How should prospective students evaluate MBA programs beyond marketing claims to avoid disappointment?

Remember, everyone is putting their best face forward, including schools and students/candidates. Both parties need to pay attention to what’s being said and what’s not being said. And to ask questions! If you have particular interests or specific concerns, you must learn as much as you can through the evaluation process. Additionally, what has happened in the past is an example of what MAY occur when you attend school, but remember that in today’s world, everything changes quickly. Your classmates will be different from those you meet on a campus visit, and your employment opportunities will be different too – companies and economies change.

What has happened in the past is an example of what MAY occur when you attend school, but remember that in today’s world, everything changes quickly.

Part of the evaluation process from the school side involves application essay questions – that’s a first step in the school getting to know you. Answer the questions. Don’t try to figure out what the school wants to hear. What we want to hear is your honest response to the question.

From your experience, what signs during orientation or early weeks predict whether an MBA program is well run?

The only predictable thing is that something will go wrong – not drastically, but enough that the team will need to pivot. The hallmark of a well-run program is its ability to pivot, doing so without a lot of drama. When there is a sense of calm in what could be a chaotic situation, that demonstrates that the program team knows what they’re doing, they have created a plan, confirmed all that can be confirmed, and if one thing hits a snag, it’s dealt with and things continue as otherwise planned. When a hiccup occurs and that throws folks into a frenzy, that may be a sign of concern.

Many applicants find MBA essay prompts vague or abstract. What’s their real purpose, and how can schools make the process fairer?

Application essays are a critical part of the MBA application. Every school and admissions committee will consider them differently, but we believe most of us are trying to get to know you better. What is your thought process? How are you organizing your thoughts? In the case of the question – Why are you applying now? Or why my school? Or how is the MBA going to further your career? We really want to know – have you thought about these things? Can we help you meet your goals?

What are the most common mistakes MBA applicants make during interviews, and how can they better prepare?

Being unprepared is a big red flag. It’s very evident when a candidate is ‘going through the motions’ and has not researched the school or the program. When they fail to ask any questions or ask very simple questions that could be answered with a quick look at the website. A candidate who treats every application and interview to business school as generic will not come across as one who is interested, or interesting.

Another mistake is focusing too much on yourself. Have all your accomplishments been individual efforts? If so, we are going to be concerned with how you’ll do working on a team. A lot of Business-school assignments and teaching are team-oriented. Have you led a team or a project? How did that go? What about when you were NOT the leader, how did you handle that?

How can students make the most out of their MBA network during and after the program?

There is no substitute for showing up. Attend networking events, introduce yourself to class visitors, go to alumni events, tap into the alumni network, create a plan or a strategy, and execute that plan. If it’s not working or you’re not getting the results you were hoping for, seek feedback, re-evaluate, and amend your strategy. Opportunities are not going to wait for you to be ready; they will happen on their own time – it’s up to you to manage your time, prioritize appropriately, and start networking from day one. Your classmates are a good place to begin. Long after you graduate, this is the group you will remain most closely aligned to – create those bonds early, and often.

In your view, how has the MBA degree evolved to stay relevant in today’s economy?

The MBA continues to evolve. The inclusion of more technology-driven content, the responsible use of AI, and the management of a remote workforce. All of these factors are part of what students will learn, along with foundational business content in the MBA of today.

The MBA is one of the most applicable degrees available. Every organization, for-profit, not-for-profit, arts organizations, healthcare organizations, banks, consultancies, and higher education, are ALL dependent on sound business practices and principles. As the world of work evolves, so must MBA programs.

What kinds of roles or industries are most in demand for recent MBA graduates right now?

If it’s not working or you’re not getting the results you were hoping for, seek feedback, re-evaluate, and amend your strategy.

Organizations are looking for individuals who are fluent in the technology of the workplace.  The tools will continue to change and evolve, and people want to hire those who have proven they can and are eager to learn and stay current. Every role touches or is touched by technology – leading and managing in tech-driven environments – this is true across industries, more so now than in the past, partly due to the rapid nature of change and adoption of technology.

How do you see AI and tech changing the way business education is delivered?

We believe there is wider acceptance of technology as a tool to deliver education. We don’t foresee AI replacing humans teaching content, but we do believe it will help reinforce concepts, aid in the iterative process of learning, applying, gathering feedback, and applying again. We think AI will impact both sides of the education process, those who are delivering and those who are receiving – faculty and students will discover new ways to employ AI and AI tools. These lessons are part of the learning process, one that will continue long after graduation.

Executive Profile

Kate Klepper is the associate dean of graduate studies at D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, US.

David De Cremer is the Dunton Family Dean of D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, US.

The post Inside MBA Admissions: What Applicants Get Wrong and Schools Look For appeared first on The European Business Review.

Generative AI has rewritten the rhythm of business. Strategies are being rethought in weeks, not years.  Every boardroom conversation now includes questions about automation, data ethics, or how AI will change work itself.

Yet while the technology moves fast, leadership capability often lags behind. According to a recent McKinsey report, almost all companies invest in AI but only one percent believe they are at maturity in deployment (McKinsey, 2024). A Gartner survey found that only 48 percent of digital initiatives meet or exceed their business outcome targets (Gartner, 2024).

Because of this gap between technological ambition and leadership readiness, many experienced professionals find themselves expected to guide change without feeling fully equipped. For them, credibility now depends on fluency: being able to connect business value with technological possibility and to lead teams through the uncertainty that comes with both.

Yolande Gross, a participant in the IMD Executive Master in AI and Digital Business Transformation and a senior HR leader with more than two decades of experience, put it clearly:

“AI is transforming the way we work and lead. I need to anticipate change, have the right conversations at the table, and stay relevant. This program gives me the knowledge and the confidence to do that.”

For many leaders like Yolande, the program fills a critical gap in executive development. It equips them with a practical understanding of AI and digital transformation while strengthening their ability to lead people through it.

The demand for deeper capability

In the past two years, quick AI courses and digital bootcamps have multiplied. They introduce tools and trends but rarely give executives the structure to apply that learning meaningfully in their roles. Experienced leaders increasingly seek something more substantial: a learning journey that builds insight, develops judgment, and gives them a clear edge in conversations that matter.

The Executive Master in AI and Digital Business Transformation at IMD was built for this. It combines rigorous academic grounding with hands-on application, encouraging participants to test ideas, reflect on impact, and refine their approach through real strategic challenges.

This blend of depth and relevance is what drew IT and data professional Sothy Yogarajah to the program. After years navigating the disruptive landscape of AI and analytics, he wanted a structured way to elevate his thinking, sharpen his leadership, and reconnect with his professional purpose.

Applying learning in real time

One of the program’s defining elements is the Integrative Assignment, a three-credit applied project that ties together the tools, frameworks, and insights from across the degree. Participants select a real challenge from their sector and develop a workable strategy, guided by faculty and expert reviewers.

Sothy found this process pivotal. “The assignment helped me rethink a business challenge I was already facing. The feedback I received pushed my thinking in new directions, and I could use it straight away in my role. That kind of practical value is rare.”

His project explored how to reposition a holiday resource provider’s business model using digital transformation frameworks. Parts of the strategy are already being implemented, and he continues to refine it through what he learned about change management at IMD.

Sothy Yogarajah

Leadership development with a human edge

The Executive Master is not only about technology. It examines how leaders show up, communicate, and guide teams through uncertainty. This was particularly meaningful for Sothy, who identifies as neurodiverse. He found the program’s environment both inclusive and flexible, which allowed him to contribute in ways that felt natural and authentic.

“The space at IMD helped me grow as a professional. The structure, the flexibility, and the openness made it easier to focus on the content and the leadership work. It gave me the confidence to be myself.”

Conversations with peers also played a major role.

“In corporate settings, people are careful with what they say. Here, people are honest. You can talk openly about challenges, share experiences, and compare perspectives with people from completely different industries but similar fields. That kind of dialogue is powerful.”

He also described how IMD helped him reframe everyday leadership. One simple shift was how he approached one-to-one conversations. “I used to treat them like checklists. At IMD, I learned to treat them as moments to gather meaningful data about people. It changed how I listen and how I build trust.”

A learning journey that adapts to real life

The Executive Master is designed for people with complex careers and personal commitments. It can be completed in 18 months or extended up to 48 months. Some participants accelerate their studies during transitions. Others progress module by module while applying insights immediately at work.

The program includes five digital modules that build expertise in AI, automation, and data strategy, and three business transformation modules that develop transversal leadership skills. Participants can also select electives from IMD or partner schools to deepen their knowledge in specific areas.

Yolande Gross

Building a network that strengthens leadership

Each module brings together senior leaders, founders, and executives from different sectors. The mix is intentional. It creates the kind of ecosystem where ideas flow freely, experiences collide, and blind spots get challenged.

For Sothy, the exposure to different viewpoints reshaped how he thinks about transformation. He said, “You see how AI shows up in healthcare versus finance versus manufacturing. You understand what is universal and what is context-specific. That helps you build solutions that make sense in the real world.”

These relationships extend far beyond the classroom, becoming sources of support and collaboration long after the program ends.

Demonstrating impact that matters

Graduates of the Executive Master leave with a portfolio of applied work, including the Capstone Project or Integrative Assignment, which demonstrates their ability to connect innovation with measurable business value.

This gives participants evidence of capability. It shows boards, employers, and clients that the leader understands the landscape, can think strategically, and has already applied these ideas to meaningful challenges.

As Sothy reflected, “It is one thing to understand digital transformation in theory. It is another to have a piece of work that shows how you have made it real.”

Why this moment matters

AI has moved from a technical consideration to a defining force in global business. Leaders everywhere are being asked to navigate complexity, assess risk, and move their organizations forward with wisdom and clarity.

Research from PwC indicates that 73 percent of CEOs now view AI as central to competitiveness, yet only 37 percent feel ready to integrate it effectively into their organizations (PwC CEO Survey, 2025). The gap is not technological. It is human.

This is where the Executive Master in AI and Digital Business Transformation creates its deepest value. It equips leaders with the language, the mindset, and the experience to guide transformation with confidence and credibility.

As Yolande put it, “The program keeps you relevant and impactful at any stage of your career. It prepares you for the conversations that define where organizations are going.”

The pace of change will continue to accelerate. The leaders who thrive will be those who can connect emerging tools with organizational purpose, and who understand that digital transformation is as much about people as it is about technology.

IMD’s Executive Master gives them the foundation to do exactly that, one challenge at a time.

About the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) 

The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has been a pioneering force in developing leaders and organizations that contribute to a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive world for more than 75 years. Led by an expert and diverse faculty, with campuses in Lausanne and Singapore, a Management Development Hub in Shenzhen, and an Innovation Hub in Cape Town, IMD strives to be the trusted learning partner of choice for ambitious individuals and organizations worldwide. Our executive education and degree programs are consistently ranked among the world’s best. Through our research, programs, and advisory work, we enable business leaders to find new and better solutions, challenging what is and inspiring what could be. To learn more, visit www.imd.org

The post How to Lead with Credibility in the Age of AI appeared first on The European Business Review.

Interview with Siobhan Frank, Oxford Executive MBA

In this TEBR interview, Siobhan Frank, Programme Director of the Oxford Executive MBA, highlights the school’s excellence through its world-class faculty, adaptive curriculum and global exchanges, making it the top choice for leaders seeking a globally relevant MBA.

It’s great to have you with us today, Siobhan! To start, the Oxford Executive MBA has been ranked best in the world by Quacquarelli Symonds for two consecutive years now. From your perspective as the Programme Director, what makes it consistently stand out in such a competitive global field?

Thank you, it’s a privilege to be here. The Oxford Executive MBA stands out for its unique combination of people, place, and perspective. Oxford draws an international audience, and our participants are no exception. They come from across the globe, eager to learn from one another, motivated either by the demands of their careers for a truly global outlook or by a personal desire to broaden their perspectives. Our UK location and modular format also make it easy for participants to join us from every corner of the world, further enhancing the diversity of the cohort.

The combination of traditions, networks, and the sense of belonging to a community that is both intellectually rigorous and globally connected makes Saïd Business School truly stand out on the world stage.

That diversity is matched by our world-class faculty, who combine cutting-edge research with real-world insight. Their teaching is anchored in the programme’s core themes, strategic leadership, global complexity and risk, and entrepreneurial thinking. Each is more relevant than ever in today’s interconnected world.

And of course, all of this is enriched by the Oxford experience itself. The combination of traditions, networks, and the sense of belonging to a community that is both intellectually rigorous and globally connected makes Saïd Business School truly stand out on the world stage.

Last year, the Oxford Executive MBA also celebrated its 20^th anniversary. How has the programme evolved since its first cohort in 2004? What remains unchanged at its core?

Celebrating 20 years of the Oxford Executive MBA was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how far the programme has come. Since welcoming our first cohort in 2004, we’ve continually refreshed the curriculum to reflect the changing world, with greater emphasis on areas such as global complexity and risk, sustainability, technology, entrepreneurship, and responsible leadership. The programme has also expanded in scale, most notably with the introduction of a second annual intake in 2018.

What hasn’t changed, and what I don’t think ever will, is our core. The programme remains rooted in bringing together outstanding people, world-class faculty and the unique Oxford experience. At the heart of this is the University’s deep commitment to research with impact; research that not only advances knowledge, but also drives cultural, societal, political, and economic change on a global scale.

At Saïd Business School, we reflect that commitment through what we call ‘impact from within.’ We believe solving the world’s challenges is not solely the role of governments; business leaders have a vital responsibility too. Our mission is to develop leaders who go into business with purpose – transforming themselves, their organisations, and ultimately the world. That commitment to meaningful, lasting impact is as central to the Oxford Executive MBA today as it was 20 years ago.

It scored exceptionally high in Diversity, Thought Leadership, and Employer Reputation. Could you share some examples of how these qualities translate into real-world impact for your graduates?

Absolutely. Diversity, thought leadership, and employer reputation are at the heart of the Oxford Executive MBA, translating directly into the impact our graduates make.

Diversity is more than demographics; it’s lived experience. Our participants join us from every sector and continent, and many choose Oxford precisely because they want to learn from different perspectives across regions, industries, and cultures. That richness of exchange develops leaders who are confident navigating across cultures and adept at leading in complex, global contexts.

Thought leadership comes from our world-class faculty, whose research shapes debates on everything from sustainability and AI to global risk. Their work spans our core strengths, including responsible leadership, technology and innovation, sustainability and social impact, and global strategy. Crucially, our participants don’t just study these ideas in theory; they put them into practice immediately in their organisations, often leading initiatives that deliver measurable change.

Employer reputation reflects the confidence placed in Oxford graduates. Our alumni are sought after because they combine academic rigour with purpose. Many move into C-suite roles, launch new ventures, or lead major transformations in sectors such as healthcare, finance, and energy, making real impact on their industries and communities.

The programme includes two international modules. What kind of cultural and business insights do participants typically gain from these experiences?

That’s a great question. To clarify, we offer two international modules as part of the core curriculum. However, participants also have the opportunity to further their international experience through electives and co-curricular global exchanges, for example, through the Global Network of Advanced Management (GNAM).

These experiences allow participants to move beyond studying global complexity and strategic leadership in the classroom to experiencing them firsthand. By engaging directly with new markets, business practices, and cultural contexts, they gain a deeper appreciation of how leadership plays out differently across regions. Just as importantly, they learn how to adapt their own leadership approach, preparing them to lead with confidence in an interconnected and often unpredictable world.

Oxford Saïd’s approach has been described as an “intellectual playground.” How does this environment shape the mindset and skillset of your participants?

I love that description, because Oxford Saïd really is an ‘intellectual playground’. In practice, it means participants are constantly challenged, not only absorbing knowledge but testing ideas, debating perspectives, and learning how to navigate ambiguity.

This is amplified by the wider University and city. From public talks in the historic centre to major forums, conferences, and the Entrepreneurship Centre’s programming, participants have countless opportunities to shape their co-curricular experience around their own interests, making their time here uniquely rich.

Together, this develops both mindset and skillset. Participants become more curious, adaptable, and confident in managing complexity, while sharpening core skills in areas like strategy, finance, and entrepreneurship. Crucially, they are also encouraged to think beyond their own organisations and embrace their wider role as leaders in society.

So the ‘intellectual playground’ is not only stimulating in the moment, it shapes reflective, globally minded leaders who go on to make meaningful impact long after the programme.

The programme also has world-class facilities in the Thatcher Business Education Centre. How have these resources contributed to the learning and networking experience for participants?

The Thatcher Business Education Centre (fondly referred to as TBEC) is at the heart of the Oxford Executive MBA. Purpose-built for senior executives, it combines state-of-the-art classrooms and technology with spaces that foster connection. Our participants study, debate, dine, and network there, and over time, the TBEC becomes more than just a building; it’s the hub of their Oxford journey.

We’re enormously grateful to the endowment from Mr Wafic Saïd and the ongoing support of the Saïd Foundation, as well as to all our generous benefactors, whose contributions make this possible and continue to underpin the School’s success.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to soon open our Global Leadership Centre as the next step for Saïd Business School in executive education. It will provide a world-class home for leadership development, giving participants even more opportunities to learn, collaborate, and shape the future of business.

Many participants speak of a shift in how they define leadership over the course of the programme. What kinds of personal or professional transformations have you observed?

One of the most striking changes we see is how participants redefine leadership. They may begin thinking of it as a technical skill or team management, but over the course of the programme, it becomes about purpose: asking better questions, empowering others, and making an impact in complex environments.

The results are powerful. For example, Dr Rebecca Weston has applied her Oxford learning to lead in the highly complex nuclear sector. James Hall channelled his experience into building a carbon-credit insurance venture and went on to lead our Entrepreneurship Centre. Dr Owoicho Adogwa is using the programme’s insights to transform healthcare in West Africa, while Aline Daoud draws on Oxford frameworks as she supports more women leaders and women engineers in the Middle East.

These stories show what we mean when we say, ‘enriched minds perform better.’ By broadening perspectives and deepening purpose, the programme empowers participants to drive meaningful change in their organisations, industries, and communities. That is Oxford’s impact in action.

How do you define ROI in executive education today, and how does your programme deliver on that promise?

That’s an important question. ROI in executive education today goes far beyond salary uplift, though many of our participants do see that. The real return is harder to quantify but deeply felt. It’s about ‘transformation’; new perspectives, lasting networks, greater comfort with risk and uncertainty, the confidence to lead responsibly, and clarity about the legacy they want to leave.

At Oxford, participants are challenged by world-class faculty and diverse peers, which builds both confidence and purpose.

At Oxford, participants are challenged by world-class faculty and diverse peers, which builds both confidence and purpose. Madonna Okpaleke, a 30% Club Scholar, has spoken about how the Executive MBA gave her the confidence to raise her voice against bias and make it count. Meanwhile, Andrea Guzzoni, a former start-up founder, used the Executive MBA to pause and reset after years of rapid growth. Today, as Venture Capital Sector Director at Founders Factory, he applies those insights to back early-stage founders and shape the next wave of ventures.

These stories show the true ROI of the Oxford Executive MBA: not just career advancement, but expanded horizons, resilience, and leadership that embraces uncertainty while focusing on lasting impact.

Many of your alumni are now in high-impact roles around the globe. Is there a particular success story that embodies the leadership values Oxford seeks to instill?

We are lucky to have many great alumni on the programme, many of whom still keep in touch and continue to exemplify the values of responsible leadership that Oxford Saïd seeks to instill.

For example, Axel Addy, former Minister for Commerce and Industry of Liberia, played a pivotal role in guiding Liberia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), demonstrating how business acumen can be applied to shape inclusive economic growth at a national level.

One of our earliest participants, Mark Carmichael, built a distinguished career leading major mergers and acquisitions around the world, and now returns to the School as a guest speaker, inspiring current participants with his insights.

Looking ahead, what is your vision for the Oxford Executive MBA in the next decade? How do you plan to maintain its leadership position in global rankings?

Looking ahead, our vision for the Oxford Executive MBA is to continue developing leaders who are not only successful in business but also purposeful in addressing the most pressing global challenges. We will do this by continuing to strengthen our global diversity and reach, innovation in teaching and learning, and focus on impact and responsible and sustainable leadership.

Regarding rankings, our strategy is simple. Stay at the forefront of thought leadership, maintain a rigorous and transformational curriculum and foster a vibrant alumni community that continues to achieve the highest levels across industries and borders.  By measuring our success not only in terms of career progression, but also in contributions to society, we will ensure the Oxford Executive MBA remains distinct, relevant and globally recognised for years to come.

Executive Profile

Siobhan Frank is Programme Director of the Oxford Executive MBA at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. She leads strategy, development, and delivery of this globally top-ranked programme, overseeing recruitment, admissions, and participant experience. Passionate about purposeful leadership, Siobhan fosters diverse, global executive communities that drive meaningful impact.

The post Oxford Executive MBA: Shaping Global Business Leaders through Learning and Research appeared first on The European Business Review.

Johnny Gutierrez, a senior project manager at ADNOC with more than 20 years in the energy sector, has seen these changes from the inside. “Working for a leading oil and gas company that is strongly committed to the net zero vision, I felt the need to become a true sustainability ambassador. My goal is to go beyond compliance and deliver real impact for both my company and the UAE’s sustainability agenda.” His perspective reflects a growing reality. Technical knowledge is valuable, but the ability to translate sustainability into strategy and measurable results is what organisations are searching for.

The new rules of the game

Nowhere is the shift clearer than in regulation. In Europe, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has taken effect, requiring nearly 50,000 companies to publish extensive ESG data. For many, this will be the first time they are held to such detailed disclosure standards. Boards that once treated sustainability as a matter for annual reports must now ensure that financial and non-financial performance are integrated and consistent.

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) expands this responsibility across global supply chains. European companies will be expected to track environmental and human rights practices of suppliers, contractors, and subsidiaries around the world. The implications are far-reaching. Large companies will be required to redesign procurement systems, monitor performance, and prove that they are addressing risks effectively.

The EU Taxonomy, meanwhile, defines which activities can be classified as sustainable. This is more than a label. It sets the parameters for access to financing. Activities that fall outside the definition may struggle to attract investors or qualify for preferential lending rates.

Finally, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will soon attach a tangible cost to carbon-intensive imports. For industries such as steel, aluminium, and cement, this will reshape competitive dynamics overnight. Producers with cleaner processes will gain a clear advantage. Those without will see their costs rise.

Together, these measures represent a fundamental change in the way companies operate. Sustainability is no longer a matter of reputation. Non-compliance can mean financial penalties, legal liabilities, or exclusion from markets.

Stakeholder expectations rising

Regulation is only part of the story. Pressure is mounting from stakeholders on every side. Investors are treating climate risk as financial risk and pressing companies for credible transition plans. The days of broad pledges with little follow-through are over. Detailed roadmaps, with evidence of implementation, are now demanded.

