George F Westerman

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George F Westerman

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George Westerman is a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and Founder of the Global Opportunity Forum.

George’s work bridges the fields of executive leadership and technology strategy. During more than 20 years with MIT Sloan School of Management, he has written three award-winning books, including Leading Digital: Turning Technology Into Business Transformation. As a pioneering researcher on digital transformation, George has published papers in Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, and other top journals.  He is now focused on helping employers, educators, and other groups to rethink the process of workforce learning around the world through the GOI and several research collaborations.

George is cochair of the MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Awards, a member of the Digital Strategy Roundtable for the US Library of Congress, and learning strategy advisor to the World Health Organization Academy. He works frequently with senior management teams and industry groups around the world. Prior to earning a Doctorate from Harvard Business School, he gained more than 13 years of experience in product development and technology leadership roles.

Recent Insights

Ideas Made to Matter

3 keys to tech leadership in an AI-first world

Finalists for the MIT Sloan 2025 CIO Leadership Award recommend agentic AI, pervasive innovation, and an executive focus on strategy.

Aug 12, 2025
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Ideas Made to Matter

Practical AI ideas from MIT Sloan Management Review

Colgate-Palmolive, Sanofi, and other firms are making generative AI work for them in ways both big and (intentionally) small.

Apr 1, 2025
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Media Highlights

Press The Boston Globe

Hey, ChatGPT: What should I get my mom for Christmas?

Without a retail website as an "intermediary," shoppers can find their desired products more efficiently, since an AI algorithm finds results from across the internet and compiles them in one location, said principal research scientist George Westerman. He questioned the reliability and trustworthiness of the results and who might benefit from them. "Who's influencing the recommendations it gives you?" he said. "It's unclear how neutral AI results are because they've got to make money somehow."

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Press CIO

5 tips for future-proofing your IT leadership career

"There has been a steady progression for years for CIOs to become more strategic leaders. There are a lot of IT leaders who don't get it yet, and they now have to become the strategy leader they should have been all along," said principal research scientist George Westerman. "The CIO needs a vision of what IT needs to be and the ability to execute," said principal research scientist Keri Pearlson.

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Executive Education

Executive Education Course

Internet of Things

Explore the opportunities for your business with IoT, from demystifying and defining IoT to creating a roadmap for its real-world application. The program aims to help people envision and lead IoT-based transformations, not just understand the technical elements. The goal is to demystify IoT jargon so that managers can start to achieve the strategic advantage IoT makes possible.

  • Oct 11-Nov 28, 2023
  • Mar 20-May 7, 2024
  • Oct 23-Dec 10, 2024
  • Mar 19-Apr 30, 2025
  • Oct 22-Dec 3, 2025
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Executive Education Course

Advanced Management Program

The Advanced Management Program (AMP) is a month-long senior executive program designed for a diverse group of experienced leaders seeking transformative learning among global peers. AMP participants will engage in custom learning components led by MIT’s world-renowned faculty, including interactive classroom sessions, management simulations, case studies, 1:1 leadership coaching, and individualized feedback assessments. Participants will also explore the many companies, labs and centers that make MIT and surrounding Kendall Square the epicenter of innovation worldwide.

  • May 28-Jun 28, 2024
  • May 27-Jun 26, 2025
  • May 26-Jun 25, 2026
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