The demands on chief operating officers and other operations leaders have greatly expanded far beyond simply optimizing resources, cutting costs and spurring efficiencies. Indeed, these leaders are now expected to align their role with wider corporate strategy and collaborate more closely with other C-suite executives to tackle issues such as sustainability and digital transformation.

To help them in that transition, and also to cope with the changing nature of operations management in light of major disruptions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, several business schools run executive education courses tailored to operations leaders. 

On these programs, the participants learn everything from agile manufacturing to design thinking, lean methodologies and even storytelling. Many of the courses link operations to strategy, underscoring the cross-disciplinary nature of these subjects. Other courses focus more on how operations relates to supply chain management, which is increasing under the spotlight in the pandemic.