Consumers are also becoming more discerning. In Europe, purchasing decisions are increasingly influenced by environmental credentials. From packaging materials to product footprints, customers are willing to switch brands when they see a difference in commitment. For industries ranging from food to fashion, this shift is reshaping competitive advantage.

Employees are another driving force. Younger generations in particular weigh purpose alongside pay. They want to work for organisations that align with their values, and they are prepared to leave when those values are not reflected. Surveys consistently show that employees expect their employers to take a clear stance on climate and social issues. Talent retention and recruitment now depend on credibility in sustainability.

The impact of climate change itself adds another layer of urgency. Extreme weather events are disrupting supply chains, damaging assets, and raising insurance costs. Rising carbon prices, whether through trading schemes or taxation, further increase the pressure on companies to reduce their footprint.

For leaders, the message is clear. Sustainability is no longer confined to one department. It cuts across strategy, finance, operations, and culture.

A gap in leadership capacity

Despite widespread recognition of the challenge, many organisations are not equipped to respond at the pace required. Most have technical specialists who understand carbon accounting, lifecycle assessment, or ESG reporting. These skills are vital, but they do not guarantee transformation.

The gap is leadership. Boards often approve ambitious targets for emissions reductions or circularity. Middle managers are often aware of the need for change. Yet the translation of those targets into everyday decision-making falters. Teams operate in silos. Functions compete for resources. Short-term priorities overshadow long-term commitments. The result is a pattern of ambition without delivery.

Recruiting leaders from outside the organisation has proven difficult. The global pool of executives who combine sustainability expertise with business transformation experience is still limited, and competition for them is fierce. Many companies conclude that the only viable solution is to develop leaders internally. This requires equipping experienced managers with new skills, broadening their perspective, and giving them the confidence to drive change across functions.

Preparing leaders for transformation

This was the motivation that led Gutierrez to IMD’s Executive Master in Sustainable Business Transformation. “I initially looked for a sustainability program, but what I found is much deeper and more relevant,” he explains. “The business transformation component, in addition to sustainability, makes it unique and directly aligned with my future career aspirations.”

The business transformation component, in addition to sustainability, makes it unique and directly aligned with my future career aspirations.

The program was designed to meet the leadership gap head-on. Its modular structure allows executives to balance study with demanding professional roles. Digital modules build deep expertise in sustainability, while transformation modules focus on cross-functional skills such as strategy execution, stakeholder engagement, and organisational change. Electives provide flexibility to tailor the experience to specific career goals.

At the centre is a capstone project that requires participants to apply their learning to a real challenge. Some use the project to tackle pressing issues within their current organisation, such as decarbonising operations or redesigning a supply chain. Others work with new partners, providing consulting-style support to demonstrate impact in a different context. In both cases, the outcome is tangible evidence of leadership capacity in action.

Gutierrez values this practical orientation. “Academically, I am gaining far more than I expected. The faculty are outstanding, my classmates bring unique global perspectives, and the dedicated coaches are an unexpected but highly valuable element. Personally, the program has reignited my passion for purpose-driven business transformation.”

Why peer learning matters

Another distinctive element is the diversity of the participants. Executives join from industries as varied as finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and technology. Each brings a different lens on the sustainability challenge. For example, a healthcare executive might focus on supply chain transparency, while a manufacturing leader explores energy efficiency. The exchange of perspectives enriches the learning experience and highlights the universal relevance of sustainability.

For Gutierrez, this was reassuring. With more than two decades of industry experience, he initially wondered whether he might be among the oldest in the cohort. Instead, he found that his experience was an asset. Sustainability is a relatively new field. No one arrives as a complete expert. This creates a learning environment where contributions from different backgrounds are valued.

Implications for business and society

The implications extend beyond individual development. Companies with leaders who can connect sustainability with strategy will be better positioned to comply with regulation, secure investment, and attract talent. They will also be able to identify opportunities for innovation, from new business models to partnerships that create shared value.

Those without such leaders face growing risks. Failure to comply with regulation can close off markets. Weak sustainability performance can deter investors and lenders. Poor credibility on climate action can damage employer branding.

For society, the stakes are even higher. The transition to sustainable business is about more than competitiveness. It is about ensuring that economies remain viable within environmental limits while also addressing social expectations. Leaders who can guide this transition will shape not only the future of their organisations, but the resilience of communities and ecosystems.

The time to step up

The window for action is narrow. By 2026, CBAM enforcement will begin. By 2028, many of the new European directives will be fully operational. Stakeholders are already showing limited patience for incremental change.

Gutierrez captures this urgency clearly: “The world is at an inflection point where sustainability and transformation are no longer optional. Companies must rethink business models, embrace innovation, and deliver measurable impact. Leaders need the skills to bridge sustainability with strategy and execution.”

The transition will happen regardless of whether companies are ready. The pace and the outcome will depend on the leadership available.

The executives who step up now will be the ones who turn ambition into action, align purpose with profit, and deliver results that matter. For them, and for the companies they serve, the time to act is not tomorrow. It is now.

About the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) 

The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has been a pioneering force in developing leaders and organizations that contribute to a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive world for more than 75 years. Led by an expert and diverse faculty, with campuses in Lausanne and Singapore, a Management Development Hub in Shenzhen and an Innovation Hub in Cape Town, IMD strives to be the trusted learning partner of choice for ambitious individuals and organizations worldwide. Our executive education and degree programs are consistently ranked among the world’s best. Through our research, programs, and advisory work, we enable business leaders to find new and better solutions, challenging what is and inspiring what could be. To learn more, visit www.imd.org.

The post Who Will Lead the Transition? Why the Future Belongs to Leaders Who Can Deliver Sustainability appeared first on The European Business Review.

In an era marked by complexity and constant transformation, business leaders need the mindset, skills, and perspective to shape meaningful change. SDA Bocconi’s Executive MBA blends decision sciences, business analytics and simulation-based learning with flexible formats tailored to today’s professionals. The result is a transformative experience that enhances strategic thinking and inspires a broader vision rooted in innovation and human impact.

It’s such an honor to have you with us today, Mrs Trinca Colonel. To begin, you have an extensive background in decision sciences and business analytics. How are these themes integrated into SDA Bocconi’s EMBA program?  

Analytics and critical thinking play a central role in shaping effective executives, equipping them with the ability to interpret increasingly complex business scenarios. Today, we face the exponential growth of available data and a vast amount of information at our disposal. The real challenge is transforming this complexity into strategic insight. 

This is why decision sciences and business analytics are thoroughly embedded in the Executive MBA at SDA Bocconi. We include a mandatory course on data analysis for business, aimed at developing strong analytical problem-solving skills. Students learn to apply predictive analytics to gain competitive advantage, identify potential business risks, and make sense of complex patterns. Even professionals from non-quantitative backgrounds, such as those with legal profiles, find this course highly valuable.  

Since 2022, we have also offered a concentration week dedicated to “Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for business,” consisting of 50 academic hours. For the 2025 edition, this week is fully booked, with 70 Executive MBA students participating—which highlights how crucial these topics have become for today’s leaders. 

In your view, what makes SDA Bocconi’s EMBA stand out globally among top-ranked EMBA programs? 

Our global reputation is solidly backed by triple accreditation and strong positions in international rankings, which reflect the quality and rigor of our program.

SDA Bocconi’s Executive MBA stands out for several key reasons. First, our global reputation is solidly backed by triple accreditation and strong positions in international rankings, which reflect the quality and rigor of our program. SDA Bocconi itself enjoys an outstanding international reputation, supported by nearly three decades of success in higher education. This long-standing expertise is reflected in the two formats of the Executive MBA: 23 years of the Modular format and 10 of the Weekend option (in addition to 17 years of the former evening EMBA program), each designed to accommodate different professional profiles and career paths. 

Our curriculum is deeply focused on global business challenges and strategic thinking, combined with a practical learning approach that allows students to apply concepts directly to their professional contexts. Another major strength lies in our faculty, which comprises professors with significant cross-industry experience, who bring research-driven teaching methodologies into the classroom. 

Beyond academics, our strong alumni network and extensive industry connections create invaluable opportunities for networking and growth. Moreover, we offer comprehensive career advisory services, including individual executive coaching sessions, mentorship programs, and career advisory workshops and meetings—ensuring that our students are well equipped to drive their careers throughout and beyond the program. 

SDA Bocconi’s EMBA is described as a transformative journey. How does the program foster this transformation, both professionally and personally, for its participants?  

The transformation that our EMBA fosters occurs on multiple levels, both professional and personal. 

Professionally, the program equips students with complex problem-solving skills, as well as strong analytical and critical thinking abilities. Through simulations that challenge them to manage complexity and uncertainty, real-world projects, assignments, and case study analyses, they develop a broad, interdisciplinary perspective that enables a 360-degree vision of business challenges.  

On a personal level, the EMBA encourages students to gain a deeper understanding of their strengths and limitations. It challenges them to step outside their comfort zones, develop greater resilience, and learn how to perform effectively under pressure. The program also supports continuous growth through group work, peer-to-peer learning, and a structured system of ongoing feedback. This process of reflection and interaction helps increase their confidence and prepares them to lead with greater self-awareness and agility.  

The program is offered in both Weekend and Modular formats. What are the main differences in experience between them? How do they cater to different professional profiles? 

We offer two distinct formats—Weekend and Modular—designed to meet the needs of different professional profiles and personal circumstances. 

The Weekend format, available in both Milan and Rome, is delivered through bi-monthly modules held on Friday evenings and full Saturdays. This schedule is particularly well suited to professionals based in Italy, who seek to balance their studies with ongoing work commitments and personal responsibilities. The format, conducted in Italian and English, fosters continuity and progressive learning. Students typically attend the location closest to them, either in Milan or Rome. The total duration of the Weekend option is approximately 18 months.

The Modular format, held in Milan and conducted entirely in English, is structured around alternating intensive training weeks and weekend modules, generally once a month. It offers a more immersive international learning experience, which is especially valuable for international or European-based professionals looking to step away from their day-to-day duties for focused academic engagement. The full program runs over approximately 18 months.

Each format is designed to deliver the same high-quality content and transformation, while giving students the flexibility to choose the path that best suits their professional and personal needs. 

Can you share some success stories from participants who found the flexible formats pivotal in completing the program without compromising their careers? 

One inspiring example is a woman with a technical executive background who went through a pregnancy while attending the program. Thanks to the flexibility of the EMBA and a personalized learning path, she was able to continue her studies seamlessly. Sponsored by her company, she successfully balanced her personal and professional commitments and was promoted to director immediately after graduation.  

Another case involves an entrepreneur who applied innovative strategic frameworks and broadened his business perspectives using insights gained during the EMBA. Not only did he grow professionally, but he also created opportunities for others—offering a job position to one of his classmates. Just two years after graduating, they together launched a successful new entrepreneurial venture.  

Finally, a student from the Pharma and Healthcare sector applied cost-efficiency models learned during the program directly in his company. By integrating academic insights into practical business solutions, he advanced his career significantly, reaching a global vice-president leadership role.  

These stories highlight how the EMBA’s flexible formats enable students to thrive professionally while navigating their unique personal circumstances.  

In light of SDA Bocconi’s high global ranking in environmental impact, have there been any movements to incorporate sustainability, ESG, or environmental impact themes further in the program?  

Absolutely. At SDA Bocconi, we have been integrating sustainability and environmental impact themes into the EMBA curriculum for over five years now. Today, approximately 20 percent of the content across modules reflects sustainability-related topics and these are embedded within core business disciplines—not treated as add-ons, but as fundamental components of the program. 

We also offer a mandatory course on Business Ethics, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. It is essential for developing responsible leadership and enhancing students’ ethical decision-making capabilities. 

In addition, since 2021 we have introduced a dedicated concentration week, our Business and Sustainability Week, consisting of 50 academic hours. It covers key topics such as circular economy principles, environmental risk assessment, ESG frameworks, and green investment strategies. It has consistently been one of the most in-demand sessions, fully booked each year, with around 60 EMBA students taking part annually. 

What other innovations in learning approaches have been implemented recently in the EMBA to keep it cutting-edge? 

We’re constantly innovating our learning approaches to ensure that the EMBA remains aligned with the evolving needs of executives and the business landscape. In recent years, we have introduced a number of new tools and methodologies that enhance both the learning experience and its practical relevance. 

We’re constantly innovating our learning approaches to ensure that the EMBA remains aligned with the evolving needs of executives and the business landscape.

For example, we have integrated digital learning platforms with microlearning modules, allowing the class to engage with content in a more flexible and targeted way. We also make extensive use of advanced simulation technologies and business scenario simulations, which are crucial for applying knowledge in complex and uncertain contexts. 

At the school level, we have recently introduced a Decalogue for the ethical and conscious use of AI, which provides a framework for responsible engagement with artificial intelligence, across all master programs, including the EMBA. We have also strengthened our focus on individual development through continuous performance monitoring and structured feedback systems. 

As the Academic Director, how do you ensure that the program remains aligned with today’s global leadership and business challenges? 

Keeping the EMBA closely aligned with today’s global leadership and business challenges means continuously evolving both content and learning formats. One of the key ways we do this is by offering students the possibility to personalize their learning path—choosing one or two concentration weeks from a portfolio of 10, which we update regularly to reflect emerging trends and business needs.  

We also provide an international exchange program through partnerships with top global business schools, allowing students to gain exposure to different markets and perspectives. Each cohort also takes part in an international week abroad, selecting from three locations and topics, each hosted by a partner institution.  

Toward the end of the program, students can join up to 13 optional seminars focusing on highly relevant and innovative themes, further strengthening the flexibility and relevance of the curriculum.  

Guest speakers and company visits bring an additional layer of applied insight to the classroom, while the broader calendar of SDA Bocconi and Bocconi University events ensures continuous exposure to the latest ideas shaping the business world. 

What kinds of career advancements do you typically see among EMBA graduates in the years following completion?  

Career progression among EMBA graduates often becomes more visible in the medium term, typically within three years after graduation. At that stage, a significant percentage of students have either changed roles or moved to a different company. The majority capitalize on the degree within their current organization, taking on broader responsibilities or stepping into more strategic positions. Transitions may also include a sector change, often aligned with market trends and personal career planning.  

Rather than immediate shifts, most graduates follow a step-by-step career strategy, supported by structured networking and a clearer understanding of their professional goals. While only a minority leave the corporate world entirely to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, several do initiate such projects in parallel with their main roles. These patterns of advancement are consistent across industries, reflecting the program’s broad applicability.  

And finally, what can we expect to see from SDA Bocconi in the next decade?  

In the next decade, SDA Bocconi will continue to strengthen its role as a truly global education player, expanding its international footprint while remaining deeply connected to its Italian and European roots. The School’s evolution will reflect the growing need for institutions that can combine global vision with local understanding, preparing professionals to navigate complexity with cultural awareness and strategic clarity. 

At the same time, SDA Bocconi will remain at the forefront of innovation, embedding the responsible use of emerging technologies, including AI, into every aspect of its educational offer. This means not just adopting new tools, but helping students and organizations understand their impact, risks, and potential. The next chapter will be marked by an even stronger integration between academic rigor, technological progress, and a human-centered approach to business education. 

Executive Profile

Renata Trinca Colonel is Associate Professor of Practice of Decision Sciences & Business Analytics at SDA Bocconi. Since January 2021 she has been Academic Director of the Executive MBA. She teaches and consults for major firms across industries and has authored numerous publications. In 2019, she won the Bocconi Innovation in Teaching Award. 

The post Leading Through Complexity: Inside the Executive MBA at SDA Bocconi appeared first on The European Business Review.

More than just machine learning: A human approach to tech-driven innovation

LSE’s new programme isn’t another technical bootcamp or buzzword parade taught by people outside the industry. Instead, we get to the heart of what matters: how leaders can integrate AI responsibly and effectively in their organisations. Participants explore how AI shapes decision-making, creativity, productivity, and how culture – and how to lead through that change.

As the top university in the country, LSE’s programme (one of the first of its kind) combines the tech aspect of AI with corporate culture, psychology and behavioural science. You’re not going to get theoretical discussions in ivory towers. You’re going to get real world case studies, practical experience, and guest speakers from companies on the AI frontier – OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Faculty AI, Korn Ferry, and Electric Twin, executives leave with practical tools to deploy AI in a way that’s safe, ethical, and strategically sound. 

The possibilities of AI technology are huge. As are the potential pitfalls.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Already, many big businesses are falling foul and paying the price of not taking the time to really understand how AI can work effectively for their organisation. Just ask Air Canada, which was ordered to pay compensation after its chatbot gave false information. Mistakes like these aren’t just embarrassing, they’re expensive. And they often stem from a failure to understand not just how AI works, but how it behaves.

– Professor Michael Muthukrishna

LSE are offering C-suites and other senior leaders knowledge and skills through an intense, immersive week that will enhance existing leadership skills with new tools and strategies, as well as aid the cultural adaptation of workforces to a new technological reality – effectively helping leaders to futureproof their businesses. 

An elite teaching team with real-world edge

This hands-on, applied programme is taught by Professor Michael Muthukrishna and Dr Dario Krpan, both with deep industry experience, alongside leading industry expert guest speakers, such as Joel Liebo (Senior Research Scientist, Google DeepMind), Marc Warner (CEO of Faculty AI), Jayna Devani (International Education Lead, OpenAI), Ben Warner (CEO of Electric Twin, former UK government Chief Data Scientist, and LSE Senior Visiting Fellow), and Vinay Menon (Senior Partner and Global AI Lead at Korn Ferry). It’s a rare opportunity to engage directly with thinkers and practitioners shaping the future of AI — and business.

A future-focused portfolio for an ever-changing world.

AI is just one of the many complex challenges that LSE is helping business leaders and executives to navigate, understand and overcome. Their broad portfolio of contemporary topics is designed to stretch, challenge and empower participants to think critically and analytically about the bigger picture. To interrogate what the issues of today mean to the future of businesses and gain an increased awareness of the intricate interconnectedness of global business, geopolitics and socioeconomics and how vital this is to navigating change with confidence.

Rated the number one university in the UK and University of the Year by the Times and Sunday Times, each programme is delivered by a world-class faculty and informed by cutting-edge research. It’s no wonder LSE has been equipping leaders for success for 130 years and will continue to do so for many more to come.

This new LSE Executive Education programme AI and the Future of Organisations: Insights for Business is taking place at LSE’s campus in London this September.

The post How LSE is Equipping C-suite Executives with the Skills to Successfully Navigate and Integrate AI into the World of Work appeared first on The European Business Review.

With today’s geopolitical uncertainty, economic volatility, and the fast-moving integration of AI into nearly every aspect of business, executives are navigating intense complexity with less time than ever to pause and reflect about their own learning and development.

At the International Institute of Management Development (IMD), the learning innovation team has been exploring how AI can help participants in the Executive MBA program. What if AI could make learning more integrated, personal, and aligned with your goals, even between modules? Not by replacing the deeply human aspects of leadership development, but by supporting them.

Here’s how IMD is putting that into practice. 

AI that helps you connect the dots as you learn 

One of the first ways IMD began integrating AI into its degree programs was also one of the simplest: helping participants make better sense of what they were learning, as they were learning it. 

IMD AI+ is a generative AI tool trained on the school’s own program content, faculty insights, and real case material. It’s available to learners during their studies as a kind of always-available thinking partner. It is ready to explain a tricky concept, revisit a lecture topic, or connect dots between different modules. 

What’s interesting is how participants are actually using it. Not to cut corners, but to stay curious. To unpack ideas in the moment, or revisit something days later when it finally starts to click. 

It’s not designed to replace teaching, it just makes it easier to keep learning, even when the classroom session ends. 

And that’s exactly what set IMD’s learning innovation team down a new path: if a tool like this could help learners stay engaged during the program, what else might be possible between sessions? Or even beyond them? 

That question led to something much more personal. 

Stay focused and on track with the right nudge 

When you’re doing an EMBA, you’re balancing the demands of work, life, and an intensive program. It can be a challenge to keep your development front of mind. Sometimes what you need isn’t more content or information. You need clarity. A gentle reminder. A nudge in the right direction, right when it matters. 

That’s where IMD’s new AI-powered nudging tool comes in. It’s designed to support learners in a quiet but meaningful way: prompting reflection, reinforcing goals, and connecting them to the right insights at the right moment. 

It can serve as a valuable partner in between coaching sessions, or for learners who aren’t currently working with one. The goal isn’t to replace the human element, but to work alongside it. 

As Sarah Grant, Director of Learning Innovation at IMD, puts it:

Here’s how it works: 

• It helps learners think more clearly by posing questions and prompts that encourage self-awareness and reflection.
• It supports accountability by reminding you of the goals you’ve set and nudging you gently back toward them.
• It draws from tested frameworks aligned with IMD’s personalized learning journeys.
• It stays in its lane, fully transparent about being AI and careful not to overstep.
• It evolves over time by learning from interactions and adapting to your rhythm, with governance in place to keep it aligned and responsible.

Behind the scenes, the nudger draws from diagnostics and insights already embedded in the IMD EMBA experience. As participants move through the modular, flexible program, it offers a steady, low-friction way to keep personal development on the radar. Whether you’re focused on inclusive leadership, decision-making, or communication, the system is designed to surface your goals when it matters most. 

In a program as dynamic and self-directed as the EMBA, growth can’t just happen during the modules. It has to stretch into the in-between. This tool is designed to help participants turn everyday moments into meaningful steps forward. 

Make confident choices in a flexible program 

One of the most exciting things about IMD’s Executive MBA is the flexibility. You can shape your own path, choose your focus, and decide what kind of global experience you want to build.

One of the most exciting things about IMD’s Executive MBA is the flexibility. You can shape your own path, choose your focus, and decide what kind of global experience you want to build.

But sometimes choice can be overwhelming. With so many possibilities, how do you know what comes next? What aligns with your growth, your goals, or even just your curiosity? 

That’s why IMD is developing new ways to help learners make more intentional choices. With the help of AI, they’re exploring how to map out the different “what ifs” that come with every possible path and turn that into a thoughtful, immersive experience. 

Something that invites you to pause and ask: 

• Where do I want to grow next? 
• What would challenge me in the right way, right now? 
• What might I miss if I don’t choose this path?

The idea isn’t to automate your decisions. It’s to create space for reflection. To offer a clear, human way of thinking through your options that draws on faculty insight, behavioral science, and smart use of AI. 

It’s one more way IMD is rethinking what it means to learn. Not just by offering more choice, but by helping you navigate it with clarity and purpose. That’s the kind of experience IMD is working to build. Real. Reflective. Integrated into your life, not separate from it. 

And with AI, it’s now possible to bring that level of support to each EMBA participant in ways that are faster, more personal, and designed to stretch far beyond the classroom. 

