This article is from the 2024–2025 Dean's Report.
Global workforces have been navigating some of the most significant shifts in decades, shaped by pandemic-driven changes to how and where we work; an urgent need for upskilling and reskilling in response to rapid technological advances; and rising expectations for leaders to manage an increasingly multi-generational workforce.
These forces have enabled Custom & Executive Education at SCS to empower organizations with tailored, multi-disciplinary training programs designed to address their unique needs—delivered in the right modality, to the right audience, at the right time, and with the right strategic framing.
Meeting Organizations Where They Are
More than ever, organizations are identifying leadership and competency gaps that traditional training programs cannot fully address. They are seeking solutions specially crafted around their cultures, their strategies, and their challenges. The Custom team has responded by offering its portfolio of distinct, high-touch, and experiential learning opportunities that meet organizations precisely where they are.
When Ousmane Diagne, general manager of people & culture department at Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), began searching for a training partner, he knew he wasn’t looking for a typical “leadership program.”
“I wanted a partner who understood the deeper, human side of leadership. We needed something tailored and geared towards transformation,” says Diagne. “Georgetown’s ethos of educating the whole person, combined with SCS’s very practitioner-oriented approach, felt like the right fit for where ICD is today. Georgetown was the only institution that approached our needs with that level of maturity and nuance.”
Through close collaboration—including 24 weekly Zoom meetings between the Georgetown and ICD teams—his vision became a six-month learning journey that spanned the Middle East and Washington, D.C. The custom-designed program took place on three Georgetown campuses: GU-Q in Qatar, the Hilltop, and 640 Massachusetts Ave. NW, resulting in transformative outcomes.
“The customization made all the difference,” Diagne reflects. “Georgetown faculty didn’t parachute in with pre-packaged slides—they studied ICD’s context, the leadership behaviors we want to shift, and the gaps we needed to close. Because of this, sessions resonated in a very practical way. Their faculty brought depth, but also humility. They made space for our stories, our identity, our cultural norms. And they translated their expertise into something that fit us, rather than asking us to fit their model.”
Global Growth in Specialized Areas
Given its strategic location in Washington, D.C., SCS Custom & Executive Education is at the forefront of fostering global development by engaging directly with leaders in the city, across the U.S., and around the world. The vast portfolio of SCS’s graduate and certificate programs supplies a dynamic academic foundation from which custom programs can build industry-aligned, globally relevant, and competency- based learning experiences—extending SCS’s expertise to industries and regions far beyond the nation’s capital.
This strategic positioning has become a major draw for international clients. Gaining new perspectives and moving toward a more global approach were key reasons why Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA)—a global leader in the beverage, retail, and logistics and distribution industries—ultimately chose SCS over other universities to train its senior leaders in supply chain management.
For one fully immersive week in August 2024, nearly 30 senior executives from across FEMSA’s business units gathered at Georgetown to engage with leading faculty from SCS’s Master’s in Supply Chain Management program, learn from industry guest speakers, and participate in a site visit to the Amazon Distribution Center—an experience that brought substantial added value to the program.
“The most positive impact was that, first and foremost, it created a strong networking connection among all the business units,” says Sandra Gomaz, head of development, learning & leadership at FEMSA.
“Another important impact was that participants were able to identify best practices, reflect on their areas of opportunity, and walk away with a comprehensive analysis for improvements.”
The communication and leadership skills that the FEMSA participants developed reflect Georgetown’s Cura Personalis ethos, i.e. “Care for the Whole Person.” The Custom team approaches each client as a whole, offering a perspective on leadership development that serves a wide range of public and private global organizations in their strategic journeys.
A New Home for Collaboration and Growth
The Fall 2025 semester marked a powerful new chapter with SCS’s move to 111 Massachusetts Ave. NW, located steps away from the nation’s centers of influence. The Custom team found its new home on the eighth floor: a dedicated executive education space complete with sweeping views from the Capitol Overlook—an experience that reinforces the executive caliber of SCS programming.
The new building has also energized collaboration across the University. The team has worked closely with programs across SCS, GU-Qatar, and the Hilltop. Now, shared space at the Capitol Campus is creating even more opportunities for cross-school partnerships, as SCS continues to expand the global reach of its customized and executive offerings.
Supporting this effort, the Custom & Executive Education team has launched SCS’s first program leveraging the Noodle platform in Winter 2026. Working with a large, international corporation, Noodle will enable SCS to present content accessibly to participants from Sydney, Australia, to San Francisco and everywhere in between.
In the new space and with cutting-edge educational tools, the possibilities of offering Georgetown experiences to learners from all over the world have never looked brighter.