Red Bear AI Academy · For Chief Product Officers
CPO Leadership of AI Certificate
From senior product leader to the executive who delivers AI products and leads an AI-native product organisation.
Delivered by Red Bear AI in partnership with Durham University- 8weeks online, optimised for busy professionals
- 16live sessions: two 90-minute sessions a week
- 24hself-paced learning: 3 hours a week
- 1applied leadership project and certification interview
Learning objectives
The leadership outcomes we teach
By the end of the programme you will be able to:
Lead
- Own the CPO mandate and product P&L
- Influence boards and investors
- Lead leaders under pressure
Plan
- Link product work to outcomes and retention
- Turn demand into funded roadmaps
- Set the operating model, pricing and economics
Grow
- Set product vision and manage a portfolio
- Discover what customers need
- Take trusted AI products to market
Transform
- Understand what AI and agents can and can't do
- Lead an AI-native product organisation
- Pitch and defend your leadership plan
Who it is for
AI makes building easy. Deciding what to build is the job.
Aspiring CPOs
Heads of product, product directors and VPs ready to step up from running a roadmap to setting product direction.
Start-up CPOs scaling up
Product leaders who found product-market fit and now need the portfolio, finance and board skills of an enterprise CPO.
Product-minded founders
Founders who want recognised credibility with boards, investors and acquirers.
Your outcomes
What you will be able to do
Deliver AI products
Take an AI product from idea to market: vision, discovery, evaluation, pricing and adoption.
Lead an AI-native product organisation
Build the case, win the board and reshape product teams around people and agents.
Curriculum
Eight weeks. Sixteen live sessions.
Weeks 1–2The CPO role & influence
- Week 1 · Session 1The CPO Role
Mandate, P&L accountability and boundaries with the CTO, CMO and executive team.
- Week 1 · Session 2From Start-up to Enterprise CPO
From product-market fit to a portfolio: teams, process, risk and delegation.
- Week 2 · Session 3Influencing the Board & Investors
How boards decide, what investors probe, and how to present technology as value.
- Week 2 · Session 4Leadership & Communication
Leading leaders, executive presence and communicating under pressure.
Weeks 3–4Strategy, operating model & finance
- Week 3 · Session 5Objective Setting
OKRs and measures that link product work to outcomes, retention and engagement.
- Week 3 · Session 6Backlog to Roadmap
Prioritising demand into a credible, funded, communicable roadmap.
- Week 4 · Session 7Product Operating Model
Flatter teams, clear decision rights and product operations that speed up delivery.
- Week 4 · Session 8Product P&L, Pricing & Unit Economics
Pricing models, AI cost to serve, unit economics and business cases.
Weeks 5–6Product strategy & growth
- Week 5 · Session 9Product Vision, Strategy & Portfolio
Set the vision, choose where to play and manage a product portfolio.
- Week 5 · Session 10Discovery & Customer Insight
Research, experiments and AI-assisted insight into what customers need.
- Week 6 · Session 11Go-to-Market, Growth & Adoption
Positioning, launch, growth and adoption, with marketing and sales.
- Week 6 · Session 12Trust & Responsible AI in Products
Privacy by design, safety, explainability and regulation in AI products.
Weeks 7–8AI & transformation
- Week 7 · Session 13AI Fundamentals & Machine Learning
How modern AI and ML work, what they can and can't do, and what they cost.
- Week 7 · Session 14Agentic AI in Products
Agents as product features: evaluation, quality and UX for probabilistic output.
- Week 8 · Session 15The AI-Native Product Organisation
Hybrid teams of people and agents, T-shaped skills and change at scale.
- Week 8 · Session 16Applied Project Pitches
Present your CPO leadership project to a panel for feedback.
How it works
Learn it live, then apply it to your own organisation
Three hours live
Two 90-minute sessions a week, with your instructors and cohort.
Three hours self-paced
Case studies, reflective exercises and practical templates: roadmaps, product metrics, pricing models.
Your applied project
From week 3 you build an AI product strategy with a business case and go-to-market plan for your own organisation or a case company, pitch it in week 8 and defend it in a certification interview.
What you receive
Two certificates, one from a university and one from industry
Awarded on successful completion. Sample designs shown; final designs may vary.
Delegate pack: two framed certificates, leather laptop bag, two textbooks, pen set, black polo shirt and A5 binder. Illustrative; items may vary.
Your instructors
Proven, experienced C-suite instructors
You learn from people who hold these roles today and have built AI solutions themselves.
Cindy Haast
Chief Executive Officer, Red Bear AI. Formerly Capgemini.
- Solution Director for AI and business automation at Capgemini
- Founded her own marketing consultancy
- Began in product sales and marketing
Vinay Kumar
Chief Product Officer, Red Bear AI. Formerly EY and BT.
- Product leadership roles at EY and BT
- Worked with unicorn start-ups at EY
- Focus: scaling fast without losing control of how the business decides
Dr Dan Oliver
Chief Technology Officer, Red Bear AI. Formerly Microsoft, IBM and EY.
- Cloud and AI CTO at IBM, Director of AI at EY
- Technology leader at Microsoft
- PhD in computer science
- Co-developed Durham University's CTO and Chief AI Officer courses
Programme fee
£3,999
Early-bird price: £3,199.20 (20% off) if you enrol by 31 December 2026.
8-week online programme. Next cohort starts online in the week of 11 January 2027. Limited places. Fee includes both certificates and the delegate pack.