Learning that keeps pace with your life 

You don’t need to be convinced that learning matters. You already know it’s part of staying sharp, staying relevant, staying ahead. Making it happen, in the thick of everything else you’re balancing, that’s something else entirely.  

The IMD EMBA approach is unique. Yes, it’s rigorous. It’s global. You’ll step into high-impact modules like the Global Immersion Weeks, where you’re tackling live business challenges in unfamiliar markets. You’ll build new capabilities and expand your leadership range. 

However, the program doesn’t treat those moments as the only ones that matter. In fact, the time between them matters just as much. The strategy offsites. The conversations that give you something to mull over. The unexpected moments when something you learned weeks ago suddenly comes into play. 

That’s why IMD is designing a learning experience that doesn’t stop when the module ends. One that meets you where you are, adapts to how you think and lead, and stretches with you as your goals evolve. 

AI is part of that equation. So is the team of coaches, faculty, and learning designers behind the scenes. Together, they create a framework that helps you reflect with structure, make decisions with clarity, and keep developing even when life is at full tilt. 

Explore how the IMD EMBA is evolving to meet the way you learn: IMD Executive MBA  

About the International Institute for Management Development (IMD)   

The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has been a pioneering force in developing leaders and organizations that contribute to a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive world for more than 75 years. Led by an expert and diverse faculty, with campuses in Lausanne and Singapore, a Management Development Hub in Shenzhen and an Innovation Hub in Cape Town, IMD strives to be the trusted learning partner of choice for ambitious individuals and organizations worldwide. Our executive education and degree programs are consistently ranked among the world’s best. Through our research, programs, and advisory work, we enable business leaders to find new and better solutions, challenging what is and inspiring what could be. To learn more, visit www.imd.org 

The post How IMD is Using AI to Make Executive Learning More Human appeared first on The European Business Review.

Far from being another EMBA, the University of St.Gallen’s IEMBA (International EMBA) is a distinctively crafted programme, merging rigorous academics, global immersion, and peer exchange to develop deliberate, globally attuned leaders with the contextual intelligence to meet complex challenges and lead with depth, range, and purpose.

In a world where certainty is no longer a given, what does it take to lead with clarity, conviction, and care?

It is indeed a daily reality for senior professionals operating in fast-moving global markets that ambiguity, disruption, and transformation are the norm. Effective leadership today requires more than confidence or competence, it calls for contextual awareness, strategic adaptability, and the discipline to think beyond immediate results.

At the University of St.Gallen—Switzerland’s top-ranked business school and consistently among Europe’s best (FT European Business School Rankings 2024)—this evolving definition of leadership shapes every aspect of its International Executive MBA (IEMBA) programme. Delivered part-time over 18 months, the IEMBA combines immersive study across four continents with rigorous and up to date academic content and a strong focus on personal development.

For those enrolled, it’s not only about what they learn—it’s about how they apply it, who they become through it, and the lasting professional growth
it enables.

Leadership as Strategic Presence

For Nawar Belshalat, a current IEMBA Student due to graduate in May 2025, the programme came at the right time, after years of consideration. “I’d been accepted into another EMBA years ago, but it never felt quite right,” she recalls. “Post-COVID, I was ready to commit—but I wanted something international, thoughtfully structured, and realistic for my work at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. St.Gallen stood out.”

One of the key shifts for her was learning to lead with more intention. “There’s so much pressure to react quickly and fix things. But the programme taught me the value of slowing down, creating space, and becoming more deliberate. That presence—how you carry yourself, how you listen—has become a core part of how I lead.”

Thanks to the modular structure—14 in-person weeks delivered across 18 months—she has been able to bring new thinking directly into her leadership practice. “You return from each module with something real to work through. It’s not abstract. It’s lived.”

Learning Through a Cohort of Equals

This real-time application is by design. According to Prof. Dr. Reto Hofstetter, Academic Director of the IEMBA, transformation happens when experienced professionals are immersed in environments that challenge, stretch, and support them. “We curate every cohort with intention,” he explains. “Senior leaders from across industries, functions and geographies. The learning comes not just from the faculty, but from the depth of exchange between peers.”

That design resonated deeply with Agnes Lonska, Head of Global Procurement Engineering at Roche and IEMBA HSG Alumna. “Before the programme, I often felt I had to navigate complexity alone,” she says. “Through the coursework, conversations, and informal discussions with peers, I realised the value of having a diverse, experienced network to lean on.”

The immersive format was key to that sense of community. “It’s not like attending weekend lectures. You’re removed from daily pressures, present with your cohort, and fully engaged. That builds trust very quickly. Some of those relationships have become long-term friendships—and professional connections,” says Agnes.

From Departmental Focus to Organisational Strategy

One of the most significant shifts for Agnes was her move from a narrowly defined operational lens to a broader, systemic view. “Before, I focused on what my department needed to deliver. But after the strategy modules—especially the frameworks taught in the Business Model Innovation course—I began thinking about how our work fits into the long-term vision of the company.”

“We help participants develop integrative thinking—so they can connect the dots, recognise interdependencies, and lead beyond the boundaries of their function.”

This shift changed the way she leads. “Now, when I set objectives, I tie each one clearly to our broader organisational strategy—and explain why it matters. That context has dramatically increased team engagement. They can see their part in the whole.”

This reflects one of the programme’s core intentions. “We don’t just teach strategy,” says Prof. Dr. Hofstetter. “We help participants develop integrative thinking—so they can connect the dots, recognise interdependencies, and lead beyond the boundaries of their function.”

Developing Contextual Intelligence Through Global Exposure

Another standout of the IEMBA is its international scope. The Programme Courses take place, not only in Switzerland, but also Singapore, Beijing, California, Cape Town and various other European countries. This format exposes participants to multiple business environments, regulatory landscapes, and strategic cultures.

“The China module was an eye-opener,” says Nawar. “It wasn’t just about doing business differently—it was seeing how deeply context shapes leadership, communication, and even how success is defined. That module shifted the way I approach global challenges.”

Prof. Dr. Hofstetter calls this “contextual intelligence”—the ability to adjust leadership approaches to different settings. “It’s no longer enough to be competent in one market or one culture. Today’s leaders must be agile, observant, and capable of leading across systems and styles.”

Transformation Grounded in Purpose

The IEMBA curriculum includes 10 Fundamentals and four Electives that students can select from a list of various topics, as well as a final thesis project. It spans topics such as AI, Management Accounting, Conflict Management and Leading the Sustainability Transition. What makes the programme distinctive is how these are delivered—with the full integration of theory and real-world application, supported by industry-respected faculty.

In parallel, the Personal Development Programme (PDP) runs across the entire IEMBA journey, enabling participants to reflect on their own leadership behaviours and development. “We don’t prescribe a formula,” says Prof. Dr. Hofstetter. “We offer a framework that encourages participants to ask difficult questions about their leadership style, their purpose, and their impact.”

For Agnes, this blend of intellectual challenge and personal reflection was key. “You’re not just learning models—you’re applying them, testing them, questioning them. And over time, you notice that your decision-making sharpens. Your confidence grows.”

Conclusion: Leadership for a World in Flux

If uncertainty is now the defining feature of modern business, then leadership must evolve with it. The University of St.Gallen’s International EMBA doesn’t teach leadership as a fixed formula. Rather, it creates the conditions in which leaders can interrogate their own assumptions, expand their perspectives through diversity, and practise new ways of thinking—and being—in a global context.

It is not about becoming someone different, but becoming more fully oneself, with greater range and responsibility.

This is not leadership for stability, but for flux. Not for commanding, but for connecting. And in a world where clarity, conviction and care can no longer be taken for granted, that may be what matters most.

Want to know more about the IEMBA programme or join the 2025 cohort – get in touch!

• emba@unisg.ch
• emba.unisg.ch/en
• Book a 1:1: https://unisg.link/IEMBA_Contact_Us

The post Leading Through Uncertainty: How the University of St.Gallen’s IEMBA Shapes Leaders for a Complex World appeared first on The European Business Review.

Today, the pressure to lead digital transformation, tackle sustainability challenges, and keep pace with constant change impacts roles, sectors, and industries. But while demand for transformation has surged, the supply of leaders with the subject expertise and strategic skills to deliver it hasn’t kept up. Organizations are investing heavily in areas like AI, data, and ESG, but many still lack the people who can connect that knowledge to business strategy and create successful transformation that lasts.

That’s the gap the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) aims to close with the launch of the Executive Master in AI & Digital Business Transformation and the Executive Master in Sustainable Business Transformation.

The degrees offer a modular, flexible format and combine deep subject expertise with the strategic leadership skills needed to turn knowledge into enterprise-wide change. The goal is to better support professionals looking to step up, pivot, or accelerate their careers in the areas where business needs leadership most.

“These degrees are designed to help professionals become the go-to experts in digital or sustainable transformation,” says Misiek Piskorski, Dean of Executive Education and Professor of Digital Strategy. “We want to equip people with the tools, confidence, and credibility to lead what’s next in a way that fits their lives.”

What’s different about these degrees? 

The short answer? Flexibility without compromise.

These Executive Masters are designed to allow participants to balance study with their careers and life commitments. They adapt to what professionals actually need from a degree today. Instead of one fixed path, the degrees offer a more adaptive journey; one that gives structure where it’s helpful and freedom where it matters.

Instead of one fixed path, the degrees offer a more adaptive journey; one that gives structure where it’s helpful and freedom where it matters.

At the core of each degree are two foundation modules. The first builds deep expertise in either sustainable business or AI and digital transformation. The second focuses on how to lead business transformation. Both are made up of programs from IMD’s open program portfolio: a suite of short, focused executive programs that serve thousands of professionals every year.

From there, participants shape the rest of their learning through a curated selection of electives. These include a mix of online and in-person programs, as well as learning opportunities through IMD’s participation in the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM): a collaboration of top business schools offering shared programs and global exposure. This flexibility allows participants to focus on the areas most relevant to their goals while learning alongside diverse professionals tackling real-world challenges around the globe.

This format opens up something different from the typical cohort model. Instead of moving through the degree with the same group from start to finish, participants engage with a wider network of professionals at every stage. These are people from other industries, geographies, and roles who share a similar drive to grow and lead. That kind of variety not only keeps the experience dynamic but brings in fresh perspectives that sharpen thinking and spark new ideas.

But that doesn’t mean participants lose a sense of belonging. Executive Master participants still connect regularly with others in their degree through tailored workshops and shared touchpoints across the journey. It’s a shift from cohort focus to community focus, one that mirrors how transformation happens in organizations: across functions, across silos, and experiences.

In many ways, the open program portfolio is what makes this all possible. It allows participants to build a degree that reflects who they are and what they want to explore while keeping the quality, structure, and learning outcomes consistent. It also means participants benefit from IMD’s faculty and peer learning model, one that’s been tried, tested, and refined through decades of executive education.

Subject depth. Strategic reach. 

The open program portfolio is what makes this all possible. It allows participants to build a degree that reflects who they are and what they want to explore while keeping the quality, structure, and learning outcomes consistent.

Each Executive Master begins by building deep, practical expertise. In the AI & Digital Business Transformation degree, participants explore topics like AI, data strategy, emerging technologies, and digital innovation. The Sustainable Business Transformation degree offers topics such as circular economy, sustainability strategy, and managing and measuring sustainability impact.

But knowledge alone doesn’t move organizations forward. What sets these degrees apart is their focus on turning expertise into action. Participants learn how to influence decisions at the highest level and guide transformation with purpose.

Applied learning. Real-world value. 

From start to finish, these degrees are designed to be lived, not just studied. The learning happens in the context of real work, real challenges, and real ambitions. From engaging in interactive, case-based programs to exploring live business scenarios, everything is geared toward helping professionals connect what they learn to what they do.

This is supported by IMD’s continued investment in learning innovation. AI tools help participants stay focused, engaged, and supported as they move through their degree. Smart recommendations highlight relevant content to them. Nudges help build habits and accountability. Gamified learning and diagnostics allow for deeper reflection and sharper insight, all woven into the experience, not added on top.

Each degree culminates in a Capstone Project or Thesis. It’s an opportunity to go deep in an area that matters, whether that’s solving a business challenge in their organization or contributing new thinking to their field. Some participants may use the Capstone to design strategy or implement change inside their company. Others may choose to explore a research topic, build original insight, or lay the groundwork for a future pivot.

Throughout the process, participants are supported by IMD faculty and expert mentors. The result is a final deliverable that reflects both the learning and the leadership growth that’s taken place and one that can act as a powerful signal to organizations, peers, and future employers.

Who are these degrees for? 

The Executive Masters are designed for professionals with at least eight years of experience. People who’ve built strong foundations in their field and are now asking bigger questions about what comes next.

Some are specialists who want to connect their deep expertise to broader business strategy. Others are stepping into more senior roles and need the confidence, clarity, and skills to lead transformation across an organization. Many are looking to pivot into high-impact areas like sustainability or digital business and want the credibility to match their ambition.

Across the board, these are professionals who want more from their learning, as a chance to grow in a way that delivers lasting value.

In a world where skills are constantly evolving, these degrees are about building capabilities that are future-proof. Strategic thinking. Cross-functional leadership. The ability to influence decisions, shape outcomes, and lead in complexity.

A final word 

The Executive Masters mark a new chapter at IMD. But more importantly, they respond to what professionals are asking for: learning that fits into their lives, builds in-demand skills, and helps them lead where it counts.

These degrees are focused on what matters most right now, giving leaders the depth, perspective, and strategic tools to grow their careers and create meaningful impact.

— David Bach, IMD President and Nestlé Professor of Strategy and Political Economy

For professionals ready to take that next step, these degrees offer a powerful way forward.

Explore the new Executive Master degrees at IMD:

• Executive Masters in AI & Digital Business Transformation → 
• Executive Masters in Sustainable Business Transformation → 

About the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) 

The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has been a pioneering force in developing leaders and organizations that contribute to a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive world for more than 75 years. Led by an expert and diverse faculty, with campuses in Lausanne and Singapore, a Management Development Hub in Shenzhen and an Innovation Hub in Cape Town, IMD strives to be the trusted learning partner of choice for ambitious individuals and organizations worldwide. Our executive education and degree programs are consistently ranked among the world’s best. Through our research, programs, and advisory work, we enable business leaders to find new and better solutions, challenging what is and inspiring what could be. To learn more, visit www.imd.org.

The post Bridging the Gap between Expertise and Impact: Inside IMD’s New Master’s Degrees appeared first on The European Business Review.

What does it take to become a better leader in 2025?

It’s true that business leaders today are navigating a far more unpredictable landscape than their predecessors and facing an even more uncertain future ahead, which has in turn shifted the demands for what qualities a good leader needs to have.

To survive – and thrive – in 2025 and beyond leaders now have to show their technical prowess, become literate in AI and have an in-depth understanding of how their organisation’s actions impact upon wider global challenges such as climate change, and use this knowledge to a professional advantage.

For existing leaders, and for those hoping to progress to the C-Suite, there is a steeper learning curve to conquer. To that end, a common step for such professionals is to gain new skills – engage in further education and training opportunities to build the competencies needed to ascend the career ladder.

As such there is a seemingly limitless choice of study options to consider when it comes to exploring better leadership skills.

But is brushing up on core competencies – and adding in new ones – enough? Whilst skills such as becoming technologically savvy are essential (Korn Ferry lists all of the above in its latest annual Workforce Global Insights Report), in 2025 being a ‘better’ leader requires digging a little deeper.

Alongside developing practical skills, business leaders must also be able to exercise and apply their emotional prowess – possessing the mental capability to understand how to apply their expertise in a responsible, ethic manner.

Whilst there are many educational programmes highly proficient in teaching the theory and strategy behind successful leadership, the material is often based on ideas and approaches which are increasingly at odds with how modern businesses operate and the demands placed upon leadership teams. Even programmes designed to equip leaders with digital skills, often fail to consider one other vital aspect – responsibility.

The Responsibility of Leadership

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and capability is the other side of the leadership coin – especially when it comes to tackling modern challenges. Today’s leaders are required to be able to consider the ‘why’ behind their business decision making, so that they can ensure they are acting with the right values in mind.

Today’s leaders are required to be able to consider the ‘why’ behind their business decision making, so that they can ensure they are acting with the right values in mind.

Leaders are challenged to navigate difficult situations where their business decisions may require them to contradict their core values. Whilst moral value systems are largely universal, difficult business decisions can force leaders to deviate from their beliefs. Organisations typically facilitate this drift away from cores values, if it benefits their company. Leaders must build on their capacity to navigate situations which challenge their value systems by having more effective conversations and being empowered to challenge constructively.

As aspiring leaders advance in their career path, their thinking can become limited by the existing ethos at their organisations. Even the most idealistic of professionals can find their values are eroded over time to benefit the organisations they serve.

Whilst this might help them to gain a professional advantage, not only do such individuals risk becoming professionally unfulfilled when their aspirations do not end up matching the reality of their work, they will also find themselves increasingly out of step with the values of modern industry, especially when addressing significant challenges such as climate change or prioritising ethical actions.

In supporting leaders to get ahead in 2025, leadership training also needs an injection of EQ, supporting professionals in adjusting their approach to making business decisions in a way that meets business needs but enables them to stay true to their values.

At Imperial Executive Education, we have designed the Responsible Leadership in a Complex World programme to provide exactly this support.

Responsibly Conscious Leaders For A Complex Future

The programme is designed to enhance the practical and intellectual capabilities of business leaders to better tackle the challenges presented by the modern world that have not been faced by previous generations; AI, digital transformation and climate change, but also empower leaders to address these in an emotionally intelligent way.

By building the essential skills to navigate complexity and make informed, intelligent decisions, the programme acts as a reset button for professionals. Participants can take the opportunity to take stock of their career path, consider the legacy they wish to leave and gain the knowledge and support they need to return to the values they’ve held all along.

The benefit? More fulfilled, engaged leaders who can drive lasting impact within their organisations and wider society.

Supported by the work of Imperial’s Centre for Responsible Leadership, the programme incorporates cutting-edge research and insights into the most pressing challenges and ethical dilemmas facing organisations and those that lead them. The Centre is driven by the belief that responsible leadership transcends superficial compliance and trend-driven theories. To act in a responsible, ethical manner and create true lasting impact, leaders must take a deep dive into the practices and attitudes driving modern business and then seek to improve them.

By embedding the right values at the core of an organisation’s work and enacting it through every action, the Centre not only generates the means for positive ethical action but shares this best practice with industry.

Those industry leaders have also taken a role in designing the curriculum, with experts from eco-focused start-ups to multinational firms each sharing their own experience of embedding responsible leadership into their work. Participants are challenged to analyse these case studies, exploring the distinction between what is ‘right’ and what is most advantageous for an organisation, and understanding how to navigate both effectively.

The result is a curriculum that empowers leaders to tackle challenges in a way that not only generates profit but has a positive impact on people, planet and purpose.

A Personal Perspective

Learners can use this as a benchmark to track their development and understand in real time how the programme is helping to meet these goals.

Learners will take a personal approach by completing pre-study self-reflection and analysis. This provides an early window for learners to reflect on their own behaviours and consider how the programme can best help address their needs. By establishing their intentions early on, learners can use this as a benchmark to track their development and understand in real time how the programme is helping to meet these goals.

Whilst organisational contexts differ across the world, most values are universally held. Participants on the programme will be empowered to enact their moral values and become resilient in situations in which their values are tested, making it less likely that they’ll make decisions that they regret.

Through further study, participants can also discover the elements of their leadership behaviour that might hinder them from challenging the status quo and seeking to act in a more responsible way.

In establishing a peer network of progressive thinking and ongoing learning, participants are encouraged to share their successes and challenges, establishing better routes forward together.

Getting comfortable broaching the uncomfortable

In returning to the workplace, participants bring fresh vision as well as the tools to embed these within their teams, setting the right tone for the future. Navigating change is never easy, but leaders must learn to become comfortable with addressing the uncomfortable. Only then can they be sure they are moving forwards rather than falling back into old routines and value systems.

Continuing to navigate change and break free of the comfort zone is an essential attitude for lifelong learning and professional development. Change has become the only constant in industry – whether organisational, technical, societal or geopolitical. To stay ahead, leaders need a new compass from which to navigate and must be unwavering in following it. Like all explorers, in charting a new course, they are sure to leave a legacy in their wake.

You can find out more about the ‘Responsible Leadership in a Complex World’ programme on the Imperial Executive Education website. The programme takes place at Imperial’s South Kensington campus from Monday 3 November – Friday 7 November 2025.

About the author

Kate Coombs is a leading behavioural science consultant in financial services, Managing Director of the Centre for Responsible Leadership at Imperial Business School, and is the Programme Director for Responsible Leadership in a Complex World.

Kate specialises in designing and testing behavioural interventions to drive cultural change, with a focus on leader behaviour, employee voice, inclusion, and behavioural risk.

The post Responsibility Is The Key To Successful Leadership In An Increasingly Complex World appeared first on The European Business Review.

Equipping professionals with the finance tools to build a better future.

Rated number one university in the UK and University of the Year by the Times and the Sunday Times, LSE’s multidisciplinary ethos shines through in the portfolio of Executive Education programmes it provides. And, while every LSE programme has a distinct theme and focus, they have much in common. Each is delivered by a world-class faculty made up of some of the world’s foremost business and leadership thinkers. Also, each is underpinned and informed by cutting-edge research.

Sustainable Finance is increasingly big business.

In recent years, the notion of finance as a driver of positive change has been steadily building traction across the globe. But how do firms balance their desire to do the right thing in business and create strategies for making a positive impact, while continuing to generate attractive financial returns and drive the bottom line?

It’s a challenging question. But as awareness and critical thinking around environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues continue to shift and change, so too have the priorities, values and strategies of many of the world’s largest financial institutions. And it’s becoming clear that businesses seeking to achieve both financial and ESG goals, will need to negotiate certain trade-offs. 

There are challenging questions ahead.

As a global business with a strong ESG focus, you can have some tricky decisions to make. Do you walk away from potentially lucrative partnerships with firms that don’t tick your ESG boxes? Or do you keep your seat at their table, but use your voice and agency to influence positive change in their business practices where you can? It can be difficult to know the best long-term strategy to take.

This is where LSE’s groundbreaking Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing programme, comes in. Created by their world-renowned Department of Finance, it draws on the latest insights and research to help finance professionals build an understanding of finance and investment as drivers of change and the potential trade-offs involved. It equips participants to adapt traditional portfolio tools to integrate and achieve ESG goals and offers a big-picture understanding to the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. 

