WatSPEED at the University of Waterloo recently announced the launch of a new Chief Technology and AI Officer (AI-CTO) program — a six-month, live-online executive program designed to help senior technology leaders translate complex architectures and AI innovation into measurable business outcomes.
Designed and delivered by Waterloo faculty and supported by global industry practitioners, the program balances deep technical learning about AI, along with financial insights, organizational transformation and responsible governance. Enrolment and learner support services will be provided by upGrad — a global education platform that provides a range of learning programs for professionals, from short courses to doctoral degrees — under the University’s academic oversight and quality assurance.
“AI has moved well beyond experimentation; it’s now being embedded across every layer of business operations. Organizations across the world are seeking technology leaders who can pair algorithmic depth with strategic foresight,” says Myleeta AgaWilliams, CEO, International Consumer Business, upGrad. “Our partnership with Waterloo addresses precisely this global gap to support senior technologists evolve from solution builders to boardroom influencers. Initiatives like these are essential to shaping a generation of leaders capable of turning AI innovation into long-term business value.”
“As technology leaders face unprecedented complexity, the next generation of CTOs must unite engineering depth with boardroom fluency. This program captures Waterloo’s strengths in AI, systems engineering and entrepreneurship and extends them to a global audience,” says Aaron Pereira, executive director, WatSPEED.
Preparing the next generation of AI-enabled leaders
The AI-CTO program is designed for senior technology professionals (CTOs, CIOs, CDOs, CAIOs and their leadership teams) who want to evolve from strong technical executors into strategic enterprise leaders. Over 25 weeks, participants move through an integrated learning journey that blends strategy, technology and applied leadership.
The program begins by strengthening business fluency and strategic alignment, enabling learners to link technology decisions directly to profit-and-loss accountability, ROI and organizational priorities. From there, participants dive deep into the modern technology stack, mastering cloud architecture, MLOps, FinOps and responsible AI frameworks. They then turn their focus to influencing at the highest levels of leadership, building transformation roadmaps, leading due diligence for mergers and acquisitions and developing board-ready narratives that translate technology into value- and risk-based language for executives.
The journey culminates in high-stakes simulations, where participants must apply their learning under pressure, responding to crises, navigating change and making consequential decisions in real-time. Each participant graduates with a University of Waterloo certificate and a portfolio of practical deliverables, including a 90-day CTO plan, an AI investment report, a transformation playbook and the confidence to lead AI-driven organizations through complexity and change.
“Learners earn a Waterloo certificate taught by our faculty and supported through a partnership structured for global reach,” says Jean-Paul Mouton, associate director, strategic partnerships and global growth, WatSPEED. “Our goal is to equip leaders everywhere with the same rigour and innovation mindset that define Waterloo.”
“Our partnership with Waterloo exemplifies how academia and industry can come together to solve the leadership challenges of our time,” says Jaitali Dedhia, AVP, university partnerships, upGrad. “Through the AI-CTO program, we’re creating a global pathway for senior technology executives to turn AI innovation into sustainable business growth.”
The AI-CTO program stands apart for its applied learning design — integrating boardroom simulations, cross-functional decision labs and real-world strategies that mirror the pressures of modern enterprise leadership. Developed jointly by academic experts and industry practitioners, the program ensures participants understand emerging technologies like AI and machine learning operations and learn to deploy them as levers for growth, governance and organizational resilience.
Learn more about the program on the WatSPEED website.
About WatSPEED
WatSPEED is the University of Waterloo’s professional and executive education hub, helping organizations and leaders around the world stay ahead of disruption. Through programs that merge technology with business strategy, WatSPEED translates Waterloo’s world-class research and innovation ecosystem into practical, future-ready learning.
About upGrad
upGrad is a leading global skilling and lifelong learning company that partners with universities to deliver a range of online and hybrid skilling programs and certifications to consumers and enterprise partners. upGrad has delivered learning solutions and career outcomes through technology and teaching innovations to more than seven million learners across the globe since it was founded in 2015. More details on the upGrad website.