Three CAES Vice Presidents were selected to participate in the Advent Leadership Academy Europe, a leadership training program through CAES’ parent company Advent International, and recently completed the three-month course taught by Harvard University’s Business School.
The executives, Danielle Keaney, Vice President, Controller and Treasurer; Jamie Lehto, Vice President, Engineering; and Mike Lau, Vice President, Program Management Office, were nominated by CAES’ CEO Mike Kahn to participate in the program designed to train leaders, accelerate professional development and encourage collaboration. Diverse candidates from 20 of Advent’s portfolio companies were nominated and the executives selected met over a 13-week period. Sessions were led by Harvard University’s Business School faculty and there were group work assignments throughout.
Jamie Lehto commented, “I was really impressed with the caliber of our classmates from the other Advent-owned companies. It was also great to hear about the Advent value creation plan directly from several highly accomplished Advent executives.”
“I really enjoyed that the program not only covered topics specific to Advent but also areas that impact all aspects of your life like communicating for impact and exercising influence,” Danielle Keaney noted. “The program was demanding but very rewarding and provided me with skills I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Mike Lau appreciated the Harvard faculty sessions and said, “Advent Leadership Academy was by far the best leadership program I’ve ever participated in. It is fantastic to see Advent investing in its employees.”
Mike Kahn congratulated the three leaders on their participation in the program and appreciation to each for investing their time, along with their functional responsibilities, to help CAES improve as an organization and broaden our collaboration across other Advent portfolio company leaders.
The three CAES Advent Leadership Academy graduates met the other Leadership Academy participants in London on September 14 and will brief the CAES executive leadership team on their experiences later in September.