It’s a profound and transformational learning experience

For participants, each of LSE’s programmes focus on empowering them to think critically and analytically about the bigger picture. To explore what the issues of today mean to the future of businesses and the world. They’re supported to build a deeper understanding of the intricate interconnectedness of business, geopolitics and socio-economics and navigate change with confidence. In turn, this creates immediate and actionable insights for their organisations. Ensuring everyone benefits from knowing how to build a brighter tomorrow. Starting today.

The post Supporting Executives to Understand Today’s Global Business Challenges and Shape Tomorrow’s Solutions appeared first on The European Business Review.

The current pace of change driven by digital innovation can feel overwhelming. With rapid advancements in generative AI and the sheer volume of new tools, platforms, and techniques on offer, many business leaders feel they’re constantly playing catch-up to simply keep pace with their competitors, never mind pulling ahead of them. The market is loud and overflowing with choices, and simply abstaining from engaging with it, is not an option for any organisation. According to a recent report from KMPG which surveyed more than 500 top executives from major global firms, as many as 98% of Global Business Services have either already deployed or are in the process of launching Generative AI tools within the next twelve months.

The key to maintaining this competitive edge is to build a culture of continuous learning within yourself, and within your organisation, and to combine this with a dedication to exploring transformation, innovation and experimentation.

Providing some small comfort, the same report also shares that 79% of these firms also shared that they lack the tech-savvy skills in-house to provide effective digital services. Such figures, and the reality that the pace of technological change is only going to increase as AI and data capabilities grow means that whether you’re a business leader seeking to ensure your company’s survival, or a professional looking to take the next step up the ladder developing a greater acumen in digital application and strategy is vital for sustained success. It also means that, for those that can get it right, there is a significant advantage to be gained.

However, the secret isn’t mastering every new technology that comes along, it’s about knowing just a little bit more than your competitors and leveraging that knowledge to drive competitive advantage.

The key to maintaining this competitive edge is to build a culture of continuous learning within yourself, and within your organisation, and to combine this with a dedication to exploring transformation, innovation and experimentation.

Why Building A Learning Culture Matters

No matter the sector or the focus, organisations that can encourage continuous learning amongst their staff see multiple benefits. Agility is one such strength – creating teams that can identify when industry trends change and quickly pivot to meet them, and skilled employees with a mindset to explore and take advantage of new tools and techniques early-on, rather than shying away from them.

This, in turn increases the potential for innovation, as a structured learning culture brings with it new ideas developed from fresh knowledge, insights and the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues.

Another benefit is a higher level of employee retention. Staff value professional development opportunities. As a result, not only are they more skilled and fulfilled, they are more likely to stay with an organisation that invests in their growth.

Creating a culture of learning starts with leadership. If senior leaders and executives champion the importance of continuous education, the rest of the team will follow. Leaders should engage in the practices they want to see from their staff, such as keeping up their qualifications and sector knowledge, attending webinars or taking courses. They should also provide staff with access to similar resources, and allow them the time to explore these, encouraging experimentation without worry of reprimand or failure.

However, building such a culture in already established skills and disciplines is altogether a more straightforward prospect that embarking on embedding something new, unexplored and untested, as much digital technology is. The key here is found in the attitudes and actions of leadership – being willing to step into the unknown and break new ground.

To do this, organisations and individuals can find value in reaching beyond their industry and their existing networks to benefit from the knowledge of other organisations and institutions. Short Executive Education courses offer the opportunity to both upskill in a new discipline and gain a network that can help further embed a culture of learning for the future.

At Imperial, the Digital Transformation Strategy programme offers exactly this – a short-term, expert-led deep dive into the most prominent, impactful digital transitions impacting industry.

Gaining A Competitive Advantage Through Executive Education

With solid foundations in both business and technological innovation, Imperial offers learners the advantages of a scientifically solid curriculum that is designed to be instantly applicable to the real needs of industry. This gives them the opportunity to build their knowledge as well a means of actioning it in their professional lives.

Taught over five days, the Digital Transformation Strategy programme provides mid-to-senior level leaders with the skills to navigate through the noise of digital innovation. Participants begin by exploring the current technological landscape, understanding its scope and the implications this has on business practice.

With solid foundations in both business and technological innovation, Imperial offers learners the advantages of a scientifically solid curriculum that is designed to be instantly applicable to the real needs of industry.

From here they refine their focus over the following days, identifying the tools, knowledge and techniques to best address their own and their organisation’s needs. To help ensure that learners can be successful in their digital transformation efforts, studies take on a personal approach, auditing strengths and weaknesses and building a robust plan to work from. Learners can build a robust digital transformation strategy for their own organisations with guidance from industry experts.

With academic exploration and a strong foundation in analytics, supported by best practice shared by organisations currently succeeding in this field, the programme is practical at its heart, but instils enough broader knowledge to allow participants to continue learning after the programme’s conclusion.

Crucially, learners also gain an insight into what causes organisations to fail at digital, enabling them to identify potential pitfalls early on in their own work. Here a grounding in data comprehension and analysis can allow organisations to effectively measure the success of their strategies and the ROI they offer, helping to tie digital transformation to financial success and identify further opportunities for development and growth. Because of this, data science also forms a core part of the curriculum.

Who Benefits?

The programme offers mid- to senior-level leaders more than just a world-class education—it provides a powerful network of peers facing similar challenges, and the critical skills many organisations are missing. Learning doesn’t stop at the classroom; faculty and advisors remain accessible for ongoing guidance, while participants also benefit from the broader expertise and resources of Imperial.

In the workplace, the knowledge gained can empower leaders to curate more effective learning resources for their teams—whether through formal training programmes or accessible options like podcasts, YouTube channels, and industry white papers. Leaders can also create tailored initiatives such as internal workshops with industry experts, peer-to-peer learning sessions where team members share insights, or mentorship schemes that connect junior staff with experienced professionals to promote cross-level learning. Learning shouldn’t be a solitary pursuit; by fostering a collaborative learning culture, organisations can ensure that knowledge is not only acquired but actively shared and retained across teams.

It’s not enough to encourage learning – like your digital strategy, you also need to measure its impact. Digital literacy can assist here in demonstrating the return on investment for learning initiatives, tracking how often team members are experimenting with new strategies, tools, or channels, or employee retention rates and satisfaction surveys to see how learning impacts your workplace culture.

Leveraging Learning for Long-Term Competitive Advantage 

Digital transformation is about more that digitisation. Research carried out as part of Imperial Digital Transformation Strategy Programme, looking at over 300 real-world transformations, found that there are 14 areas that organisations need to address digital transformation successfully, and technology is just open of them.

But, true digital transformation can drive cultural change. By combining our approach to education with a structured approach to innovation and experimentation, we can go beyond just trying to stay up to date and create real competitive advantage.

To find out more about the 5 day ‘Digital Transformation Strategy’ programme visit: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/executive-education/marketing-innovation-strategy/digital-transformation-strategy-programme/

About the Author

Daniel Rowles is an expert in digital transformation strategy, and Programme Director of the Imperial Executive Education ‘Digital Transformation Strategy’ programme.

Outside of Academia, Daniel is the CEO of Target Internet, an online hub for digital marketing career advice and education.

The post How Creating a Learning Culture Can Help Your Company Master Digital Transformation and Gain a Competitive Edge appeared first on The European Business Review.

Interview with Vanina Farber Dean of Executive MBA at IMD

If you are struggling to find an EMBA program that truly aligns with your own particular circumstances and requirements, how about one that lets you embark on a personalized learning journey? IMD’s Vanina Farber outlines the institution’s highly flexible EMBA offering.

What distinguishes IMD’s Executive MBA program as a leader in delivering high ROI for executives seeking advanced business education?

IMD is a unique business school created by executives who knew that real learning comes from solving real challenges. Our faculty teach and work alongside global companies, bringing current insights and practical problems into each lesson. Every discussion, project, and learning experience is designed for leaders facing real organizational challenges. Our EMBA participants can apply what they learn immediately in their organizations, creating value while they study. With two flexible formats—Elective-Flex and Modular-Flex—leaders can choose how they learn, ensuring that their development aligns with their career demands.

Can you share key features of the new structure of the EMBA program and how it balances flexibility with rigorous personal and professional development?

The Modular-Flex format breaks away from the more rigid, time-bound structure of previous programs. It includes flexible start dates, multiple entry points, and flexible duration. Additionally, participants can choose learning pathways that align with their career stage, professional goals, and personal commitments. Elective-Flex provides more flexibility in terms of content, format, and location, allowing participants to tailor the program to their individual interests through a choice of electives and Global Immersion Weeks. This combination of formats makes the program highly adaptable to individual needs and preferences.

Participants work through real business challenges, manage crisis simulations, and lead transformation projects.

Some key features include:

• Modular design: The program is delivered in several stages, allowing participants to pause and re-enter the program at various points and progress at their own pace. There are also multiple starting points; a variety of programs can serve as a foundation to the EMBA, including the recognition of prior learning in other accredited institutions.
• Flexible delivery options: Courses are offered in a blend of online, on-campus, and international modules. In the Modular-Flex format, participants can, for example, choose to start their learning journey either online or on-campus and, if on campus, in an intensive 3-week introduction, or 1 week followed by online learning. So they really have the freedom to choose what best fits their needs and circumstances.
• Customizable learning paths: Participants can select from multiple electives in the Elective-flex format, with both in-person and online options, and a variety of international destinations for Global Immersion Weeks. This allows each participant to create a personalized learning journey with content that aligns with their interests, development needs, and professional aspirations.

The Mastery Stage includes six intensive weeks. How do these weeks ensure that participants build deep, actionable expertise in key areas such as leadership and crisis management?

The Mastery Stage is part of the Modular-Flex format. It combines intensive learning with practical application. Participants work through real business challenges, manage crisis simulations, and lead transformation projects. Each module builds on the previous one, helping executives develop both the strategic insight and practical skills they need to lead effectively. The spacing of modules allows participants to apply their learning in their own company between sessions, creating immediate impact in their organizations.

Can you share more about the objectives and outcomes of the Global Immersion Weeks? How do these experiences prepare executives for navigating complex international business environments?

Experiential learning is a fundamental part of the program, and the Global Immersion Weeks are a great example of that. They put executives in the middle of different business environments and cultures where they can apply what they’re learning in a context that is different than their own. They work directly with companies facing real challenges, from digital transformations in India, corporate resilience in Japan, entrepreneurship and innovation in Silicon Valley, USA, to social innovation and impact investment in Peru, to name just a few examples. Participants will collaborate with local businesses, challenge their own assumptions and biases, and work together to address current problems, while gaining fresh perspectives on global business dynamics.

With three of the six weeks taking place on the Lausanne campus and the rest globally, how does this blend of locations contribute to a well-rounded executive education experience?

The combination of Lausanne modules and global experiences is a reflection of today’s business world. At our Lausanne campus, executives focus on developing core capabilities and reflecting on their leadership. During Global Immersion Weeks, they apply these skills in different contexts, working with companies and leaders worldwide. This mix helps participants build the versatility needed to lead across cultures and markets. Participants have a choice of destinations and topics for the Global Immersion Weeks so they can select the themes that are most relevant for them. It’s important to note that the curriculum also includes some online modules. This blended learning approach provides a convenient balance for busy executives.

Crisis management is also a unique aspect of the IMD EMBA, especially with the Swiss Armed Forces partnership. What specific leadership skills do participants gain from this unique partnership?

Our crisis management simulation, led by Swiss Armed Forces generals, creates a unique learning environment. It requires a different mindset, which is often counterintuitive for seasoned executives. Participants face high-pressure situations where they must make quick decisions with limited information. They learn when to switch from business-as-usual to crisis mode, how to communicate under pressure with various stakeholders, and how to keep teams focused when stakes are high. These skills prove valuable whether managing corporate crises or navigating market disruptions.

Has IMD started integrating ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles into the curriculum? Why is this critical for future leaders?

Sustainability and responsible leadership are integrated throughout our program, not treated as separate topics. Participants examine how environmental and social factors affect business strategy, explore sustainable business models, and learn to balance stakeholder interests. Through real projects and cases, they develop practical approaches to embedding ESG principles in business decisions.

How has the program evolved in recent years to address emerging trends and the changing needs of executive leaders?

Innovation in learning is core to IMD’s DNA. Our dedicated learning innovation team constantly develops new ways to enhance executive education, from AI-powered learning tools to immersive simulations. We’ve pioneered the use of technologies like IMD AI+ and virtual reality, while strengthening our hands-on approach through crisis simulations and real-world projects.

Innovation in learning is core to IMD’s DNA. Our dedicated learning innovation team constantly develops new ways to enhance executive education, from AI-powered learning tools to immersive simulations.

We also continuously update our curriculum to address emerging business challenges, from digital transformation to sustainability leadership. Our faculty, actively engaged with global companies, bring current business challenges into every program, ensuring that our learning stays relevant and immediately applicable.

The redesign of the EMBA program is another example of this continuous innovation. This evolution responds to how executive careers have shifted from traditional ladders to more fluid journeys. Throughout all these changes, our focus remains constant: creating immediate impact through practical, relevant learning.

As the Dean of the EMBA program, what is your leadership vision for the program and how do you ensure it remains at the forefront of executive education?

At its core, my vision is about building a program that truly reflects the evolving needs of today’s diverse executive landscape while staying grounded in IMD’s DNA of what I believe is timeless: reflective leadership as the backbone of transformation. To support this continued vision, we’ve designed the EMBA to offer unprecedented agency and flexibility. Executive careers span different cultures, industries, and life circumstances – there’s no one-size-fits-all journey. Our participants deserve the freedom to shape their development around their unique aspirations and realities, whether they’re rising corporates, tech entrepreneurs, established family business leaders, or corporate innovators pivoting their careers.

What excites me most is creating an inclusive, dynamic ecosystem where diverse perspectives enrich the learning experience. The program gives participants access not just to a degree, but to the full power of IMD’s Executive Education offerings, global networks, and partnerships. This is learning without boundaries—where the value extends far beyond the modules, unlocking opportunities to continuously grow and transform alongside a truly global community. To me, this is not just about adapting to the future; it’s about setting a new standard for how management education should empower executives from all backgrounds for whatever lies ahead.

Could you share any standout success stories from recent EMBA graduates, particularly in terms of career advancement or innovative contributions to their industries?

Our alumni create impact in remarkably different ways. Take Taras Panasenko (EMBA 2023), as an example. He is co-founder and CEO of Aurora Multimarket, a retail chain bringing essential goods to communities across Ukraine. When Russia escalated its invasion in 2022, not only did Taras need to pause his EMBA studies, but he was also forced to close 100 stores in occupied territories. The EMBA program had taught him valuable lessons in prioritization and leadership that proved crucial during the crisis. Despite ongoing challenges, Taras has turned adversity into opportunity, expanding Aurora Multimarket into Romania and earning recognition as Forbes Ukraine’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2024. His story shows how leadership skills, combined with resilience, can create impact even in the most challenging circumstances.

Ann-Christin Andersen (EMBA 2013) is bringing fresh perspectives to energy leadership, building on her experience in the EMBA. The EMBA’s personal coaching and direct feedback helped her understand her impact as a leader, particularly valuable as she moved from Chief Digital Officer at TechnipFMC to CEO of Norwegian Energy Partners. Today, she champions diversity in leadership while driving sustainable energy solutions, applying the program’s lessons about balancing different leadership styles and focusing on what matters most.

Hope Murera (EMBA 2002) has transformed insurance in Africa as CEO of ZEP-RE. Drawing on insights from her Silicon Valley Global Immersion experience, she developed innovative solutions for underserved markets. Her team created insurance products protecting smallholder farmers against climate change and pioneered a program helping thousands access home ownership. Hope credits the EMBA’s practical problem-solving approach for changing how she identifies opportunities: “The biggest lesson was creating impact. It’s not just the numbers. And guess what? The numbers follow.”

These stories are just a few of many that demonstrate how our alumni combine EMBA learnings with their experience to create lasting impact – whether navigating crisis, developing innovative solutions for societal challenges, or leading industry transformation.

How does IMD foster a culture of lifelong learning and adaptability among its Executive MBA participants to prepare them for future disruptions?

Learning at IMD extends beyond graduation, thanks to an alumni network active in more than 180 countries. The program’s global network and regular alumni events create ongoing opportunities to exchange ideas and insights. Our approach encourages executives to view challenges as learning opportunities and to constantly seek new perspectives. We also provide continued access to faculty research and executive education programs, helping our alumni stay current as business evolves.

The redesigned IMD EMBA program sets a new standard in executive education by offering a flexible program that adapts to the career trajectories of modern executives. This redesign transforms the EMBA from a time-bound generalist program into a dynamic, evolving ecosystem of continuous learning and growth, empowering executives to stay ahead of future trends, technological advances, and global challenges.

How do you see the role of women in executive leadership evolving? In what ways does IMD empower female executives to drive meaningful change in their organizations?

Traditional EMBA programs often mirror the same structural barriers we see in workplaces: rigid schedules, one-size-fits-all approaches, and hidden assumptions about what a “successful executive” looks like. These barriers have historically affected women executives disproportionately, forcing them to choose between career advancement, family commitments, and leadership development. At IMD, we’ve fundamentally redesigned our program to challenge these constraints.

Our approach extends beyond format to include personalized leadership coaching and tailored career acceleration support.

We recognize that talent doesn’t conform to a single profile or path. That’s why we’ve created multiple flexible pathways, with varied entry points throughout the year, adaptive pacing from 14 to 48 months, and blended learning that combines online modules with focused in-person sessions. This flexibility particularly resonates with women executives, who often navigate complex career transitions while balancing multiple responsibilities.

Our approach extends beyond format to include personalized leadership coaching and tailored career acceleration support. These aren’t add-ons to our program; they’re core features that reflect our belief that the future of business leadership must be more diverse, innovative, and impactful. Diverse cohorts and work environments help enrich discussions, broaden networks, and ultimately prepare leaders who can better address today’s complex business challenges. This isn’t just about gender equity; it’s about developing the kind of adaptable, diverse leadership that organizations need to thrive in an uncertain future.

Learn more about IMD Business School’s EMBA program: imd.org/emba

Executive Profile

Vanina Farber is Professor of Social Innovation and Dean of the IMD EMBA program. She is an award-winning economist and political scientist whose research focuses on innovative, practical, sustainable, and inclusive market-oriented approaches that have the potential to eliminate the root causes of social ills. At IMD, she leads the Center for Social Innovation, which, among other areas of research, explores how the private sector can deploy capital at scale for investments in projects with real social impact, and how private, public sector, and philanthropic investors can collaborate effectively.

The post Business Executive Education: The New Flexible IMD EMBA appeared first on The European Business Review.

Nature’s warning couldn’t be clearer. And LSE Executive Education is paying close attention by preparing future leaders to rise to the challenges of these changing times. Their Executive Education programme, Climate Change: Economics and Governance is equipping executives with the tools and insights to plan for an uncertain future and the organisational impact that climate change could bring.

An escalating climate crisis and increasing economic threat

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2024 was officially the warmest year on record. It surpassed 2023, which had previously held the record and global temperature data going back to 1850 shows an alarming trend of escalating heat and increasingly extreme weather conditions.

There have been epic storms sweeping across our oceans. We’ve had torrential rains in three continents. And wild megafires that consumed more than 18 million hectares in Canada alone. The increasing impact of climate change are clear to see. And the knock-on effect this will have for global business and the world economy are expected to be intense and far-reaching.

A multidisciplinary approach for an ambiguous future

LSE has an integrative and multi-disciplinary understanding of the threats, challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Their competitive insight and tools are helping equip leaders with what it takes to adapt to and thrive in a constantly changing world.

While we all realise the world is changing rapidly, there’s massive uncertainty around how these changes will manifest. Speculation is rife. But no one really knows exactly what the impact of climate change will be or how it will affect global markets, supply chains and consumer behaviours.

Rated the number one university in the UK and University of the Year by the Times and Sunday Times, LSE has an integrative and multi-disciplinary understanding of the threats, challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Their competitive insight and tools are helping equip leaders with what it takes to adapt to and thrive in a constantly changing world.

– Dr. Connson Locke, Department of Management, LSE

A leading social sciences university, LSE has long believed that a multidisciplinary approach and understanding is fundamental to success. This belief shapes the way they teach their Executive Education programme Climate Change: Economics and Governance.

It’s delivered by a world-class faculty made up of some of the world’s foremost business and leadership thinkers. They bring together ground-breaking international expertise on economics, finance, geography, the environment, international development and the political economy. Participants of the programme are welcomed into a global network of excellence and a ‘gold standard’ course, informed by cutting-edge research. 

An empowering programme. Inspirational testimonies.

“LSE faculty delivered first-class insight into the challenges we face, the opportunities that are opening up and the emerging business models that can be leveraged to drive change that benefits businesses and the population.”

Innovative, game-changing, relevant and future-focussed, LSE’s Climate Change: Economics and Governance programme empowers ambitious executives, senior executives and decision-makers to explore the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and gain competitive insights to futureproof their organisations. Here’s how some recent participants benefitted from the programme. 

– Kumar Jegarasasingam, As a Credit Risk Manager for
International Settlements in Switzerland

– Ali Khoso, Director General of Urban Policy and
Strategic Planning, Karachi Government

Innovative thinking for an ever-changing world

While uncertainty is increasingly becoming the norm in today’s world, LSE’s Executive Education portfolio is reassuringly delivering results. How? By empowering participants to think critically and analytically about the bigger global picture. It translates today’s issues into tomorrow’s impact, enabling executives to position their organisations at the forefront of change. And this unique interconnected approach is developing truly rounded global leaders. In business and beyond.

The post Empowering Global Leaders to Influence the Future Impact of Climate Change with LSE appeared first on The European Business Review.

As a senior professional, the start of a new year is the perfect time to focus on growth, innovation, and future-proofing your career. Imperial College Business School Executive Education offers transformative programmes tailored for directors, senior managers, and C-suite leaders looking to make an impact.

Join Imperial Executive Education this March to gain cutting-edge insights, enhance your strategic capabilities, and lead with confidence in an ever-evolving world.

Explore our upcoming programmes:

• Leadership in a Technology-Driven World: (10-14 March 2025)
  Learn to navigate the complexities of digital transformation while empowering your team to thrive in a tech-driven future.
• Digital Transformation Strategy: (24-28 March 2025)
  Master the art of leading successful digital transformations to drive innovation and organizational success.
• Leading Systemic Innovation in Healthcare: (28 April – 2 May 2025)
  Equip yourself to lead ground breaking changes in the healthcare sector, fostering impactful solutions for systemic challenges.
• Risk Management Programme: (19-23 May 2025)
  Protect your organization and drive sustainable growth.

Make 2025 the year you take your leadership to new heights.

Join a Programme and Lead the Future

The post Transform Your Leadership in 2025 with Imperial Executive Education appeared first on The European Business Review.

