Cambridge and Hogan Lovells Cadwalader build future leaders

Created following the combination that formed Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, the programme brings together around 60 established and emerging leaders from across the firm’s global network. Developed in collaboration with Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education’s specialist professional services practice, PSF@Cambridge, it draws on Cambridge academics and practitioners to examine the strategic, organisational and personal dimensions of leadership.

What participants will learn

Starting in-person in Cambridge, and running through October 2027, Leading The Future combines immersive on-campus modules with virtual masterclasses, leadership assessments and individual coaching. Sessions will cover executing strategy at scale, navigating uncertainty, sustaining a high-performance culture, and communicating with impact through storytelling. Participants will also take part in an immersive experience focused on successful collaboration, debate a series of future strategic scenarios, and create a cohort charter to translate their learning into action. Throughout the programme, participants will explore the firm’s vision and strategy alongside wider leadership challenges, with a focus on aligning leaders across practices and regions and translating shared ambitions into institutional action.

Each participant will also address a leadership challenge, applying the programme’s learning to the firm while exchanging perspectives and building relationships across the global partnership.

Commenting on the launch, Professor Stelios Kavadias and Mark Smith of Cambridge Judge Business School, said:

Leadership is rarely about having all the answers; it is about creating the opportunity to step back, question assumptions and learn from the experience of others. Bringing together accomplished leaders with different perspectives creates richer conversations and fresh ways of thinking that benefit not only the individual, but the organisation as a whole. Leading The Future has been designed to create that space, helping participants reflect on the challenges ahead while strengthening the relationships that underpin long-term success.

Professor Stelios Kavadias

Leading a global professional firm at the top of the market requires leaders to be at their best. We have built Leading The Future around that reality and are delighted to support partners who will play a significant role in the firm's future.

Mark Smith, Fellow and Senior Advisor at Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education

Miguel Zaldivar, CEO of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, said:

“The success of our combined firm will depend on our people and the leaders we develop for the future. We are bringing together 60 established and emerging leaders from all over the world, across 2 cohorts, to contribute to our strategy and help translate it into action. Cambridge combines tradition with innovation in a way that strongly resonates with us. It is a place with centuries of academic excellence, but also one focused on new ideas, innovation and the future of business and leadership.

Cambridge combines tradition with innovation … It is a place with centuries of academic excellence, but also one focused on new ideas, innovation and the future of business and leadership.

Miguel Zaldivar, CEO of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader

“The focus on our people is also central to our 5-2-1 strategy. We are proud of our low attrition rates and benchmark ourselves against our competitors on that measure of stability. Several of our International Management Committee members have spent their entire careers with us. Leading The Future is another investment in our next generation of leaders, and I look forward to learning alongside them as a member of cohort one in Cambridge.”

Part of a wider leadership pathway

Leading The Future forms part of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader’s leadership pathway. Momentum supports high-potential lawyers broadening their leadership impact; Transform supports new partners in their first year as leaders in their practice; and Ignite prepares partners to take on future leadership roles. Together with Leading The Future, these programmes provide a structured framework for developing leaders across the firm and setting them up for success.