Leading CEO membership organisation, The CEO Institute, is committed to education both as an ongoing resource and as a means of improving opportunities for women.

AUSTRALIA, 3 JULY 2014: The CEO Institute was UNESCO’s first Australian partner in support of the “Malala Fund for Girls’ Right to Education”, created in recognition of the Pakistani schoolgirl whose simple wish to be educated provoked such a horrific attack at the hands of the Taliban in 2012.

Now, The CEO Institute has announced the provision of four scholarships for women seeking to develop their leadership skills in business.

The $100,000 initiative will fund four 3-year scholarships in the Institute’s Future CEO™ program in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, commencing in 2015.

“The Future CEO™ program is a certification course that equips future business leaders with the skills, knowledge and contacts needed to lead a business,” explains national spokesperson Yvonne Howie. “It is structured around peer groups of up to 16 men and women drawn from non-competing industries who learn with and from each other in a stimulating and supportive environment.”

Each Future CEO™ group is led by a highly-qualified chairman-facilitator with a combination of academic and business experience. Members also have the opportunity to ‘buddy’ with a leading CEO syndicate member during their development.

“After attending 30 meetings, Future CEO™ members with three years’ senior management experience or more are eligible for provisional certification as a Certified CEO,” adds Howie. “This is the world’s first global certification for CEOs with the Rules for Certification approved by the ACCC.”

The scholarships are part of The CEO Institute’s response to continuing reports from ABS and other authorities that women remain significantly under-represented in senior business and public leadership roles in Australia.

“Nurturing the best talent available, regardless of gender, is an important part of our charter,” says Howie. “These scholarships, each worth around $8,000 per annum, will hopefully go some way towards creating a more even and diverse playing field.”

Howie says applicants are welcome from business, NFPs and charities, government and government agencies. “They may be senior executives who report to a CEO, senior managers in large organisations, or even CEOs of smaller companies with revenues of $1m plus per annum.”

Successful applicants will be decided by a Selection Panel comprising Joanne Gray, editor of BOSS magazine at Australian Financial Review, and The CEO Institute’s chief executives from each of the scholarship states.

The application form, and full details of the Future CEO™ program itself, are available at www.futureceoprogram.com.

 The CEO Institute was founded in 1992 as a peer-to-peer membership organisation for Chief Executives to connect with their peers and learn from them and in 2011 became the world’s first global certification body for CEOs. With more than 1,000 members, it is Australia’s leading executive membership organisation for CEOs and senior executives who want to be better informed, more efficient business leaders. The flagship CEO Syndicate® program is an exclusive peer support network for CEOs and business leaders. It offers experiential learning and mutual group mentoring. The Future CEO™ program is a certification course designed by the business leaders of today for the business leaders of tomorrow. It provides proven path to success that equips you with the knowledge, skills and contacts you need to take over the reins.