An ever-changing world calls for a different kind of leader

Advances in technology are changing the working world in countless ways, not all of which are positive. The transition to the green economy is challenging organisations of every kind to rethink what they do and how they work. Demographic shifts are having an impact, too – reshaping workplaces and organisational cultures around the world.

With a pace of change this dramatic, it’s no surprise that many businesses are struggling to keep up. The same applies to their people. And, in a world this complex, there is no single answer or approach that will empower organisations to adapt and thrive.

A multidisciplinary approach for a complex world

A leading social sciences university, LSE has long believed that a multidisciplinary approach and understanding is absolutely fundamental to success. It’s a belief that shapes the way they teach, the programmes they offer and the way they equip their Executive Education participants to see the world.

LSE’s multidisciplinary ethos shines through in the portfolio of Executive Education programmes it provides. The University’s portfolio has been created with a clear focus on the challenges and issues faced by businesses today.

Programmes created with today and tomorrow in mind

LSE’s Creating Inclusive Organisations programme looks at how to harness the benefits of diversity for organisational success in a society that is more diverse, but also more partisan and polarised than ever before.

LSE’s Creating Inclusive Organisations programme looks at how to harness the benefits of diversity for organisational success in a society that is more diverse, but also more partisan and polarised than ever before. Participants explore what it means to become an inclusive leader and how to create workplace cultures that proactively welcome and embrace differences and use them to encourage innovation.

Another example is Climate Change: Economics and Governance. This programme is created and delivered by LSE’s Grantham Research Institute – an influential body that develops world-leading research and policy leadership on climate change and environmental problems. Participants on this programme explore the challenges, navigate the risks and unlock the opportunities that climate change represents for their organisation. The focus here is on building the fully integrative and multidisciplinary understanding that leaders need if they are to position their organisation at the forefront of change.

Thirdly, consider the groundbreaking Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing programme. Created by LSE’s world-renowned Department of Finance, this programme draws on the latest insights and research to help finance professionals build an understanding of finance and investment as drivers of change. It equips participants to adapt traditional portfolio tools to integrate and achieve ESG goals.

These are just three programmes from a broad portfolio. LSE’s courses touch on a wide range of other urgent contemporary topics too, such as the Ethics of AI, Global Macroeconomics, Social Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Change, and the Governance, Planning and Design of Cities.

A diverse portfolio. A shared ethos.

While every LSE programme has a distinct theme and focus, they have much in common. Each is delivered by a world-class faculty made up of some of the world’s foremost business and leadership thinkers. Also, each is underpinned and informed by cutting-edge research.

Perhaps most importantly, each of LSE’s programmes puts a strong emphasis on empowering participants to think critically and analytically about the bigger picture – what the issues of today mean to the future of businesses and the world.

The executives of tomorrow need to understand the intricate interconnectedness of business, geopolitics and socio-economics if they are to navigate change with confidence. Rated the number one university in the UK and University of the Year by the Times and Sunday Times, LSE is helping to develop exactly this kind of leader.

The post How LSE is Equipping the Executives of Today to Lead the Businesses of Tomorrow appeared first on The European Business Review.

Amid shifting global dynamics, business education must evolve beyond a Western focus to cultivate a genuinely global mindset. Nottingham Business School’s Global Executive MBA illustrates this shift, preparing leaders to navigate diverse business environments and fostering a broader understanding of global challenges, opportunities, and cultural nuances in today’s complex marketplace.

Three years after Brexit, the media gave us a new word: ‘Bregret’. Yet, despite polls showing the majority of Brits now think leaving the EU was a bad idea, most recognise that reversing the clock is not a realistic option. Nor is pretending Brexit didn’t happen.

Regardless of individual feelings on the matter, introducing new barriers between the UK and its nearest trading partners means British businesses need to start thinking more globally. By extension, the universities and business schools that are equipping graduates to go and join these businesses also need to adopt a more global mindset.

But what exactly does it mean to ‘think globally’?

In some ways, business schools are, by nature, global institutions. They typically attract large numbers of international students and offer very culturally dynamic learning environments in the classroom. The Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) reports that around 73 percent of postgraduates in business courses in the UK are international students. Furthermore, 98 percent of respondents to CABS’ Annual Membership Survey in 2023 suggest their parent universities were reliant on income from these international postgrads, highlighting how the global aspect of business education is a crucial driver of value creation for the higher education sector at large.

International faculty also play a prominent role, with the Higher Education Statistics Agency reporting around a third of academic staff in the UK higher education sector were of non-British nationality in 2022. Roughly 17 percent of these international staff were from non-EU countries, bringing global perspectives to UK universities through their teaching and research.

At the same time, it is common across schools for the standard bread-and-butter case studies that form a core element of course curricula to focus on European or North American organizations. This can be particularly true for large flagship programmes like MBAs. Thus, students learn to view the business world through a decidedly Western perspective.

So, adopting a ‘global mindset’ means broadening the range of learning experiences students are exposed to, allowing them to interact with a wider range of business models, cultural and ethical considerations, and logistical challenges.

How to teach a global mindset

The Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) programme at Nottingham Business School (NBS) demonstrates what this looks like in practice. The programme was developed as an evolution of NBS’ online MBA and incorporates a collaborative element with two international partner schools: Stellenbosch University in South Africa and Brazil’s Insper Institute of Education and Research.

Learning is impact-based, with 70 percent of assignments focusing on the application of knowledge and theory in different environments. This enables participants to explore how their actions can have a global impact, viewing challenges from multiple perspectives.

As this programme is offered at the executive level, participants also work full-time during their two years of study, enabling them to implement what they have learned in their careers in real-time. To maximise the applicability of the programme to their professional roles, the curricula is designed so that course content can be personalised to cover the areas they are most interested in.

80% of the course is delivered online through structured discussions, with three week-long on-site modules allowing participants to immerse themselves in contrasting local business ecosystems in Nottingham, Cape Town, and São Paulo. A key objective of these on-location learning experiences is to encourage participants to consider the needs and challenges facing entrepreneurs and SMEs in parts of the world that may operate in very different ways from what they are used to.

In Cape Town, they work with entrepreneurs based in townships to explore the needs and challenges faced by SMEs in these communities and create a business plan to support growth. In São Paulo, the context changes and they work with SMEs and mid-sized organizations to explore the challenges of delivering ethical and sustainable practices in the Latin American context. Both projects expose participants to particular social, cultural, and economic ecosystems they may not have experienced before. Lectures by academics from Stellenbosch and Insper provide context and insight, resulting in a truly global teaching experience for those on the Executive MBA course.

SMEs receive special focus because these organizations are where different global perspectives are most sharply defined.

For example, compare launching startups in London and rural South Africa. Entrepreneurs in London will likely have greater access to potential investors and a more stable economic context with limited fluctuation in economic factors. As such, they may focus more on tapping into existing business networks than a South African entrepreneur, who may have to focus more on building these networks from the ground up. Thus, each forms a distinct approach to business shaped by their local environment.

By comparison, large multinational companies tend to be less influenced by regional cultures and diverse approaches to trade. They are typically large enough to drop their existing business model into new markets and spend more resources onboarding people. As such, the markets often adapt to them rather than vice versa. So, interacting with smaller companies in the process of scaling up their operations affords more opportunities to learn about the unique perspectives of local businesses.

What are the practical benefits of ‘thinking globally’?

Building global cultural capital and awareness of the need for change in a turbulent world in this way is just as important for senior business leaders as mastering an understanding of finance, business law, or technology. Developing a global mindset will help executives predict and manage international crises, improve the resilience of their supply chains, navigate geopolitics, and act upon their ethical and sustainable commitments.

In addition to improving their awareness of how external factors may impact their business ventures, learning to see the international business landscape from diverse perspectives gives executives additional context to reflect on their own impact. This self-awareness fosters authentic and resilient leadership.

Through self-examination, executives can ensure they are delivering on their commitments to responsible corporate behaviour as well as identifying skills or knowledge gaps that may help them boost productivity or further reinforce the stability of their business operations. Their enhanced understanding improves their adaptability and agility to confront complex issues.

It also helps them to forge relationships with organisations in other regions of the world by making it easier to navigate cultural differences. To many Western companies, parts of the world that emphasise different values or approaches to business can seem impenetrable. With this way of thinking, it is easy to simply work around these regions instead of effectively engaging with them. This is a limiting attitude. Teaching a global mindset prompts graduates to examine cultural differences in their economic and geopolitical context, demystifying them and creating opportunities to spark dialogue. This enables these leaders to reach new markets and scale up their operations.

These capabilities are vital in the context of an international business landscape often called ‘VUCA’ (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous). While the merits of applying a term coined nearly 50 years ago in a military context to modern-day business is debatable, it is no understatement to say companies are constantly having to brace for shocks that are often difficult to anticipate.

In recent years, businesses have had to steer a course through the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict in Ukraine, the emergence of Generative AI, and conflict in the Middle East, including Houthi attacks disrupting commercial shipping. On top of this, there are slow-burning issues, such as climate change, ageing populations in parts of Europe and East Asia, and high unemployment among young adults in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The earlier businesses can foresee challenges like these, the more that can be done to strategically mitigate their impacts and find solutions. A global mindset fosters an understanding of the world as a diverse yet interconnected marketplace, a global ecosystem, illuminating how seemingly distant crises may cause ripples that affect a much larger swathe of organizations.

Yet, more than this, it is about recognising and valuing the differences that characterise regional markets. In this way, leaders can work with these differences in positive ways that enable them to forge and deepen connections, rather than seeing them as inexplicable or insurmountable obstacles to doing business.

The technology and infrastructure to build a more closely connected world already exist. All that remains is to develop a mindset to match, and where better to start than Nottingham Business School and its Global Executive MBA?

About the Author

Simon Taylor is a Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Business School (NBS), part of Nottingham Trent University. He is the Course Leader for the Executive MBA and the Level 7 Senior Leadership Apprenticeship qualification.

The post Business Education Needs to Think Less ‘Western’ and More ‘Global’ appeared first on The European Business Review.

In this interview with EBR, Daniella Laureiro-Martinez of the Department of Management, Technology, and Economics at ETH Zürich, discusses the emba X program, ETH Zurich’s and the University of St.Gallen’s  Executive MBA program, and its efforts to equip today’s leaders with the skills to navigate complex challenges and inspire meaningful impact. 

Dr. Laureiro Martinez, you have an impressive background in cognitive science, decision-making, and adaptive leadership. Could you share what initially drew you to the field of cognitive flexibility and leadership?  

It is hard to pinpoint exactly one motivating reason. I recall having an admiration for people who show versatility and adapt when their world changes drastically, even when their world crumbles. I recall feeling curious about that from an early age. As my professional career progressed in industry, I made space and had the privilege- to explore my curiosity in a structured manner, and thus did my PhD in this area. 

Your career spans academia and practical consulting. How has your experience in business and government consulting influenced your approach to research and teaching? 

To continuously adapt, leaders need to help their organizations explore new opportunities and exploit good ones.

As a young consultant, I got to work long hours in close proximity to leaders of a multitude of very different organizations. They were often the founders, the successors to the founders, or the CEOs, and I worked with profit, non-profit, and government. The projects were intense and I could closely observe the behaviors of each of these leaders, almost “shadowing” them, but also switching enough as not to be too embedded into any single organization, but rather be able to go in and out, and learn from many of them. Those experiences left an imprint on me and my mind often goes back to those years.  

Your research emphasizes cognitive control, attention, and adaptability in decision-making. How do you see these cognitive abilities impacting leadership effectiveness in dynamic business environments?  

Luck might help adapt once to environmental change. However, in the mid and long term, adapting once is not sufficient because change pervades. To continuously adapt, leaders need to help their organizations explore new opportunities and exploit good ones. This requires a combination of attention control and routinization. These are two cornerstones of my work and that of our group. 

The emba X program aims to shape leaders who are both socially responsible and technologically savvy. How does the program empower participants to blend ethical leadership with cutting-edge technology to drive transformative change in their organizations and communities? 

I think that the responsible take on being tech-savvy is embedded into the learning objectives of the entire program. In my own teaching and coaching, we encourage each participant to depart from improving their understanding in order to better know what they have, what they want to consolidate, acquire, and get rid of to be a better leader of themselves, their organizations, and ultimately, to have a better impact. In my courses, we start from ourselves: our own abilities (for example attention control, our own personality, our values and beliefs). If I better know what I have and what I want, I depart from a better place to act consistently with my own goals and values. Other courses focus on complementary aspects. For example, I can know well what I have and what I want in terms of my own abilities to lead, but I also have to know well what a certain technology might cause, not only in terms of tech efficiency, but in terms of environmental impact, of social impact, and not think only of what we see here and now, but also what might happen down the road. My courses take the individual abilities behind such thinking processes. For example, do I have the empathy needed to make such assessments about others? Do I have a future perspective? The foresight ability? When taken together as a program, looking at the learning journey that we have designed in the emba X program, participants can put together these new pieces of knowledge and adjust them to their specific environments, their work needs, and their personal lives and this, I believe, can help them make better decisions. 

With its emphasis on holistic development, the emba X program addresses self-leadership, team dynamics, and integrative leadership. How does the program use innovative approaches and experiential learning to foster profound personal growth and equip leaders with the skills to navigate complex challenges and inspire meaningful impact? 

We truly focus on the participants’ own learning journeys. Everyone’s path is different: everyone starts from a different place, with different individual personalities, abilities, and goals. The courses offer some foundational topics and training on abilities. Many are organized as active interventions, where each person takes what they need, even the level of difficulty depends on where one stands, and how much one wants to improve on that specific aspect. The experiential learning aspect derives from this: your goals are relevant to yourself as a participant in your daily life – we have learning goals to achieve with the courses, of course, but your goals as a participant automatically make the program your own experience.  

The executive education sector has seen significant changes recently, particularly with the rise of digital learning platforms. How do you see these trends impacting traditional executive education programs?  

I see these new platforms as tools to enrich our toolkit, and to hopefully enrich our experiential learning, involving more senses, and more ways to acquire and store information. I see big opportunities and feel curious to explore new ways. That said, I also see that sometimes a blank piece of paper paired with a sharpened pencil and a sharp curious mind are more than enough tools to facilitate reflection and learning. 

What role does cognitive flexibility play in the emba X program, and how do you incorporate this concept into the course design and delivery? 

Cognitive flexibility is a foundational ability, one that guides and supports our entire thinking, and thus problem-solving, foresight, creativity, etc.

Cognitive flexibility is a foundational ability, one that guides and supports our entire thinking, and thus problem-solving, foresight, creativity, etc. Understanding that it is such a foundational ability, we have a dedicated course to its measurement and training, and we have placed this course very early in the program. In turn, this course is connected with other courses, and as Faculty, we make an effort to highlight these connections, so that participants can cumulatively build on their knowledge about their own cognitive flexibility, and find ways to deploy it. For example, Faculty colleagues refer to it when teaching creativity, integrative complexity, in individual projects, and in the final closing weeks. 

How does the synergy between ETH Zurich’s technology focus and the University of St.Gallen’s leadership expertise in the emba X program create a unified experience that equips leaders for today’s challenges?  

This is more for the participants to answer. From my side, I can speak more about the intention, to bring the excellence of the two institutions into a rigorous program that tries to respond to the current needs from our leaders while anticipating what could be their future needs too.  

Looking ahead, what are the next big questions or areas of research you plan to explore in the realm of cognitive flexibility and adaptive behavior, and how might these influence future executive education?  

There is so much work to do on this. Generally, in our group, we want to provide solid evidence to our trainings, so we are investigating some foundational abilities in two main areas: cognitive flexibility, and multiple-goal integration. We are a multi-disciplinary group, and we want to really understand the components of these abilities, all the way from the brain functioning, to what impact they have in organizations. With that, we then want to have more solid evidence on how to train these abilities.   

Providing evidence is a hard task, but with resources and effort, certainly doable. Solid evidence is a different story: there are many moving parts when we study human behavior in real organizational settings. We are complex beings that operate in multifaceted organizations and the myriad of variables that we need to understand in order to decide whether we need to prioritize them in our research or not is not short. In addition, we are exploring new grounds, so we can rarely rely on existing data, but in most cases, we have to collect it ourselves. And much of the data we rely on comes from samples of participants who are not easily available (like the leaders of our emba X program, for example!). So in all, working on these two foundational abilities keeps us rather busy!  

Executive Profile

Daniella Laureiro-Martinez works at ETH Zurich in the Technology and Innovation Management Group. She leads the Cognition, Learning, and Adaptive Behavior Group (COLAB), an internationally recognized lab that investigates how individuals change and adapt, and how they lead organizations in adjusting to change and generating innovation. 

The post Cognitive Abilities and Adaptive Leadership: How the emba X Program Empowers Leaders with Cognitive Flexibility and Better Decision Making, Leveraging Technology appeared first on The European Business Review.

Of course, the climate crisis demands that we change the way we do business — and as soon as we can. But there are a surprising range of additional factors that now make leveraging these skills at your organization more valuable than ever.

The business case for increased investment in sustainability

The escalating impact of the climate crisis has forced many businesses across many industries to reassess their relationship with the wider world around them. A growing movement towards stakeholder capitalism has begun to take hold, as both consumers and corporations have come to understand the high cost of inaction on environmental issues and the harsh social consequences of irresponsible, unchecked and unsustainable capitalism.

At the same time there is a growing consensus that sustainability offers business leaders more than just a clean conscious, with benefits to profitability, efficiency, employee retention, customer loyalty and innovation.

Let’s take a closer look at business case for investing in sustainability.

Broadening your stakeholders offers increased market awareness

Stakeholder capitalism, where businesses serve all their stakeholders and not just shareholders, offers opportunities to build a more responsive organization, which is in-tune with the wider context of the market. In order to create value for employees, supply chains, society, and the environment— in addition to shareholders — an organization needs to be in regular dialogue with a wider range of stakeholders, offering it a better position from which it can “read” economic, social, or environmental trends and react accordingly.

In contrast, by neglecting important stakeholders and focusing only on shareholders, organizations run the risk of damaging vital relationships that allow them to operate effectively. For example, a 2013 study on the gold mining industry found that “stakeholder relations can heavily influence land permitting, taxation and the regulatory environment”.

Sustainability offers new routes to innovation

The process of redesigning products or services in order to meet sustainability goals or address specific social needs can present organizations with new business opportunities or help develop innovative new technologies. Nike’s Flyknit line of sports shoes demonstrates how businesses can harness sustainability strategies to their own advantage. Utilizing a “specialized yarn system”, the Flyknit reduces waste by 80% compared to regular footwear, requires minimal labor, and generates large profit margins.

Performance, efficiency and sustainability go hand-in-hand

Organizations can benefit from significant cost reductions by being more efficient in their use of natural resources. By optimizing their routing, truck loading, driver training and implementing new technologies, Wal-Mart was able to improve fuel efficiency by 87%, saving nearly $11 million while cutting CO2 emissions by 15,000 metric tons.

This focus on efficiency means that sustainable companies can achieve stronger financial performance — a trend that has caught the attention of investors. A study by Arabesque and the University of Oxford found that good ESG standards are “positively correlated with good sustainability practices” and can “lower the cost of capital”.

Transparency and sustainability improves relationships with consumers and employees

Consumers increasingly value organizations that act responsibly, offer transparency and strive towards sustainability targets. Indeed, studies have shown that consumers in international markets “say they want to know how products they buy affect nature and wildlife” with nearly two thirds believing they “have a responsibility to purchase products that are good for the environment and society”.

This sentiment translates into a perception that products from sustainable companies have a “higher level of product performance”, while sustainability information has a “significantly positive impact on consumers’ evaluation of a company.”

These concerns naturally also extend to employees, who are increasingly concerned about work-life balance and whether the organization they work for offers a tangible purpose, such as providing value to society. As a result, organizations that act responsibly in demonstrable ways will find that doing so “positively impacts turnover and recruitment.” A recent study found that “a majority of MBA students would accept a lower salary to work for an environmentally responsible company”, while another found that greater corporate responsibility performance could reduce annual quit rates by “3-3.5% and save replacements costs up to 90% – 200% of an employee’s annual salary for each retained position.” 

Why Greenwashing isn’t the answer

Given the extensive range of benefits that ESG policies and strategies offer, it’s no surprise that more and more companies are attempting to address these issues, as evidenced by expressions of accountability such as public commitments or sustainability reports.

Indeed, more than one-fifth of the world’s 2000 largest publicly traded companies have made net-zero commitments. But so-called “greenwashing” is a major issue, with the focus of many companies’ actions on external relations or public dialogue rather than actual business transformation towards sustainable practices and responsibility. While it may be tempting to take shortcuts so that you can benefit from the perception of being a sustainable brand, while not actually making the necessary investments, doing so comes with huge risks.

Research has found that customers are “highly likely to be aware of the gap between stated goals and implementation”, with customer satisfaction being adversely affected as this disconnect grows. The damage to your brand is not just superficial, studies have found that even small changes in an organization’s customer satisfaction score can have a significant impact on its performance.

But greenwashing isn’t merely the product of unethical business leaders aiming to hoodwink consumers and win positive PR. There’s another reason that even those with good intentions are failing to reach sustainability goals and targets.

The ESG Knowledge Gap

When it comes to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), there’s a big knowledge gap. Research suggests that, even if employees wanted to contribute to their company’s sustainability efforts, many lack the vital skills and insights required to make an impact in the context of their work. Nearly 9 out of 10 respondents expressed the view that the lack of investments in sustainability and ESG training (Salesforce 2022) presents the main obstacle to their contribution.

According to a recent study, 24% of respondents from larger companies strongly agreed with the statement “the culture at my organization encourages me to speak up about climate change and take action to support our goals.” However, despite this, only around 45% believed that their organization effectively offered “spaces and opportunities for them and their colleagues to share suggestions, experiences and innovative ideas related to climate change”.

Our research suggests that while private sector leaders are aware of the scale of change needed, most employees, including senior ones, don’t know enough about this topic, or the demands of the sustainable transformation to effect change in their professional roles.

However, this knowledge gap presents an important opportunity for your organization. A majority of the global workforce are eager to contribute to their company’s sustainability initiatives and significant benefits await those organizations that can effectively leverage sustainability strategies. Acting now could present you with new methods of gaining the edge over your competitors, attracting talent and investors, or building more valuable relationships with your customers.

Prepare your organization for a Sustainable Business Transformation  

ESMT Berlin’s executive education program, Sustainable Business Transformation is designed with the objective of addressing this demand and provide comprehensive sustainability knowledge that will enable your organization to undergo a sustainable business transformation and seamlessly integrate sustainability practices into the daily responsibilities of your workforce.

