Golf Business Academy Powered by Drexel LeBow

Finance and Leadership Certificate

Join us Jan. 11–12, 2027, at Union League Liberty Hill for a Professional Development certificate designed in partnership with the Philadelphia PGA exclusively for PGA members who want to become more effective leaders and financial stewards.

Featuring Drexel LeBow faculty and special guest speaker, Frank Gumienny of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Cost includes: course materials, breakfast, lunch and snack breaks, and network reception at the end of day one. Earn a certificate of completion and Professional Development Requirement (PDR) credits at the conclusion of the 2-day program.

Schedule | Course Details | Meet the Speakers

Strengthen Your Leadership Approach
Explore your own leadership style and learn strategies for addressing team and organization-wide management challenges.

Tell the Story Behind the Numbers
Analyze financial statements to build a cohesive financial story that explains the “why” behind the data.

Connect Financials to Business Performance
Understand company financials from a broader perspective and apply those insights to daily business decisions that impact profitability.

Schedule

Day One

• Morning Session: Sports Leadership and Leading People, taught by Sarah Napoli
  • What is Effective Leadership in Sports?
  • Defining Your Own Personal Leadership Approach
  • Team Leadership Challenges and the Importance of Perspectives
  • Goal Setting in Context
• Lunch: A talk by special guest speaker, Frank Gumienny of the Philadelphia Eagles
• Afternoon Session: Financial Decision Making: The Why Behind the Data, taught by David A. Becher
  • Business Leadership in Golf Operations
  • Connecting Operations & Financial Outcomes
  • Financial Documents, KPIs & Ratios

Day Two

• Financial Decision Making: The Why Behind the Data, continued
  • The Story Behind the Numbers: What Happened, Why, and What to do Next
  • Variance Analysis, Scenario Planning and Decision Making
  • Governance and Capital Investment Decisions
  • Presenting Financial Recommendations

Inside the Courses

Sports Leadership and Leading People

Taught by Sarah Napoli
This interactive executive education session explores leadership as a dynamic, context-dependent process rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Participants will examine their own leadership strengths and areas for growth, explore how viewing challenges from multiple perspectives can improve their ability to lead others, and consider how their leadership approach influences the achievement of organizational goals. Through individual reflection, practical leadership frameworks and peer problem-solving, participants will apply course concepts to real leadership challenges within golf and hospitality environments.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate their personal leadership strengths and areas for continued development through reflection and feedback from others.
• Apply multiple perspectives to analyze leadership challenges and better understand the strengths, needs, and viewpoints of the people they lead.
• Connect their leadership approach to organizational goals and identify practical actions they can take to address a current leadership challenge.

Financial Decision Making: The Why Behind the Data

Taught by David A. Becher
Move beyond the numbers to understand the “why” behind financial performance and use that insight to support better operating and investment decisions. Through real-world exercises and interactive discussions, participants will use key financial tools to identify performance drivers, evaluate operating and capital investment decisions, and develop financially supported recommendations focused on long-term value.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Utilize financial statements to examine the drivers of financial performance that link operations and financial outcomes.
• Evaluate key performance indicators and ratios from financial documents, compare to benchmarks, and understand how they are interconnected.
• Employ scenario analysis to evaluate financial performance and support operating and financial decisions.
• Assess investment opportunities and make capital allocation decisions.
• Apply financial analysis to a real-world case and develop a financially supported recommendation for presentation to stakeholders.