The School of Business Administration has announced a new partnership with the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) of Miami through which students will gain invaluable mentoring opportunities and YPO members will gain access to specialized executive education offerings. YPO, whose mission is to "develop better leaders through education and idea exchange," is an elite organization that brings together highly successful corporate presidents, CEOs and board members, all of whom are under the age of 45. As part of the partnership, YPO members will mentor students, work with them on consulting projects, serve as coaches in the School's annual business plan competition, give guest lectures, and offer student internships.

"This new partnership provides a terrific opportunity for the School of Business to link our students with YPO of Miami, which represents some of the most distinguished young executives in our community," said Dean Barbara E. Kahn. "We look forward to working with YPO to enhance our students' experience and our curriculum and to help us develop future YPO members."

As part of the partnership, YPO members will be able to take advantage of custom executive education programs designed specifically for YPOers. These include the YPO Executive Development Series, which kicked off the partnership Jan. 7 at the School of Business. Entitled "Leadership in a Changing World," this first session under the new partnership drew 36 YPO members. The program consisted of four modules: marketing leadership, strategic options in challenging economic times, emerging markets and leading through change.

"YPO Miami is pleased to be embarking on this partnership with UM," said Joanna Schwartz, YPO Miami's vice education chair. "We are excited about our members sharing their knowledge and hard-won wisdom with School of Business students, and also looking forward to our members' participation in the School's wonderful executive programs such as the one that marked the start of our relationship this month."

YPO  (Young  Presidents'  Organization)  is  a  not‐for‐profit,  global  network  of  young  chief  executives  connected  around  the  shared  mission  of  becoming  Better  Leaders  Through  Education  and  Idea  Exchange.^TM  Founded  in  1950,  YPO  today  provides  17,000  peers  and  their  families  in  100  countries  with  access  to  unique  experiences,  world‐class  resources,  alliances  with  top  learning  institutions,  and  specialized  networks  that  help  them  enhance  their  business,  community  and  personal  leadership.  For more information, visit www.ypo.org.