The program targets executives looking to lead sustainable business transformations within their functions and departments, catering to a diverse audience that includes chief sustainability officers and executives in operations, finance, investment, accounting, auditing, marketing, sales, and human resources. 
The aim is to offer a highly impactful learning journey through in-person sessions, with three guiding principles linking everything together:

• Individualization: Participants can choose topics relevant to them and their companies, creating personalized learning journeys. 
• Application Support: The program includes application projects, recognizing that making a business sustainable requires change, and participants will work on practical initiatives. 
• Peer Learning: By bringing together participants from various companies, the program fosters peer learning, allowing sharing of success stories and challenges in sustainability efforts. 

Harnessing the myriad benefits that a sustainable business strategy can unlock means implementing a transformation of your organization, and this in turn, requires a revolution in mindset and daily decision-making. But the imperative for businesses to integrate ESG principles into their operations has never been more critical.

As companies face the dual challenge of meeting stakeholder expectations and addressing global sustainability issues, programs like ESMT’s Leading Sustainable Business Transformation offer a path forward. By embracing a holistic approach to sustainability, businesses can unlock new opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and customer loyalty, ensuring their relevance and success in a rapidly changing world.

The post Your Workforce is Crying out for Sustainability Skills. It’s Time to Skill up – ESMT Executive Education appeared first on The European Business Review.

Welcome to the first installment of insights based on the results of our recent survey, “Navigating Executive Education Preferences and Needs in Contemporary Leadership.” Across five meticulously researched articles, we dig deeper into the intricate domain of executive education, guided by the nuanced insights from each section of our comprehensive survey findings.

In this first report, we shed light on the preferred geographical settings for executive education programs and their implications for the broader executive education landscape, uncovering key insights derived directly from the responses of our diverse pool of industry professionals. As we delve deeper into the next reports, every insight, every trend, and every analysis will be rooted firmly in the rich soil of our survey data.

Introduction

The time is now ripe for executives to increasingly turn to executive education programs to hone their skills and stay ahead of the curve. In the rapidly evolving landscape of contemporary leadership, the demand for executive education has never been more pronounced. With a keen understanding of the real concerns and interests of our readers, especially in the field of business and executive education, The European Business Review (TEBR) recognises the importance of staying abreast of evolving trends and challenges faced by professionals in leadership roles.

To unravel the intricacies of executive education preferences and needs, TEBR conducted a comprehensive survey called “Navigating Executive Education Preferences and Needs in Contemporary Leadership”. The survey garnered a total of 318 responses from a diverse array of professionals across industries and roles. By gaining insights into the demographic composition of respondents, including their roles within organizations, gender identity distribution, years of work experience, and industries represented, we aimed to paint a comprehensive picture of the executive education landscape as it is today.

The Executive Education Landscape By the Numbers

Education programs serve as vital conduits for professionals seeking to enhance their skills and knowledge in today’s competitive business environment. Our survey provides valuable insights into the geographical preferences of executives regarding executive education programs.

Respondents highlighted the significance of executive education in advancing their professional capabilities. One participant expressed, “I am anticipating that an executive program would enhance my skills in understanding the trends of managing organizations in the global context and allow me to adapt to unavoidable changes.” This sentiment reflects the proactive approach of professionals in leveraging executive education to stay abreast of industry trends and navigate complex organizational landscapes.

Executives are also now recognizing the transformative potential of executive education in driving personal and professional growth. Another respondent emphasized, “Bringing new opportunities; improving the current professional performance; making it easier to do better (e.g., using new tools, including mental tools).” This acknowledgment underscores the role of executive education in equipping professionals with the tools and perspectives needed to excel in their respective fields.

Let’s delve deeper into the numbers to understand where executives prefer to pursue their educational endeavours:

Where Executives Want to Learn

USA, United Kingdom, and Singapore in the Limelight

• The United States:

  With 46% of respondents expressing a preference for executive education programs in the USA, this country emerges as the top choice among executives. Renowned for its world-class business schools and diverse program offerings, the USA attracts professionals seeking comprehensive and cutting-edge education.

• The United Kingdom:

  Following closely behind, 41% of respondents favor executive education programs in the United Kingdom. The UK’s accessibility to cutting-edge development programs and prestigious institutions makes it an attractive destination for executives looking to enhance their leadership skills and expand their professional networks.
  

• Singapore:

  Garnering 33% of the preferences, Singapore emerges as a rising star in the executive education landscape. Its strategic location, vibrant business environment, and diverse program offerings make it a compelling choice for executives seeking to gain a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Comparative Analysis

Executive education programs offered in different regions around the world possess unique strengths and features that attract professionals seeking to advance their careers.

Executive education programs offered in different regions around the world possess unique strengths and features that attract professionals seeking to advance their careers. This section delves into a comparative analysis of the key attributes of executive education in the USA, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, aligns participants’ preferences with global market trends, and explores the broader implications of these preferences on the executive education landscape:

Detailing the Strengths and Unique Features of the USA, United Kingdom, and Singapore

• The United States:

  Home to some of the world’s most renowned business schools, the USA offers a diverse range of executive education programs tailored to meet the needs of professionals at various career stages. Its strengths lie in the breadth and depth of program offerings, access to cutting-edge research and resources, and a robust ecosystem of industry partnerships and networks.

• The United Kingdom:

  Renowned for its prestigious institutions and innovative approach to executive education, the UK provides executives with access to world-class faculty, thought leadership, and industry connections. Its strengths include the accessibility of the latest development programs, emphasis on practical application, and a rich heritage of academic excellence.Dr Jane Ellis-Brush, Director of Teaching for The Bath MBA, elaborates, “The UK shines as a beacon for international business leaders seeking to enrich their learning journey through executive education. Our institutions offer cutting-edge insights, backed up by the latest academic research and thinking, empowering leaders to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving business landscape.”

  Dr. Ellis-Brush also mentioned one of the key practices of the UK institutions that further helps executive education participants in growing their professional careers: “Leading UK executive programmes will often partner with real-world business case work, giving professionals access to a vibrant and culturally diverse business ecosystem in which to apply their learning. They will gain insights and hands-on experience within some of the UK’s most notable organisations, enriching their understanding of global business.”
  
  Reflecting on the impact of this collaboration, Dr. Ellis-Brush observes, “On the Bath MBA, we witness how this fusion of applied and research-led knowledge creates a unique learning experience highly valued by our executive students.”

• Singapore:

  Emerging as a leading hub for executive education in Asia, Singapore offers a strategic location, diverse program offerings, and a dynamic business environment. Its strengths lie in its multicultural ecosystem, focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, and strategic partnerships with global institutions and corporations.

Aligning Participants’ Preferences with Global Trends Identified in Market Projections

The survey findings align with global market projections, which indicate the dominance of North America, particularly the USA, in the executive education program market. The preferences for the USA, the United Kingdom, and Singapore reflect broader trends in the industry, highlighting the continued appeal of established hubs and the rise of emerging contenders in the global executive education landscape. As executives increasingly prioritize regions known for their academic excellence, innovation, and industry relevance, institutions must adapt their offerings to meet evolving demands and capitalize on emerging opportunities in the executive education market.

Implications of Preferences on the Broader Landscape of Executive Education

The preferences revealed have significant implications for the broader landscape of executive education. They influence institutional strategies, program development, and resource allocation, shaping the competitive dynamics within the industry. As preferences for specific regions continue to evolve, institutions must remain agile and responsive to changing market demands. Collaboration, innovation, and strategic partnerships will be key drivers of success in an increasingly competitive executive education landscape.

Global Impact: Executive Education’s Ripple Effect

These choices not only reflect individual choices but also have a ripple effect that resonates worldwide in the broader executive education community. This section explores how these specific executive choices influence global trends, the dynamics shaped by key regions like the USA, the UK, and Singapore, and the collaborative opportunities and emerging trends within the executive education landscape.

Executive Choices and Their Global Echo

The preferences of executives for specific regions in executive education have far-reaching implications beyond their immediate impact. These choices influence global trends, shaping the competitive landscape and driving innovation and collaboration within the industry. As executives gravitate towards regions known for their academic excellence, industry relevance, and innovation, institutions worldwide are compelled to adapt their offerings to meet evolving demands and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Dynamics Shaped by USA, UK, and Singapore

The USA, the UK, and Singapore play pivotal roles in shaping the dynamics of the global executive education landscape. The USA’s renowned business schools and diverse program offerings attract professionals from around the world, driving innovation and excellence in executive education.

The UK’s accessibility to cutting-edge development programs and prestigious institutions fosters a culture of learning and collaboration, while Singapore’s strategic location, multicultural ecosystem, and focus on innovation make it a preferred destination for executives seeking to gain a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Collaborations, Trends, and the Role of Key Regions

The results from the survey underscore the importance of collaboration, innovation, and strategic partnerships within the executive education landscape. Institutions must forge alliances with industry partners, academic institutions, and other stakeholders to remain competitive and relevant in a rapidly evolving environment.

Emerging trends such as online learning, customised programs, and experiential learning are reshaping the executive education landscape, presenting both challenges and opportunities for institutions worldwide. Key regions like the USA, the UK, and Singapore are at the forefront of these trends, driving innovation and setting new standards for excellence in executive education. Collaborative efforts between institutions, industry partners, and other stakeholders will be crucial in shaping executive education’s future and meeting professionals’ evolving needs worldwide.

Conclusion

By understanding the global impact of executive education preferences and the dynamics shaped by key regions, institutions can position themselves strategically to drive innovation, foster collaboration, and meet the evolving needs of professionals worldwide.

The executive education landscape today is continually evolving, with new hotspots emerging and existing ones evolving to meet changing demands. Institutions must remain agile and responsive to shifting preferences and market dynamics, capitalizing on emerging opportunities and forging strategic partnerships to maintain a competitive edge. As preferences for specific regions continue to evolve, institutions must embrace innovation, collaboration, and strategic partnerships to remain relevant and competitive in a rapidly changing environment.

By understanding the global impact of executive education preferences and the dynamics shaped by key regions, institutions can position themselves strategically to drive innovation, foster collaboration, and meet the evolving needs of professionals worldwide.

Editor’s Note: Stay tuned for the next installment of this survey report series where we unveil what the current strategic priorities in executive education are!

The post “Navigating Executive Education Preferences and Needs in Contemporary Leadership” (Part I): Revealing the Executive Education Hotspots appeared first on The European Business Review.

What was 2023 like for you?

They say that “time flies when you’re having fun” and this truly represents last year for me. In 2023, we saw organisations across various sectors rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic and we’re starting to see positive progress.

It’s been wonderful to witness the steady return of executives from across the globe to our campus at The Shard. This shift back to the classroom and witnessing colleagues, friends, and participants returning has been invigorating and it’s great to see the resurgence of face-to-face interactions and business activities.

In “The five paradoxes leaders need to embrace in the 2020s”, you mentioned that leaders don’t like paradoxes because it creates uncertainty. Does this belief still hold true for you today? 

Yes, completely. I think that, although we’re seeing recovery from the pandemic, we’re still living in extreme, ambiguous, and volatile environments. My belief is that the business environment is becoming more uncertain than ever and, of course, that creates a lot of headaches for leaders. So, leaders have to embrace a paradox mindset. This is a one-way street. The paradox mindset will enable leaders to embrace uncertainty, rather than work against it. This will enable leaders to become more relevant and add value in what they do for themselves, their groups, their organisations, and society at large. Simply put, a paradox is the result of two imperatives or realities that don’t seem to be able to coexist at the same time.

Leaders have to embrace a paradox mindset. This is a one-way street. The paradox mindset will enable leaders to embrace uncertainty, rather than work against it.

Our research suggests that leaders struggle with the urge to push towards both realities simultaneously and, in paradox language, we refer to the ends of the paradox as the poles. Business leaders deal with paradoxes all the time. For instance, should leaders support stability or change within the organisation? Should they tailor their goods and services to suit the needs of the community? Or should they develop globally standardised goods and services? Which should they prioritise: increasing operational efficiency or funding R&D and innovation? The issue, of course, is that selecting one side of the paradox exposes them to the drawbacks of the other. Businesses that fully embrace change run the risk of ruining their human capital resources and burning out their workforce. However, businesses that completely embrace stability might not be able to adjust to the way the external environment is changing.

Proficient leaders acquire the ability to embrace both business ends. So, to answer your question, I think a paradox mindset is becoming critical for leadership, but many leaders find it difficult to embrace it. This belief still holds true for me today and, at Warwick, we develop tools and knowledge that can help executives embrace a paradox mindset in their everyday practice.

Given your expertise, how do you foresee the role of empathy and emotional intelligence evolving in leadership development, especially in the context of emerging business challenges?

We need to see the emerging business challenges in the broader context of the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world and that means that leadership development has to change and adapt to these circumstances. This means that human aspects of leadership, such as empathy and emotional intelligence, become more relevant than ever. Let’s take, for example, the challenge of automating the business environment without really dehumanising the workforce. Here, empathy and emotional intelligence, as well as the immense ability to be self-aware, become very critical for leaders and their people. This is because automation can create a lot of benefits for businesses, but also profound uncertainty for the workforce. It is critical that leaders should be able to understand and manage emotions and communicate with empathy and the intent to create an environment where employees feel safe, valued and understood. So, these human aspects of leadership are becoming more and more relevant. It’s interesting, because we call those the soft skills of leadership, but these are the hardest to develop, so we need to focus more attention on how leaders can communicate with empathy and become more self-aware about their emotions and how their emotions influence their decision-making.

Your research has been published in leading academic journals, including Organisation Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Human Resource Management, Public Administration, and Human Relations. You were also the lead editor of a 2016 special issue on translational research in the International Journal of Management Reviews. What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned about leadership? 

Leadership theory and practice is complex and remains complex. However, if you take a deep dive into leadership theory, you realise that leadership theory has romanticised individual heroic leaders and continues to do so. There is nothing wrong with this but, in a VUCA environment, it doesn’t work. For leadership to become relevant in today’s world, we need to redefine the way that academics and business schools at large define what leadership is, where it comes from, and how we teach it. At Warwick, we are really passionate about this and with our research we’re continuously redefining what leadership should look like in the VUCA world, where it comes from, and how we teach it. We do this in order to offer more relevant theories and frameworks with our executive education offerings so as to make our knowledge more relevant and impactful for leaders, their organisations, and society.

Can you tell us more about the Warwick Leadership Pathways?

We developed our Warwick Executive Diplomas to cater to the needs of busy executives. The Warwick Leadership Pathways offer a flexible framework of personal and professional development that enables our executives to design their own development journey and address their unique needs, challenges, and skill gaps.

The Warwick Leadership Pathways offer a flexible framework of personal and professional development that enables our executives to design their own development journey and address their unique needs, challenges, and skill gaps.

We launched a suite of Executive Diplomas into diverse thematic areas, including, in no particular order, strategic leadership and change, future of work, digital innovation and entrepreneurship, decision making and analytics, strategy, and organisational change. The Warwick Leadership Pathways offer the flexibility for participants to pick and choose the courses from each of these areas of expertise to develop a bespoke programme that is tailored to their unique needs. So, rather than us telling potential candidates that this is what we offer, we ask our candidates to pick and choose what they think is relevant to their unique skill gaps and their organisations. All of our programmes with our Warwick Leadership Pathways are taught by world-class academics, professors of practice, and business leaders, but they also offer the pick-and-mix flexibility in order to enable executives to develop and create something that meets their expectations and requirements.

Who would be an ideal candidate for these stackable programmes?

I think a lot of executives can sometimes worry about stepping into academia and whether they’ll be able to meet the demands of an academic programme. But these stackable programmes are certainly not your typical academic programmes. They are theory-driven but problem- and practice-focused. So, an ideal candidate for these stackable programmes is someone who understands how the business environment works and has a passion for learning and a hunger to make an impact. We also welcome candidates who do not have the academic qualifications but are exceptional, with a proven ability to achieve. Equally important is the ability and willingness to come to the classroom with an open and curious mind.

However, if executives expect to come to the classroom for us to use our magic wand (which we don’t have) to make them even better at what they do, then that’s not going to happen. We’re looking for candidates who are ambitious, want to move up, don’t shy away from a challenge, and are willing and able to work hard to understand how to develop themselves and show others how to do it.

How is this different from your other executive education programmes?

I think what makes the Warwick Leadership Pathways distinctively different from everything else we offer is the immense amount of flexibility that’s embedded within the Pathways. Participants can pick and mix from very different themes, such as leadership, future of work, decision-making and analytics, digital innovation and entrepreneurship, and strategy and organisational change to create something that meets their learning needs and plugs skills gaps. In addition, there is flexibility in the way that you can study the programmes. Typically, most of our executive offerings are either short full-time programmes or much longer part-time programmes, but the Warwick Leadership Pathways give the flexibility to our executives to decide how fast or how slow they can study. So, for example, they can study one postgraduate award today or this year, or they can come back next year to build on their qualifications with a stackable approach. They completely define the pace for their personal and professional development learning pathway. So, the Warwick Leadership Pathways offer a fully flexible framework that allows executives to design their own leadership development journey at a pace that works for them and their organisations.

Could you elaborate on the structure and flexibility offered within the Warwick Leadership Pathways for executives seeking to upskill while balancing their professional commitments?

The Warwick Leadership Pathways enable executives to pick and choose what areas of expertise they would like to study to support them with their personal career ambitions and business goals. They can tailor their qualification by completing any four postgraduate awards from our selection of specialised subject areas to gain an Executive Diploma in Advanced Management. They also have the option to pick four postgraduate awards from one subject area to achieve a subject-specific Executive Diploma.

We really want to give executives the ultimate flexibility to balance their personal life and work commitments alongside their study, so they also have the option to stack their qualification by applying for a single postgraduate award at a time.

Your research also often intersects with healthcare systems and organisations. How does this knowledge translate into leadership development within the business context? 

Healthcare organisations are increasingly characterised as knowledge-based, professionalised organisations whereby knowledge workers, like doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, increasingly exercise leadership without being in formal leadership roles. In other words, leadership in healthcare organisations and systems can come from knowledge workers anywhere in the organisation or the system and it doesn’t always matter whether they hold a leadership position. As a result, leadership development must empower these knowledgeable experts and abandon more conventional leadership development approaches that tend to concentrate power at the top of the company. Our own research shows that healthcare organisations and systems create radically different and diverse contexts, where professional status and managerial authority are both evident and critical for leadership development interventions to work. This contextual detail necessitates a different approach to leadership development that considers the particular needs of their organisations, as well as their professionalised nature. This, in my opinion, is also transferable to the business environment, which is likewise drastically changing and diversifying and is dependent more and more on knowledge workers to produce goods and services.

As the course director for several programmes, what do you have in mind for Warwick Executive Education in 2024?

One of our core values is restlessness and we always look at ways to push the boundaries of executive education. Following the creation of the Warwick Leadership Pathways, we are launching our new Accelerator MBA this year. The Accelerator MBA is a part of a new suite of MBA and executive courses that gives early to mid-career managers, business executives, and professionals greater autonomy over their professional and educational growth, without taking a significant amount of time away from work. Learning is taking place both online and face to face at The Shard in London, which is home to our Executive MBA and Executive Education. We’re excited to welcome our first cohort of the programme in March 2024.

More broadly, and in alignment with our core values, we challenge, we embrace different perspectives, and we think creatively to expand on our executive education programmes and delivery approaches to better serve our communities and clients by developing better leaders who will advance society. Watch this space.

To find out more about the Warwick Leadership Pathways visit: https://www.wbs.ac.uk/courses/executive-education/pathways/

Executive Profile

Dimitrios Spyridonidis is an Associate Professor of Leadership and Innovation and studies healthcare systems and organisations. He has taught leadership and leadership development around the globe including UK, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, South Africa, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

At WBS, Dimitrios is the Programme Director of the Executive MBA, Accelerator MBA and the Executive Diploma in Strategic Leadership & Change. 

Dimitrios’ core research interests are Leadership and Innovation. His research has been published in leading academic journals including Organization Studies, Public Administration and Human Relations and is the lead editor of a 2016 Special Issue on Translational Research on the International Journal of Management Review.

The post Executive Education à la Carte: Interview with Dr Dimitrios Spyridonidis, Associate Professor of Leadership, WBS appeared first on The European Business Review.

Can you please provide an overview of Sheffield Business School’s integrated employability strategy? What are its main components and goals? 

Sheffield Business School at Sheffield Hallam University has a long history of applied education and commitment to employability. We do really well in terms of getting our graduates into highly skilled employment. However, this can depend on the course some students are on, their background, and the experiences they have while they’re with us. 

So, what we’re looking to do in our employability strategy is be much more deliberate. We’re looking to embed work experience and industry exposure in every level of the curriculum, so that, regardless of whether you’re on a business management, accountancy, or marketing course at Sheffield Business School, there’s an element of consistency and integration in the curriculum. 

What inspired the development of this integrated employability strategy? Were there specific challenges or trends in the job market that prompted its creation? 

We have excellent graduate outcomes for our students, even though we often take more disadvantaged students who may find it harder to find these work opportunities. We’re really proud of that. 

However, we know that students have busy lives. There are some students that engage with extracurricular activities really well, but for some it’s simply not a priority.

We therefore wanted to offer every individual the opportunity to develop their professional self as well as their academic self. To engage students in this, we wanted to embed employability into the curriculum. 

Of course, there are challenges associated with this. it takes a lot of investment to get the structures right to support this kind of activity. 

To ensure that every student has completed a work placement, we needed more work placement opportunities. To secure these, we needed to work more with businesses, and invest more in our central team to support business engagement. 

There are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in all regions across the UK, and these present really interesting opportunities and projects that can cut across marketing, HR, and sales, so the student gets really varied experience on their work placements. In Sheffield, our labour market is predominantly public sector and SMEs, and we embrace that when looking for work placements. 

We’ve also got particularly strong employee advisory boards. We’ve got one for management, another that is much more related to the service sector, and one linked to finance accounting and banking. 

The employee advisory boards support us in a number of ways: 

• Connect us with other businesses 
• Help us when we go through portfolio and curriculum changes 
• Bring opportunities around projects and consultancy for students, as well as long-term and short-term placements.

Lastly, we have an ‘entrepreneurs in residence’ programme, where we work with entrepreneurs who offer mentoring to students and graduates, sharing their knowledge and expertise on the skills needed to start a new business. 

How does Sheffield Business School define ‘employability’, and how does your strategy aim to enhance it among your students? 

I don’t think there’s a single definition of employability. For me, it’s about preparing students for the next stage of their life, whether that’s further study, taking a taking a gap year, or going into the world of work.  

It’s about preparing students for the next stage of their life, whether that’s further study, taking a taking a gap year, or going into the world of work.[

It’s really about giving our students the skills that mean that they’ll be prepared for varied careers. As part of this, we’ve increased the number of careers and recruitment events we hold. 

Interestingly, around 85 per cent of employers don’t recruit for a specific degree. People will start with a business degree, and then go into finance or sales, for example, and then three years later they’ll be doing something completely different. 

