Executive development is an important part of talent management in modern organizations. Organizations that perform well in the market place train their executives. Also, such organizations respond better to changes in the business environment. Executive development is not limited to commercial enterprises. The benefits of executive development programs make the programs attractive to all types of organizations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the purpose of executive development, the approaches, and the challenges of running executive development programs in organizations. Defining Executive Development The term “executive development” contains two words. The term “executive” refers to top-level officers in any organization (UNC, 2013). The executives of an organization may comprise between five and fifteen percent of its employees, depending on its leadership structure (Smith, Caver, Saslow, & Thomas, 2010). Organizations that use hierarchical structures have fewer executives compared to those that have other types of structures. In the HR context, “development” refers to the improvement of the skills of a person (UNC, 2013). Therefore, executive development refers to all the efforts an organization makes to improve the skills of its top-level employees. Purpose of Executive Development The debate on the need for executive development programs arises from questions about their purpose in an organization. Each organization uses executive development programs to achieve different objectives. The common objectives of executive development programs are as follows. The first purpose of executive development programs is to ease executive selection. Executive selection refers to the process of choosing the heads of various departments in an organization. It also refers to the choice of the Chief Executive Officer of an organization. Organizations that prefer to select their executives internally can benefit from executive development programs. The programs provide selection panels with the opportunity of assessing how each candidate adapts to new situations based on the training offered under the executive development program. On the other hand, organizations that hire employees externally can also benefit from executive development by increasing the competence of newly hired executives using tailored programs. Many companies hire their executives depending on the availability of talent. Secondly, executive development programs play an important role in succession planning. Succession planning is vital for top positions in any organization. Rough transitions can lead to loss of business. Executive development programs help organizations to develop skills in employees earmarked for appointment to replace outgoing executives. An executive development program is vital for the smooth transition of a Chief Executive Officer or any other senior executive in an organization. The third purpose of an executive development program is to anchor the organization’s strategic plan in the minds of all the executives. The implementation of a strategic plan is very dependent on the clarity of the plan to all the executives in the organization. It is important for every organization to train its executives on various issues to give them the skills needed to implement the strategic plan. Apart from anchoring the strategic plan of the organization in the minds of the execu