The failure rate for newly appointed leaders is alarmingly high. According to a Harvard Business Review study, two out of every five new executives fail in the first 18 months (Charan, 2005).  Some of the reasons for this include inability to handle internal politics, uncertainty about company expectations, and failure to build appropriate networks. Virginia Commonwealth University’s “Fast Track” Executive Master of Science in Information Systems (FTEMS-IS) program combines an aggressive academic curriculum with practical industry insight, coaching, leadership development, mentoring, and numerous networking opportunities. This unique combination of elements helps our students understand the decision making process, how to develop effective communication strategies, and the powerful new role IS and IS leaders can play in an organization.  The entire program – from concept to content development and delivery – has been done in direct collaboration with area IT executives, who also serve as mentors for our students.  Students are paired one-on-one with a Chief Information Officer (CIO), with whom they meet once a month.  Students and their mentors discuss career aspirations, and how best to achieve them; leadership challenges (both student and mentor) and how best to beat them; and general personal and professional development goals. Students have an opportunity to go beyond the program requirements and build deep, lasting relationships with their mentors.  Our CIO mentors have mastered the business, technical, and leadership skills necessary to be outstanding IT leaders. They have agreed to share their time and experiences with our students to help them master these skills as well.