Our approach to employability is preparing our students to be very creative, adaptable, resilient individuals who can move and solve problems regardless of the kind of organisation they’re in.  

In what ways do you collaborate with local employers to strengthen your students’ employability? Can you give examples of successful partnerships that have led to tangible benefits for your graduates?  

At Hallam we have invested in a team that focuses on business engagement, skills, and employability. Their role is to talk to employers but not be product-focused. Instead of asking for an apprenticeship, consultancy, work placements, etc., they’ll ask organisations what they need, and then secure a range of opportunities.  

Our academics work very closely with the team, and its members sit on our employer advisory board to get these opportunities out. In general, it’s about trying to match the demand from employers with the supply of our brilliant graduates. 

Sheffield Business School worked directly with the city council on the RISE Enhancement Project, a partnership between Sheffield City Council, the University of Sheffield, and Sheffield Hallam University, which helps to place talented graduates into SMEs across Sheffield. 

When students graduate, they often think of the large companies, such as Google, PwC, EY, etc. We worked directly with SMEs across the city to develop graduate jobs and fix a competitive salary to encourage graduates to apply. 

When our graduates started working in these companies, they thrived. Often these graduates would start out in a six-month internship, during which they worked across finance, sales, marketing, and HR, earning a much broader experience than if they’d worked for a larger company. Some 90 per cent of these internships then turned into full-time roles, and the salaries jumped from around £18,000 to £30,000 within the first 18 months.

What role do internships, co-op programmes, and industry projects play in your strategy? How do these experiential learning opportunities contribute to students’ readiness for the job market? 

Throughout each degree at Sheffield Business School, we try to scaffold the range and complexity of work-experience activities. Generally, this work experience is used as a stepping stone into a larger opportunity, depending on the course. 

In the first year of your degree programme, you’ll gain exposure to industry through guest speakers, events, and integration with business. Then we’ll have a live project where students are asked to work on a real-world project at a small business. 

In the second year, students will complete a short work placement. Some use the placement that they’re already on. Others we connect with different opportunities, so they can get that real-world experience. This placement is embedded in the module and it’s 120 hours of work that they must find, do, write up, and reflect on. A lot of people use this time to do their sandwich year. 

Some students instead decide to start their own business. They get set up with the Hallam i-lab – a dynamic co-working business incubation space – and work with the central team there in coming up with an idea and working this into a business plan. 

In the students’ final year, instead of a dissertation, they complete a capstone major project which will be themed around their subject. We have an extended consultancy project, where we work with a range of businesses – SMEs, volunteer organisations, major organisations – which set an applied project and a brief. These businesses then work with the students on the project over a 12-week period. Afterwards, the students present their solutions and recommendations back to the organisations. 

Throughout all of this, we have a core element of professional development and reflection. Students are developing their broader employability skills. They’ll learn practical skills, gain work experience and exposure to problem solving, networking and data analytics. 

Strong networks with local employers are often emphasised as a key factor in producing highly employable graduates. How has Sheffield Business School built and maintained these networks, and what benefits have you observed as a result?

At Sheffield Business School, we develop partnerships that are going to run for a number of years, so we really invest in this. We’ve seen organisations whose growth is built on the back of our graduates, and that’s great to see, but we have to invest that time to see the mutual benefits. 

Our work with the RISE Enhancement project was received very well by SMEs. The businesses felt that RISE helped them to become more capable and confident in graduate recruitment. 

We have also worked closely with a family business called Pricecheck, an award-winning international wholesaler and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributor based in Sheffield. Every year, we have between 20 and 30 of our graduates join them, and Sheffield Business School students complete placement years with them as well. Pricecheck knows that we have students studying international business and business marketing. They love our students, as they are talented, highly skilled and really add something to their business. 

The job market is constantly evolving, with new industries and roles emerging. How does your approach prepare students to be adaptable and resilient in the face of these changes?

Students aren’t always able to articulate the  skills they’ve developed during their degree programme. 

At Sheffield Business School, we help students focus on the attributes that they’ve developed through their various work experiences, real-life projects, and the broader degree programme. We purposely develop their emotional intelligence, helping them understand the different ways of that people operate within a team, and working with people who are different from them. 

At Sheffield Business School, we help students focus on the attributes that they’ve developed through their various work experiences, real-life projects, and the broader degree programme.

To do this, we actively develop their reflective practice skills through assessment, so that they consciously go out into the labour market knowing their strengths and areas for development. It’s important that they have a good level of self-awareness and emotional intelligence; for example, how they use data to make informed decisions, how confident they are at networking and building relationships. We give them the language they can use with employers, helping them make that link between what they’ve done throughout their degree and what employers will be looking for. 

There’s often a cyclical nature of relationships. 

Sheffield Business School has a lot of academics who come from industry, but doing these projects with businesses keeps their industry knowledge relevant as well.  

Similarly, we’ve had individuals from an SME who might then become entrepreneurs who then join our Advisory Board, or we might do some academic peer consultancy or a knowledge-transfer partnership. 

Can you speak of any challenges or obstacles you’ve encountered while implementing this strategy? How have you overcome these challenges, and what lessons have you learned in the process? 

Essentially, we’re trying to take something that was predominately extracurricular and embed it into the curriculum. There are numerous challenges that come with this. So, one is getting the institutional staff to buy into the idea that applied learning has pedagogical value. This wasn’t too bad at the business school, but we need to do it consistently at each level. 

Additionally, creating an active employer advisory board takes time, so we’ve offered lots of administrative support for this. For example, we have provided advice on how to run an advisory board and the toolkits you might need to run an advisory board. 

Another challenge we face with going from a select number of students doing work placements to everyone doing them is scalability. We worked directly with both the academic teams and the professional services teams to secure a greater number of work placements for students. It takes both commitment and investment of time to make that happen. 

Executive Profile 

Professor Conor Moss is Dean of the College of Business, Technology and Engineering at Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University (SHU). He was appointed Professor of Work-Based Learning in recognition of his contribution to employability and work-based learning. As Academic Dean for a large college of 12,000 students and  500+ academic staff Conor continues to drive the College’s strategic growth through innovative portfolio and partnership development and a multi-disciplinary research strategy spanning technology, engineering and business.

The post Where Students are Prepared to Work: Interview with Conor Moss, Dean of Sheffield Business School at Sheffield Hallam University appeared first on The European Business Review.

In the article series on how to strategize in an unpredictable future, we’ve reached scenario planning. This article explores how organizations can reap the benefits while also addressing the common disappointments associated with this approach.

Scenario planning can enable organizations to craft strategies that account for unforeseen factors, guiding informed decision-making. The approach involves pinpointing potential scenarios based on current and potential trends and developments. From that, businesses can formulate adaptive strategies to address shifts – and thereby be at the forefront when change occurs.

McKinsey argues, that “the approach should be a natural complement to other ways of developing strategy—especially when executives are as concerned about geopolitical dynamics as many are today.” The Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies claims that “Organisations with a culture of strategic foresight perform far better than those who do not apply futures thinking on a regular basis.”

At the same time, scenario planning is a method that has often disappointed and failed to deliver. This article explores the challenges behind scenario planning and how to reap the benefits from this approach, including examples of fruitful applications. We’ll return to how to avoid the classic pitfalls of scenario planning after walking through how to sketch scenarios and use them to your organization’s advantage.

Different approaches to scenario planning

Working with scenario planning starts with identifying possible scenarios. As Adobe writes, there are different ways to identify scenarios. It is generally recommended to focus on two to three major uncertainties or themes and build scenarios around them. It’s essential to keep scenarios relatively simple to avoid being overwhelmed by the range of potential outcomes. It’s also great to keep in mind that scenario planning is less about trying to make predictions of the future than it’s about exploring plausible futures.

Some of the approaches to map scenarios are:

• Independent Themed Scenarios: This strategy involves examining individual change categories, such as technological or market shifts, to create potential future scenarios within each category. This could take its point of departure in the megatrends we’ve previously covered. Here, go for the categories of change most relevant for your organization.
• Arrayed Scenarios: Arrayed scenarios are a quantitative approach where teams plan for variations in a specific criterion, like the price of gasoline, across different scenarios. This is a great approach for data-heavy organizations.
• Optimistic vs. Pessimistic vs. Best Guess Scenarios: Here, teams develop optimistic scenarios by identifying possible improvements, pessimistic scenarios by brainstorming potential challenges, and best guess scenarios by projecting current trends into the future.

No matter what approach to scenarios an organization choose, working together across teams and involving different levels of the organization is a great way to connect a number of different possible futures.

After identifying scenarios

After identifying scenarios, it’s all about applying them to your organization. If X happens, how does it affect our organization, and what can we do about it? That often brings a good opportunity to get out of a ‘business as usual’ mindset, and into a mode of identifying future potentials.

Scenario planning and working with the future can quickly become abstract and intangible, so let’s take an example.

A fictive example of scenario planning

Background: A company – let’s call it InnovateTech – specializes in smart home devices and assesses how future technological shifts could impact its business. In this fictive scenario planning, the company applies the independent themed approach, working with 1) AI, 2) data privacy regulations, and 3) market saturation and competition.

Scenarios:

• Scenario 1: Rapid Advancement in AI: AI technology evolves quickly, increasing demand for AI-integrated smart home devices. For this potential development, InnovateTech plans to invest heavily in AI research and development and consider partnerships with AI technology leaders.
• Scenario 2: Increased Data Privacy Regulations: New global regulations significantly restrict data usage. Here, InnovateTech strategizes to be ready to adapt its products to be compliant while maintaining functionality, which might involve investing in new, privacy-focused technologies.
• Scenario 3: Market Saturation and Competition: The market for smart home devices becomes saturated, and competition intensifies. For this scenario, InnovateTech explores diversifying its product line or identifying niche markets to maintain its market position.

It looks easy enough when put into neat little examples. But, scenario planning in practice can be challenging for several reasons.

Challenges in scenario planning

McKinsey writes that scenario planning’s underperformance is often due to a lack of experience – organizations need to practice it regularly to maintain the necessary skills. Experienced managers might delegate it to less experienced staff, while newcomers might overly focus on minor details in the scenarios rather than on critical uncertainties. A great approach is to include newcomers, who often have original takes on the exercise but have staff more experienced with the approach facilitate.

Additionally, cognitive biases, such as ignoring unlikely potential events or overconfidence, can also hinder effective scenario planning. Let’s delve deeper into how to avoid letting bias distort scenario planning.

Countering bias

Countering Availability Bias in Scenario Planning

Scenario planning, as we know, starts with gathering scenarios to understand potential strategic problems and identify trends and disruptions. Here, the risk of availability bias is high, as it’s easy to focus on readily accessible information, often leading to blind spots. McKinsey suggests to expand the focus to include global technological, economic, demographic, and cultural trends helps generate more insightful, counterintuitive ideas.

Overcoming Stability Bias

When crafting scenarios, participants should try to avoid the natural tendency to expect the future to mirror the past. Identifying smaller changes in the present and addressing their potential future impact can help overcome stability bias.

Addressing Probability Neglect

In scenario planning, attention shifts to evaluating and prioritizing trends based on uncertainty and potential impact. It’s crucial to avoid over-scrutinizing and overemphasizing low-probability events, known as probability neglect. A qualitative assessment of the importance of trends and uncertainties is, McKinsey argues, essential before any quantitative modeling.

We’ll end the article sharing McKinsey’s do’s and don’ts when it comes to bias in scenario planning.

The post Future Forecasting Tools and Megatrends: Scenario Planning appeared first on The European Business Review.

Introduction

It’s no secret that supply chains were put to the test during COVID, and that many global networks are still feeling the lasting impacts of the subsequent shortages. Shortages lingered, intensifying as consumer demand surged post-crisis, further straining already-stressed supply chains. Products ranging from semiconductors to automobiles to everyday essentials became difficult to obtain. Though the situation has stabilised, the lessons learned have prompted organisations to reevaluate their supply chain strategies.

The pandemic compelled companies to reassess the efficiency-driven, just-in-time supply chains that underpin the global economy. These disruptions proved increasingly costly, prompting a shift towards prioritising resilience alongside efficiency. Evidence highlighting the significant influence of supply chains on financial performance has spurred top business schools to introduce senior executive programs in supply chain management.

Many of the top executive education courses in supply chain management now focus on how to build resilience in supply chains. Sustainability is another strong theme across the programs, with participants learning how to manage risks stemming not just from coronavirus but broader global instability such as geopolitical tensions and trade wars, leading to higher tariffs. There is also a strong digital flavour to many of the programs, which cover analytics and robotic process automation, increasing transparency, responsiveness and agility.

The variety of content means the executive programs attract both supply chain managers and executives in other functions who recognise that supply chains have a big impact on overall performance.  

Here are some of the top executive education programs on supply chain management coming out in 2024:

1. Supply Chain Management Analytics, Wharton

Explore Wharton’s Supply Chain Management Analytics program, offering exclusive insight into supply chain operations and equipping you with innovative strategies for future supply chain success, all conveniently accessible online. Over a six-week period, gain in-depth comprehension of supply chain roles and analytics, enhancing organisational operational efficiency. Learn to leverage the newsvendor formula to assess supply chain responses to market demands and grasp the significance of demand forecasting in effective supply chain management. This program empowers organisations to infuse data with significance, enabling real-time insights into the health of their supply chain.

2. Supply Chain Strategy and Management, MIT Sloan Executive Education

MIT Sloan’s Supply Chain Strategy and Management programme presents innovative strategies and best practices for improving supply chain performance. Participants will learn a unique MIT framework, using the concept of technology clock speed, for strategically managing and optimising supply chains. Led by world experts, this practice-oriented supply chain management course investigates a robust MIT framework for better-managing supply chains in today’s rapidly changing markets, they will gain a deeper understanding of supply chain integration, technology sourcing, make-buy decisions, strategic partnering and outsourcing, and IT and decision-support systems. This supply chain management course presents innovative strategies and best practices for improving supply chain performance. Participants gain a deeper understanding of supply chain integration, technology sourcing, make-buy decisions, strategic partnering and outsourcing, and IT and decision-support systems.

3. Supply Chain Management, INSEAD

Recent supply chain disruptions have revived a debate between lean and resilient supply chains. INSEAD’s Supply Chain Management programme is designed to quantify the trade-off between leanness and resilience, to help you create innovative business models and deploy differentiated solutions that mitigate the trade-off and allow your organisation to better serve its customers. With greater customer sophistication along with higher sensitivity to ESG, increasing network fragmentation, accelerating deglobalisation and dizzying technological innovation, the primary role of supply chain management goes beyond coordinating material, information, and cash flows.

4. Lean Applied to Business Processes, The University of Tennessee Knoxville

The University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Lean Applied to Business Processes programme is designed for leaders and process improvement practitioners at any level. It applies to those supporting operations in a manufacturing or MRO environment but is also a foundational course for leaders in administrative or knowledge-based businesses of all kinds, including professional services, education, healthcare, and government. The course is designed to help you achieve a significant increase in capacity by identifying and eliminating waste in your business processes. This five-day program, taught by lean practitioner Bill Peterson, will teach you to reduce the time and effort needed to execute business processes by 30% to 80%, increasing throughput and making your organisation more effective and more competitive in the global marketplace.

5. Strategy and Planning for Effective Operations, Kellogg School of Management

In Kellogg School of Management’s Strategy and Planning for Effective Operations programme, you’ll take a proven, interdisciplinary approach to designing and managing your supply chain. Guided by senior Kellogg faculty experts, you and your fellow participants will explore state-of-the-art models and solutions to the real-world challenges of managing facilities, logistics, inventories, transportation, information, outsourcing, complex networks and more. You’ll develop new skills for integrating your supply chain into a coordinated system and learn how to identify supply chain risks and design mitigation strategies. You’ll leave equipped with new knowledge and tools for integrating strategy, planning and operations to increase service levels and reduce costs.

Conclusion

The global pandemic, ongoing labour shortage and technological advancements are a few of the high-level factors that have significantly impacted supply chain operations in recent years. Schools and other educational providers have been honing and tweaking their programs in response, knowing that their executives need new knowledge, skills and expertise in various areas—including business, leadership, and management.

About the Author

Pamela Martinez is a writer for The European Business Review. She is dedicated to crafting timely blog pieces about business acumen, changing leadership dynamics, emerging finance and technology trends, global breakthroughs and how these spaces intersect from a millennial’s perspective. She also works as an editor and content strategist for the sister publications of The European Business Review.

The post Supply Chain Excellence: The Top Executive Education Programs in 2024 appeared first on The European Business Review.

AI hype, war and geopolitical chaos, climate change, and fragile supply chains. An overall sense of change and global disruption. 

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business landscape, the ability to effectively forecast and navigate through volatile times is more crucial than ever. As part of our new Top Executive Education feature section, this series aims to guide leaders, founders, and company owners, equipping them with knowledge, best practices, and methods to steer their organizations successfully through uncertain times.

Throughout this series, we will explore various forecasting methods and tools, each with their unique benefits. From traditional techniques like scenario planning and trend analysis to newer approaches such as predictive analytics and machine learning forecasting, our goal is to provide a comprehensive overview that caters to diverse business needs.

The hope is that wherever you are in your career, you’ll be informed about tools to enhance analysis and decision-making in your organization. 

Introducing Megatrends

We’ll kick off the article series by looking at the drivers of the world of today and tomorrow – so-called megatrends. This section takes its point of departure in a recent report from the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies that can be found here. 

The term ‘megatrends’ was coined in 1982 by futurist John Naisbitt. Megatrends can be defined as significant drivers of societal change on a global level, and they are often intertwined, affecting each other. Megatrends have a lifespan of at least 10-15 years – often much longer. 

In other words, while the future is very difficult to predict, megatrends are a relative constant we can use to navigate after in decision- and strategy-making. As the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies writes: “In a principally unpredictable world, these trends stand out as the only relative certainty we have.”

So, what are the current megatrends? There’s no set number of megatrends, but the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies idenitfy 15. They divide the megatrends into four categories: 1) world, 2) people & society, 3) technology and science, and 4) economy. The megatrends they’ve identified are:

WORLD

• Globalization: As the world becomes more interconnected, global opportunities and risks emerge, turning local issues into global concerns.
  
• Population Growth: The global population is on the rise, with expectations of reaching 11 billion by 2100, as projected by the United Nations.
  
• Environmental Change & Sustainability: Addressing climate change is crucial for protecting ecosystems and cultures, emphasizing the need for a sustainable balance between human activities and the environment.

PEOPLE & SOCIETY

• An Aging World: Longer life spans and declining birth rates lead to an aging global population, transforming societal structures and consumption patterns.
  
• Individualization & Empowerment: Empowered individuals are forming new communities, both online and offline, leading to diverse lifestyles and work environments.
• Focus on Health: Advances in understanding genetics and lifestyle impacts on health, along with new technologies, are shifting towards a more personalized approach to healthcare.
• Urbanization: Future urban areas will grow larger and have more inhabitants. This way, cities become even more central to solving global challenges.

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

• AI & Automation: Advancements in AI and robotics are set to change our work, education, and entertainment.
  

• Biotech Revolution: Biotechnology is poised to be as influential in the coming decades as computers were in the past, offering new capabilities in gene manipulation and bio-machine integration.
  
• Greater Interconnectedness: The proliferation of internet-connected devices enhances product and service quality but also raises privacy and data abuse concerns.
  
• Engineering Advances: Innovations in materials, energy sources, and production processes will significantly impact our lives and help combat environmental issues.

ECONOMY

• Network Economy: Digitalization fosters new peer-to-peer networks and value creation in decentralized structures operating globally and locally.
  

• Service Economy: The evolving service economy blurs lines between products and services, emphasizing integrated solutions.
  
• Economic Growth: Although historical economic growth has improved living standards, its future path remains to be determined.
  
• Concentration of Wealth: While global inequality has decreased, internal disparities within countries are growing, leading to a concentration of wealth in fewer hands.

Other Views on Megatrends

No organization has a monopoly on defining megatrends. Other organizations define another number of overlapping megatrends. If you’re curious, you can also check the German ZukunftInstitut’s 12 megatrends or Deloitte’s take on megatrends. 

Working with Trends and Megatrends

Many of the above megatrends will ring familiar. That’s part of what makes these megatrends a great planning tool. They’re already making an impact on the world today, and will continue to do in the years to come. 

There are several ways organizations can work with megatrends to enhance planning and strategy. We’ll cover that in the next article of our future forecasting tools-series. Stay tuned at European Business Review as we continue to report on tools to navigate a volatile future.

The post Introducing New Article Series: Future Forecasting Tools and Megatrends appeared first on The European Business Review.

Are you ready to elevate your brand’s presence and influence in the dynamic world of executive education? TEBR’s newly introduced “Top Executive Education” section presents a transformative chance for institutions to shine in the spotlight, showcasing their exceptional executive education programs to a highly targeted audience of top executive business leaders. In doing so, they can engage in meaningful conversations with industry leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs, gaining invaluable exposure and driving enrollment interest.

This reimagined series offers an all-in-one hub for executive education excellence, with a comprehensive resource teeming with invaluable information, inspiration, and insights. By partnering with TEBR, institutions can position their brands in the ever-evolving landscape of executive education, empowering themselves and their students.

The Benefits for Partners:

• Become a trusted source of inspiration and excellence.
• Elevate your institution’s recognition.
• Expand your presence to a targeted audience.
• Exposure to decision-makers.

Partners will be uniquely able to participate in the “Top Executive Education with Best ROI” flagship series. This showcase features executive education programs known for their substantial value in terms of time and financial investments, propelling career advancement.

In addition to the flagship series, partners can also take advantage of the Executive Education Calendar, designed to keep audiences updated on anticipated events and opportunities in the world of executive education. The calendar showcases upcoming open days, key intake and enrollment schedules, webinars, and master classes, ensuring educators, industry experts, and like-minded professionals never miss a chance to connect.

Furthermore, “Programme Highlights” allows partners to tailor their promotional content and messages to their ideal audience, showcasing their distinctive and innovative executive education programs. This enhances their credibility and offers exposure to a highly targeted TEBR audience actively seeking transformative learning experiences.

The “Interviews with Directors and Faculties” section provides partners with an opportunity to establish thought leadership. Through these interviews, they can position their institutions as authoritative voices and industry experts in executive education. They can also leverage these interviews for strategic content marketing, creating compelling content that engages their audience and strengthens their brand.

Partners can enhance their visibility through our “Programme Directory”, showcasing various executive education programs. This directory, featuring programs from renowned institutions and industry experts, allows partners to expand their reach and connect with a global TEBR audience actively seeking executive education opportunities.

