will aid in realizing the 2030 Vision.
• Build a strong community of leaders who have graduated from the program. The Saudi Leadership Society will act as a networking vehicle of professional support to help leaders in their transformational role.

Reference Links

• Saudi Vision 2030, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• 2030 Leaders, Mohammed bin Salman Foundation
• Misk Program, Volume 9 (video)