Numerous universities have expanded their outreach efforts to include executive education. Offerings include a range of programs that vary in length, certification, topics, and price. Even though there are many offerings, there is a specific gap in the market for risk management executive education for the food and agriculture industry. There is also, to our knowledge, no existing research into preferences and willingness to pay for risk management executive education offerings. Understanding executives’ preferences for risk management executive education programs would be helpful to academic units who wish to enter the space. We conducted an online survey of professionals in the food and agriculture industry, followed by phone or video conference interviews with professionals whose responsibilities included sending employees to executive education programming. Results indicate professionals in the food and agriculture industry highly value the content of a program and the ability to apply it to their business. They seek opportunities with highly regarded speakers with relevant real-life experience. Networking to build lasting relationships in their fields is also an important component. The price a participant is willing to pay for a two- to three-day executive education experience lands somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000.

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