AI for Managers
Explore AI business use cases, strategy, and responsible adoption
AI for Managers is ESMT Berlin’s foundational AI readiness program for managers and executives who want to understand AI, assess its business value, and make informed decisions about its adoption. Combining two hours of live online preparation with four days at ESMT Berlin and Merantix AI Campus, the program brings together business strategy, hands-on experimentation, and responsible AI. You will develop an Executive AI Readiness Blueprint, outlining a concrete AI initiative, its potential value, key considerations, and next steps for your organization. No programming or technical background is required.
Key facts
Who should attend?
AI for Managers is designed for managers, executives, functional leaders, and entrepreneurs who want to understand AI and play an active role in shaping its adoption.
The program is particularly relevant if you want to:
- Build a solid foundation in AI without becoming a technical specialist.
- Understand how AI can create value for your business.
- Improve your own ways of working with AI.
- Identify and assess AI opportunities.
- Contribute to strategic decisions about AI adoption.
- Prepare yourself and your teams for an AI-augmented workplace.
No programming or technical background is required.
Learning outcomes
- Understand AI and its business implications. Develop a solid understanding of the evolving AI landscape, from machine learning to generative and agentic AI. Understand the capabilities, limitations and implications of AI for business, strategy and decision making.
- Apply AI strategically and intelligently. Discover where AI can create meaningful business value, strengthen competitive advantage and transform ways of working. Gain practical experience using AI tools, building reliable human and AI workflows and evaluating strategic opportunities.
- Frame an AI initiative for your organization. Learn to translate business challenges into AI opportunities. Apply structured frameworks to identify a relevant initiative, assess its potential value, examine critical assumptions and consider the conditions for responsible adoption.
Your tangible outcome: An Executive AI Readiness Blueprint containing a structured AI initiative and clear next steps to explore within your organization.
Why ESMT and Merantix?
- AI for Managers combines the academic rigor of ESMT Berlin with practical experience from AI consultants, industry experts, and the Merantix innovation ecosystem.
- Participants benefit from research-informed executive education, direct engagement with practitioners, hands-on workshops, and exposure to Berlin’s dynamic AI ecosystem.
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AI for Managers
Next dates
Your learning journey
AI Literacy Essentials
2 hours | Live online
Begin with a dedicated AI Literacy session designed to establish a common foundation for all participants.
Explore the essential concepts, terminology and capabilities of artificial intelligence, including machine learning, generative AI, and emerging agentic systems.
This preparatory session introduces the foundations for the strategic questions and practical applications explored during the program, regardless of your technical background.
Understand
The AI landscape, mechanisms, and business value
Explore the evolving AI landscape and understand how AI technologies work, what they can achieve and where their limitations lie.
Examine how AI creates business value and influences human decision making through real examples and research-informed perspectives.
Apply
AI strategy, competitive advantage, and intelligent ways of working
Connect AI capabilities to business strategy and competitive advantage.
Gain hands-on experience with generative AI and explore how to move beyond prompting toward more reliable human and AI workflows.
Understand how organizations can develop capabilities that make AI useful beyond isolated individual experimentation.
Frame
From business problem to AI initiative
At the Merantix AI Campus
Work alongside AI practitioners in an intensive, collaborative workshop.
Apply the AI Strategy Canvas to identify business opportunities, frame use cases, evaluate assumptions, and explore the potential value of AI initiatives.
Use structured exercises and peer discussions to turn an initial business challenge into a more credible AI opportunity.
Judge
Responsible AI, augmented leadership, and action
Explore the governance, ethical and regulatory considerations shaping AI adoption, including the EU AI Act.
Examine how AI is transforming leadership, human capabilities, and collaboration.
Consolidate your learning into your Executive AI Readiness Blueprint, bringing together a concrete AI initiative, its potential value, principal considerations and initial steps for further exploration.
Our learning approach
Substantial | Grounded in research
Go beyond the hype with insights from leading academics, researchers and AI practitioners. Understand the mechanisms behind AI, explore evidence-based strategic frameworks and examine the economic, organizational, and human implications of intelligent technologies.
Experiential | Learn by doing
Move beyond traditional lectures through real business cases, group challenges, scenario-based exercises, and hands-on experimentation with AI. Work with peers and experienced practitioners to explore how AI can create value and address real organizational problems.
Actionable | Take something back to your organization
Apply your learning progressively to your own business context. During the program, develop and refine a concrete AI opportunity, culminating in an Executive AI Readiness Blueprint that provides a tangible starting point for action.
Your program takeaway
Executive AI Readiness Blueprint
Translate your learning into a concrete business opportunity with your Executive AI Readiness Blueprint.
Your blueprint provides a structured starting point for developing an AI initiative within your organization, addressing five essential questions:
- Business challenge: What problem or opportunity are we trying to address?
- Potential value: What measurable business improvement could AI deliver?
- AI approach: How might AI help address this challenge?
- Readiness and responsibility: What capabilities, assumptions, risks, and safeguards need consideration?
- Next steps: What should be explored, validated or decided before moving forward?
The result is a tangible document that you can share, discuss, and develop further with colleagues and decision makers.
Jean Arnaud
Jean designs and directs executive programs focused on AI strategy, leadership and organizational transformation. His work connects emerging technologies with business value, human capabilities and responsible innovation.
Carolin Puppel
Expert in AI strategy, business transformation, and organizational value creation.
Hasna Najmi
Specialist in AI solution architecture, business applications, and the translation of business challenges into practical AI solutions.
Aytac Atac
Specialist in enterprise AI, generative AI, and the organizational adoption of intelligent technologies.
Paulina Weiss
Experienced in AI strategy, project development, and translating AI opportunities into business initiatives.
Paula Cipierre
Expert in privacy, AI governance, and responsible technology, with an LL.M. in information technology law.
Faculty and expert contributions may vary by program edition.
Apply this program toward your AI Executive Certificate
This program counts toward ESMT Berlin’s AI Executive Certificate. Complete any mix of AI programs totaling 6 learning days and earn a credential aligned with the EU AI Act.
Our partner Merantix
Berlin-based Merantix is the world's first artificial intelligence (AI) platform dedicated to researching, building and investing in AI companies. The company’s offering is threefold, comprising a Venture Studio & Investment arm (‘Merantix’), an AI research and solutions provider (‘Merantix Momentum’), and a physical AI collaboration hub (‘Merantix AI Campus’). Via this unique combination, Merantix has pioneered the transfer of AI research into real-world applications by building startups from scratch as well as supporting existing companies to accelerate the research transfer.
What participants are saying about the AI for Managers program?
An extraordinary training with brilliant faculty, practical case studies, and thought-provoking insights on using AI responsibly.
Great overview of AI technology - every theoretical part is manifested by practical work.
AI for Managers was not an introduction for me as a transformation expert, but a valuable extension – offering powerful insights into AI strategy, ethics, change management, and real-world applications.
Earn Your Postgraduate Diploma
This program can be taken as part of the Postgraduate Diploma in Management curriculum.
Looking for more information, a consultation, or support with your application?
Contact our program advisor Deepshi Jain.
- Book a consultation
- Phone: +49 30 21231 1490
- Email: bd@esmt.org
