MOB FELLOWS
Modern Operators in the Boardroom

Twenty fellows a class, admitted on a rolling basis.

The size of a class is fixed, and admission is determined without reference to enrollment targets. The founding class convenes in fall 2026; the second convenes in spring 2027.

Who We Select
Sitting
executives
Chief information security officers, chief AI officers, chief technology officers, and chief data officers. They bring currency and enterprise credibility, and build financial fluency and fiduciary framing. An employer-awareness letter is required, so that the Fellowship does not collide with the work that made them eligible for it.
Exited
leaders
Recently exited or retired technology leaders. They bring seasoning and availability, and refresh present-tense domain currency alongside the governance curriculum.
Founders
Founders and technical leaders who built the systems boards are now governing. They bring authority and a record, and do the most work on restraint, since a board governs by oversight rather than by direct action.

The bar is the same in each case: fifteen or more years of professional experience, accountability at enterprise scale, authority in artificial intelligence or cybersecurity earned by building, securing, or governing at scale, the presence a nominating chair would recognize, genuine capacity to serve, and clean diligence.

The mix is deliberate. Forums pair a founder's currency with an operator's scale and a veteran's judgment, and the class becomes each fellow's first peer group at board level.

The Process

Four stages.

01 Application
A board-style bio, three short essays, a capacity and conflicts statement, and an employer-awareness letter for candidates currently employed. About ninety minutes. Reviewed within two to three weeks.
02 Screening
A forty-five minute conversation with a faculty member or a member of the Advisory Council.
03 Case panel
Candidates respond, as a director would, to an unfolding scenario in which a disclosable breach carries an AI model failure inside it. No preparation materials are provided, since the panel is assessing altitude, judgment, and composure rather than technical recall.
04 Diligence
Two references, at least one of whom has observed the candidate in a board or board-adjacent setting, plus standard background and reputation diligence.

The application fee is $150. The Admissions Committee operates independently of revenue, as a matter of structure rather than of courtesy.

Tuition and
Funding

Tuition, and how fellows meet it.

Tuition for the founding classes is $15,000, and it covers Board Preparation, the days in residence, the assessment, mentorship, the forum, and the full twelve-month Search Year. Most fellows do not meet it themselves.

Employer funding
Most fellows are funded by their employers, from executive education and development budgets. The Fellowship provides a sponsorship kit on admission, including the syllabus, a summary of the return to the sponsoring company, and a letter from the Program Director. A governance-fluent technology executive is worth more to a current employer than to anyone else, and the case is usually straightforward to make.
Scholarships
A limited number of sponsor-funded seats shape each class. Applying for aid has no bearing on admission, and the committees meet separately.
Founding terms
Tuition will rise as the placement record builds. Founding fellows retain founding terms within the alumni community for life. Payment plans are available on request, and no candidate should decline to apply on grounds of cost before speaking with us.
Frequently Asked

Is this a certificate program? +

It is a fellowship, with an assessed designation and a supported twelve-month candidacy attached. Certificate programs are widely available and serve a different purpose.

Does the fellowship guarantee a board seat? +

No program can, since appointments turn on turnover, timing, and fit. The Fellowship undertakes the preparation, the visibility, and a year of active support, and publishes what becomes of its fellows each year, so that candidates may judge the results for themselves.

How long does a first board seat usually take? +

Public company seats commonly take twenty-four to thirty-six months from a standing start, and the path frequently runs through a private, sponsor-backed, or nonprofit board first. The Fellowship treats that route as the design rather than as a consolation.

Can I do this while running a security or AI organization? +

Yes. The Fellowship was built around that constraint. The program is delivered online, at four to six hours a week, and asks for five days away from the desk across fifteen months: three in San Francisco at month three, and two in New York at month nine. Both convenings are required.

How should I frame this to my employer? +

As an executive governance program with an immediate internal return. Fellows return fluent in disclosure obligations, audit committee reporting, and AI governance, and brief their own boards the better for it. The sponsorship kit makes that case in writing.

Do I need prior board experience? +

No. Many fellows arrive with none. Nonprofit, advisory, or observer experience is helpful, and worth noting in the application where a candidate has it.

How is the capstone assessed? +

Against a published five-dimension rubric, by a panel of directors serving on public company boards. A fellow who needs a second attempt takes it at the following class's assessment window.

Begin your application