Red Bear AI Academy · For Chief Technology Officers
CTO Leadership of AI Certificate
From experienced IT professional to the technology executive who delivers AI products and leads AI transformation.
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 CTO mandate at any scale
- Influence boards and investors
- Lead leaders under pressure
Govern
- Link technology work to business outcomes
- Turn backlogs into funded roadmaps
- Govern technology and manage budgets
Deliver
- Lead product management and engineering
- Lead cloud transformation
- Manage security and compliance risk
Transform
- Understand what AI and agents can and can't do
- Lead AI and digital transformation
- Pitch and defend your leadership plan
Who it is for
You are being asked to deliver AI. Learn from people who have.
Aspiring CTOs
Senior engineers, architects and IT leaders ready to step up from running technology to setting its direction.
Start-up CTOs scaling up
CTOs who built the first product and now need the governance, finance and board skills of an enterprise CTO.
Tech founders
Technical 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 production: strategy, team, architecture, agentic AI, cost and governance.
Lead AI transformation
Build the case, win the board and lead the organisation-wide change that makes AI deliver real value.
Curriculum
Eight weeks. Sixteen live sessions.
Weeks 1–2The CTO role & influence
- Week 1 · Session 1The CTO Role
Mandate, accountabilities and the CTO's place in the executive team.
- Week 1 · Session 2From Start-up to Enterprise CTO
What changes as you scale: 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, governance & finance
- Week 3 · Session 5Objective Setting
OKRs and measures that link technology work to business outcomes.
- Week 3 · Session 6Backlog to Roadmap
Prioritising demand into a credible, funded, communicable roadmap.
- Week 4 · Session 7Technology Governance
Operations, security and change management that enable rather than slow.
- Week 4 · Session 8Budgeting & Financial Management
CapEx vs OpEx, cloud cost control, business cases and ROI.
Weeks 5–6Leading delivery
- Week 5 · Session 9Leading Product Management
Product strategy, discovery and the CTO–CPO partnership.
- Week 5 · Session 10Leading Solution Development
Engineering culture, architecture, delivery practices and quality.
- Week 6 · Session 11Leading Cloud Transformation
Cloud strategy, migration, landing zones and operating models.
- Week 6 · Session 12Leading Security & Compliance
Cyber risk, regulation, data protection and board-level assurance.
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
Agents, tools and orchestration: designing and governing autonomous systems.
- Week 8 · Session 15Leading AI & Digital Transformation
Building the case, the team and the operating model to transform at scale.
- Week 8 · Session 16Applied Project Pitches
Present your CTO 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, budgets, board papers.
Your applied project
From week 3 you build an AI product or AI transformation 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.