“Industry Insights” provides partners a platform to contribute insightful articles and analyses, positioning themselves as thought leaders and increasing their brand visibility. These articles cover a broad spectrum of industry topics, offering TEBR readers a valuable knowledge resource.

Finally, the “Success Stories” celebrates the remarkable achievements of individuals who have undergone transformative journeys through executive education. Partners can inspire and motivate potential learners by showcasing real-life success stories, validating their expertise and commitment to facilitating personal and professional growth.

For further information on how to partner with The European Business Review for these opportunities, please send us an email at info@europeanbusinessreview.com.

About The European Business Review

The European Business Review is an open platform for global leaders, business thinkers, and prominent scholars from Europe and around the world to showcase their unique insights and proposals for pressing and emerging business issues. Committed to giving readers unlimited access to innovative insights and smart strategies, TEBR is a growing ecosystem where everyone can discover interesting ideas and dynamic thinking that help us understand the world better daily.

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In business, understanding your clients, partners, and, perhaps most importantly, your employees can go a long way towards empowering your leadership abilities. As Warwick Business School is just launching an Executive Diploma in Behavioural Science, we talk to Tim Mullett from WBS, who explains different ways in which behavioural science can help businesses and leaders. Not just as a tool to enhance decision-making, but also to improve the well-being and productivity of a workforce.

Good day, Dr. Mullett! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us today. Are you enjoying the year so far?

“Yes, thank you, it’s been an exciting time. With COVID restrictions lifting, we have been able to get back to fully in-person teaching across all of our courses and resume work in our behavioural research labs at full capacity”.

When did your interest in behavioural science start and how natural was your integration into the field?

Mullett explains how he’s been interested in predicting and understanding behaviour for a long time as he was doing his undergraduate in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. However, the courses he took focused much more on what he calls ‘normal behaviour’ than ‘abnormal behaviour’.

A module in economic psychology changed his perspective: “It stood out to me, as it explored how everyone acts in irrational but predictable ways. Economic psychology contains endless examples and ideas of people making decisions that make no economic or financial sense when considered objectively, yet feel so intuitively right. Being forced to confront the fact that I myself had exactly the same biases and had made those exact same decisions – mistakes if you will – meant that I was immediately hooked”.

As an academic and associate professor, Dr. Mullet has primarily worked with scientific research but mentions how one of the most rewarding parts of his work has been to work with partners outside academia, among them UK financial regulators and police forces where he has helped implementing improvements using his insight in behavioural science.

Understanding how humans think and what makes them tick can be enormously helpful when running a company. How far can behavioural science improve decision-making in business?

“A good understanding of people and behavioural science is incredibly valuable. It can herald improvements across virtually every aspect of a business’s activities.”

Most businesses have consumer-facing activities, where knowledge from behavioural science can help design the best possible product, service or marketing, Mullett says. Behavioural insights can be used for negotiations and evaluations leading to more efficient agreements and less acrimony amongst the individuals or organisations involved.

But it’s not only a tool for optimising a business or making sales rates spike. Dr. Mullett says that behavioural insights can also be used to significantly improve employee happiness and well-being – which then again can be seen on the bottom line: employee happiness and well-being have productivity, innovation, and better collaboration as nice side effects, Mullett explains.

Interestingly leaders or entrepreneurs can’t choose if they want to apply behavioural insights or not: “Virtually everything a business does is some kind of behaviour and has people at the heart of it.

Therefore, there’s no route to “opt-out” of using behavioural science in your company. You are already using it, but if you don’t realise you are, then you likely aren’t using it well,” Mullett says.

The Executive Diploma in Behavioural Science is a first from Warwick Business School. What are the main components of this new programme and how will it be carried out?

“The course examines how we can apply up-to-date knowledge from behavioural science across a wide range of business and management activities. This includes understanding how consumers and individuals make investment or purchasing decisions, informing the design of marketing, user interfaces, product specifications, and more. We look at how behavioural science can inform effective leadership to foster well-being and high productivity within a workforce that has increasingly diverse skills and needs. The course also explores the ways in which potential for change can be identified amongst the noise and complexity of the real world, and monitored to ensure that it has the desired impact”.

Dr. Mullett adds that the course is held in the middle of London at The Shard and that the course gives a chance to be in close contact with senior academics and experts within behavioural science.

Warwick Business School has also invited several academics to share their expertise, most notably Nick Chater, the award-winning author of The Mind Is Flat and co-host of BBC Radio 4’s The Human Zoo. What collaborative feedback sessions do you have in store?

“We have a fantastic team of academics here at WBS. The school is unusual in having such a large number of experts and researchers in behavioural science” says before talking about one of the main draws of the course. “Professor Chater is well known for his excellent work communicating behavioural science to the public, and his fantastic writing. He also has an amazing track record of working outside of academia to apply behavioural science to real-world problems in industry and policy making”.

Actually, Mullett explains, working with real-world problems outside academia is a common theme for the academics in the course, who work with different industries, police forces, government regulators, and others. Therefore, they are able to help students apply insights from behavioural science into their everyday life in their company or organisation. After identifying areas where students can implement strategies and advice from behavioural science into their organisation, they get the chance to actually apply their new knowledge and then receive feedback from academics as a way of fine-tuning the new insights to their specific needs.

Research in 2020 by the American Psychological Association revealed that lack of job security had adverse effects on emotional stability, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. How does your programme hope to target these specific concerns?

“This is a salient example of the importance of employee well-being. It shows both the impact that an organisation can have on employee well-being and the impact that well-being can have on the overall organisation”. Mullett explains that a negative work environment and anxiety about work lead to a lack of employee efficiency. Therefore, it’s a central focus of the course to teach participants how leaders can ensure a positive environment, which supports the overall goals of an organisation or company.

What do you hope that participants take away from this programme with reference to the resilience of the human mind in the face of change?

“The main takeaway in this regard is that the human mind is incredibly resilient and adaptable when given the right environment and opportunities. When the environment, culture, or leadership is negative, then individuals tend to become risk-averse and shy away from innovation or potentially disruptive approaches. When supported, change instead becomes exciting and appealing” Mullett says adding another focal point of the course: “Innovation can now be fostered. Potential disruption becomes an opportunity. However, this requires effective leadership, incentivisation, support, and understanding”.

What kind of learning experience can students expect from this immersive programme?

Mullett explains that the programme is highly interactive where students are encouraged to engage with academics as well as their cohort. Designed with expert knowledge on how to create a productive learning environment, Mullett says the programme is structured with intensive in-person sessions where students meet world-leading academics and professionals for four challenging and highly rewarding days.

As a behavioural science professor, what three things would you say people should always consider when making important decisions?

“To understand what is and is not an “important” decision” Mullett immediately says. He advises people to remember the adage “Don’t sweat the small stuff”, an advice Mullett says can help you to dramatically reduce your stress and to focus resources on the truly important choices. “People often struggle with decisions when there is no clear better option and the two are very similar. But if they are very similar, there’s very little cost to choosing the “wrong” one. Conversely, it can be easy to underestimate the impact of some decisions, particularly if they are recurring ones, such as renewing a contract. We have a strong default bias to go with what has been done before and not pay enough attention to what might have changed”.

The second piece of advice Mullett gives is for people to ask themselves “How could I be wrong?”. He says: “Ask yourself to imagine you are sitting here in six months’ time, and things have gone wrong. Why did they go wrong?”

And the final piece of advice, is to allow space for both ‘heart’ and ‘mind’ in decision-making: “Allow yourself to consider both the rational and the emotional. If one option seems like the better one on paper and by the numbers, but you don’t feel happy with it, interrogate yourself as to why you don’t feel happy. This is important for things like choosing whether to accept a job; if you won’t feel happy, you won’t be as productive anyway”. 

The article was originally published on August 4, 2022

Executive Profile

Tim Mullett acquired his PhD at the University of Nottingham where he was researching psychology and cognitive neuroscience. He’s currently an associate professor at Warwick Business School where he is a part of the behavioural science group. Besides his academic duties at WBS and publishing in top-tier journals, he’s working with policymakers and organisations to help them implement practical insights from behavioural science. In this interview, Mullett explains how the new Executive Diploma in Behavioural Science is structured before sharing three pieces of advice to keep in mind during decision-making.

The post Understanding People: Applying Behavioural Science to Business appeared first on The European Business Review.

By seamlessly integrating coaching and executive education, organisations create a powerful synergy that nurtures exceptional leaders capable of navigating today’s global business landscape.

Introduction

Leadership coaching has been commonly used in the business world as a valuable tool to enhance the performance of leaders and the productivity of organisations. They have emerged as indispensable tools for developing strong, influential leaders across various industries. The landscape of modern business demands visionary leaders who can navigate complexities, inspire teams, and drive organisations towards success. In response to this demand, leadership coaching has gained prominence, offering personalised guidance and mentorship to individuals in leadership roles.

To truly gauge the effectiveness and impact of these programs, it’s crucial to explore their intricacies and understand how they synergise with executive education programs.

Effectiveness of Leadership Coaching Programs

Leadership coaching programs are meticulously designed to enhance leadership skills, strategic thinking, decision-making capabilities, and emotional intelligence. They provide a structured approach to leadership development, aiming to empower individuals with the tools and knowledge necessary for effective leadership.

Key Benefits

• Enhanced Self-awareness: Leadership coaching encourages individuals to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, and leadership styles, leading to heightened self-awareness. This increased self-awareness allows leaders to make more informed decisions.
• Improved Communication: Effective communication is the cornerstone of successful leadership. Coaching programs emphasise effective communication skills, enabling leaders to convey their ideas and strategies more clearly and persuasively.
• Conflict Resolution: Leaders learn strategies to manage and resolve conflicts constructively. This skill is pivotal for maintaining a healthy and productive work environment.
• Empowered Decision-making: Coaching equips leaders with the tools to make informed, timely decisions critical for business success. The ability to make sound decisions is a hallmark of effective leadership.
• Enhanced Employee Engagement: Effective leadership positively impacts employee engagement and motivation, leading to increased productivity and reduced turnover rates. Engaged employees are more likely to contribute meaningfully to the organisation’s goals.

The Role of Executive Education Programs in Leadership Coaching

Executive education programs complement traditional leadership coaching by providing a structured, comprehensive approach to leadership development. These programs, often offered by esteemed institutions, equip leaders with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in their roles. Combining the tailored guidance of coaching with structured learning from executive education can significantly enhance leadership capabilities.

Notable Executive Education Programs

• Harvard Business School – Advanced Management Program (AMP): AMP is designed for senior executives, providing an immersive learning experience to enhance leadership skills, strategic thinking, and decision-making abilities. It complements coaching by offering a broader perspective and a platform for peer learning.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business – Stanford Executive Program (SEP): SEP focuses on transforming senior executives into effective leaders capable of driving organisational change and innovation. Integrating coaching with SEP can provide personalised insights into leadership development.
• INSEAD – Transition to General Management (TGM): TGM is tailored for high-potential executives, preparing them for broader leadership roles and responsibilities. Coaching during TGM can help individuals navigate this transition effectively.
• Wharton School – Executive Development Program (EDP): EDP offers a dynamic curriculum aimed at honing leadership, strategic thinking, and business acumen. Combining coaching with EDP can provide a holistic approach to leadership development.
• London Business School – Senior Executive Program (SEP): SEP focuses on enhancing leadership capabilities, fostering innovation, and driving organisational growth. Integrating coaching into this program can facilitate a personalised leadership development plan for each participant.

Impact Assessment and Continuous Improvement

To evaluate the effectiveness of leadership coaching programs, including those integrated into executive education, a robust impact assessment strategy is crucial. Feedback mechanisms, performance evaluations, and post-program assessments provide valuable insights into the program’s success and areas for improvement.

Continuous Improvement Strategies

• Feedback Integration: Regularly collecting feedback from program participants helps identify strengths and areas for enhancement. Insights from both coaching sessions and executive education programs should be integrated for a comprehensive view.
• Adaptability: Programs should evolve to align with changing business landscapes and emerging leadership challenges. The ability to adapt and remain relevant is key to sustaining effectiveness.
• Integration of Technological Tools: Incorporating cutting-edge technologies into coaching programs can enhance engagement and effectiveness. Virtual coaching platforms and AI-powered tools can provide additional insights and support.
• Collaborative Learning: Encouraging collaboration and peer learning within coaching programs enriches the overall learning experience. Creating opportunities for knowledge sharing and peer mentoring can reinforce coaching outcomes.

Conclusion

Whether you’re an aspiring leader or an organisation seeking to future-proof your leadership, such programs can be a transformative step in your journey. Leadership coaching programs, when effectively integrated with executive education initiatives, significantly contribute to developing competent, impactful leaders. These programs empower leaders with the right skills and knowledge, enabling them to navigate the complexities of modern business environments successfully.

By continuously reviewing and improving coaching programs, organisations can ensure a steady pipeline of exceptional leaders equipped to drive growth, innovation, and sustainable success. The journey of leadership development is a dynamic one, and embracing the best of coaching and executive education paves the way for transformative leadership.

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The world of business education is an intensely competitive one, and executives looking to enhance their career prospects through appropriate training have a wide range of options. Here, Dr Gary Stockport of SP Jain School of Global Management outlines the school’s offering and gives an insight into its aim of delivering an innovative, principled business education.

Lovely to meet you, Dr Stockport! You had an impressive academic career before becoming the Dean of the EMBA and Professor of Strategy at SP Jain School of Global Management. What is your vision and strategy for the university during this challenging time?

Lovely to meet you too! The Vision of SP Jain School of Global Management (SPJ) is, and I quote: “To be an influential, futuristic international business and technology higher education institution recognised for leading innovative, principled education and applied research”. In short, SPJ wants to be at the forefront of management education and strategically intends to be an innovative first mover, whether this applies to global strategy, curriculum design, or using leading-edge technology to enrich the student experience, etc. Our school brand’s reputation is “wrapped” around this. Our EMBA “dovetails” into the school’s vision. For example, we continually innovate within the EMBA to strategically position it as one of the best EMBA programmes in the world. We also believe in CANI – constant and never-ending improvement. Sometimes, big changes can be made through the implementation of small incremental changes over time.

As one of India’s leading management schools, SP Jain takes pride in being a driver of a personal transformation journey of self-discovery. How would you sum up the “essence” of the institution and what makes it worthy of being number 12 in the Forbes List?

We are an institution that prides itself in being at the leading edge of management theory and practice. We have faculty who are world-class teachers and bring many years of applied work experience into the classroom. SPJ faculty have also published in high-quality academic journals, as well as more practitioner-oriented research outputs. In short, our faculty represents a dynamic capability which has built a distinct strategic difference for our school. This is the “essence” of the school.

SP Jain’s Executive MBA (EMBA), in particular, is a carefully crafted balance of theoretical and practical application of knowledge, with flexibility built into the design. What can participants expect from this course?

Participants can expect a truly transformational experience where they will become better general managers as well as future leaders. SPJ offers a very rich programme of learning that assists career acceleration and adaptation. The EMBA is coherently designed within a number of terms which are structured as follows: The Fundamentals of Managing; Becoming a Senior Leader; Being a Leader; Specialisations – Electives, in the areas of marketing, finance, operations and entrepreneurship. The programme culminates in students undertaking an applied strategy project which investigates a real business issue with proposed solutions for their employer. Many of the projects undertaken have proved to be of major strategic significance, for example the identification of a new product or service to help strategically position the organisation for the future.

SP Jain has become widely known for its inspiring global faculty. Could you share some insights about that, and how it leads to a more diverse experience for the students?

As mentioned earlier, SPJ prides itself on the quality of its staff. As the school has campuses based in Dubai, Singapore, Mumbai, and Sydney, the global diversity of staff is ensured. EMBA assistant deans hail from Canada, Switzerland, and India, and bring a global perspective to strategic thinking with regard to the EMBA. If I can humbly talk about myself as a specific example, I have lived and worked in the UK, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Australia (again), and the UAE, in that order. I have also consulted with over 200 private and public sector global organisations. In sum, all this enables SPJ to provide a truly global and real-world rich learning experience, which perhaps other institutions cannot readily imitate.

Talking of students, we have also learned that SP Jain has a very strong student and alumni network. How has the school managed to knit such a strong connection with everyone, and do you often organise events to promote this and keep it going?

We regularly hold networking events where current EMBA students can network with alumni. These events are held both face to face and online. A recent EMBA event held in Singapore attracted some 130+ people. Therefore, current students can find out about from alumni the “fruits” of their 18-month strategic investment, including some quantitative measures about career acceleration and adaptation. Examples have included EMBA alumni who have switched careers, such as from a corporate career to starting their own business. This is quite common.

Can you tell us more about the Engaged Learning Online (ELO) technology that powers your EMBA programme?

Our ELO technology platform mimics everything within a physical learning classroom along with having a global reach; indeed, we have students from 20+ countries attending our Global OL EMBA. This includes facilitated faculty discussion in real time, speaking, and chat using group break-out rooms. The technology is now so specific and sophisticated that you can literally see the “whites of a student’s eyes” on the screen. Students’ visual reactions to, say, questions can be clearly seen and monitored by faculty. Personally, I love teaching via a traditional classroom and through ELO.

How important do you think it is to familiarise yourself with the latest technologies in the world? What are your thoughts on artificial intelligence and metaverse? Do you think their impact will grow to different heights or eventually die down?

Students need to be aware of the latest developments, whether AI, machine learning, the Internet-of-Things, or disruptive business models, etc. All these are interwoven throughout the curriculum. This is done through analysing case studies, simulations, and bringing authoritative guest speakers into the classroom.

More than ever, corporations are valued for their contributions to social development and global sustainability. What is SP Jain’s strategy to produce the socially responsible leaders and managers of tomorrow that global corporations need?

Courses run at SP Jain EMBA specifically cover topics such as corporate governance and ethics. We recognise the need to build authentic leaders who are aware of how their decisions and actions impact upon many stakeholders, both positively and negatively. Our EMBA specifically considers climate change and the circular economy. Up-to-date ethical issues such as the recent case of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos are considered. This story is about a blood-testing product which never worked, but the company’s value “ballooned” to some US$9bn, of which Elizabeth Holmes was worth US$4.5bn, before it then “nose-dived” to literally zero. She has recently been convicted on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud, and is currently awaiting sentencing.

What would you say has been the most important element in your messaging for your future global leaders?

Global leaders are not born, but made, and doing an EMBA will significantly help (along the way). Global leaders need to have a bundle of capabilities, such as strategic thinking, critical thinking, and the ability to implement with speed, agility, and flexibility. This includes the on-going capacity to value-add for their current and future employers. Soft skills, for example the ability to present with confidence and negotiate effectively, etc., are also fundamentally important. SPJ offers a soft-skills learning framework through what it calls its ECAP (Executive Career Accelerated Program). Broadly, ECAP is divided into a number of key components: one-on-one coaching (for example, feedback on CV and LinkedIn profile), masterclass sessions delivered by C-suite executives, toastmaster club, and alumni sessions.

The university was reported to have around a 300 per cent enrolment growth amid and post pandemic. How would you characterise your experience during the pandemic? What challenges did you face as a global institution with overseas campuses, and what opportunities emerged as a result?

The worst of times can also bring out the best of opportunities. Like other institutions, COVID-19 brought very many on-going challenges to SP Jain, with individual campuses having to close, reopen, and then close again. Furthermore, teaching delivery moved from face to face to online. However, within this complex and fast-changing environment, the school was able to seize on the strategic investment it had made in ELO technology a year before COVID-19. We were therefore ideally placed for online delivery. We do not consider this to be luck, but rather good strategic judgement. SPJ had always felt that the future would likely become a blended mixture of face to face and online, but the question was always when, and what might be the ideal combination. “The jury is still out” on this one.

Why do you think more businesses are looking to upskill their employees through executive education, particularly?

Businesses appreciate the impact such training can have immediately back at the workplace. In fact, SPJ has been significantly increasing its offering in the executive-education (Ex-Ed) market space over the past two years. This includes open Ex-Ed programmes, as well as customised Ex-Ed programmes, and the school has been developing an enviable reputation within this area. Clearly, there are synergies with this development and the EMBA. For example, a participant “tastes” an Ex-Ed programme and then wants to develop themselves further through undertaking a part-time EMBA.

SP Jain has many alumni in senior positions. What, according to you, is something that sets them apart from other colleges?

Many SP Jain alumni appreciate the quality of learning they have had when studying and wish to give back to the institution as a consequence. Alumni effectively showcase our brand. They have had a “holistic” professional and personal development through undertaking the EMBA and acquired the confidence to make important strategic decisions combined with the ability to implement efficiently and effectively.

Globalisation has opened the doors for institutions of higher learning to build strong international networks and create opportunities to bridge continents in collaborative research and other global outreach programmes. You have campuses in Sydney, Mumbai, Singapore, and Dubai. How would you describe SP Jain’s global footprint today and what are your international ambitions for the future?

SPJ already has a well-established global footprint and a recognised global brand name through its Dubai, Singapore, Mumbai, and Sydney campuses. These cities are also important global financial hubs. The school is now harnessing its world-class leading-edge technology to roll out its global presence even further. While other Institutions were struggling during COVID-19, the SPJ EMBA became stronger and stronger. We now have students doing our part-time EMBA from over 20 countries.

You’ve mentioned that “India will be one of the global growth engine countries of the world over the next 30 years”. What about the region makes investment – in education or otherwise – appealing?

I believe India will become a global growth engine over the next decade. I can certainly see this from my 20 or so trips to India over the past six years. I know very well that EMBA students from India particularly value a comprehensive and challenging EMBA programme and curriculum. They want value for money from the strategic investment they make in their EMBA studies, given the money, time, and trade-offs required. Generally, they are hardworking and appreciative of receiving a world-class student experience.

As the Dean of SP Jain School of Global Management, how would you infuse tomorrow’s leadership with meaning?

I think leadership capability is developed through continual practice, day in, day out. In my view, as mentioned earlier, leaders are not born, but rather made through constant development. The SPJ EMBA gives students the knowledge, skills, and capabilities to become better general managers, as well as more effective future leaders. I believe the best way for me to emphasise this is through “showcasing” my own leadership capability, as I also have an MBA. Doing an MBA was the best strategic investment I have ever made. I try to do this through my actions each and every day and thus hopefully become a strategic leader role model for others to follow. It’s all about demonstrating experience, wisdom, and courage. There is never one right answer when we face a strategic dilemma and it’s all about making good strategic decisions based upon sound judgement. In reality, this is easier said than done. However, I feel sure that people who have an SPJ EMBA will dramatically increase the probability of a much better outcome, compared with not having one. 

This article was originally published on September 27, 2022.

Executive Profile

Dr. Gary Stockport is a Professor of Strategy, Dean Executive MBA, and the Chair of Examination Board. He currently sits as the Dean Executive MBA & Professor Strategy at SP Jain School of Global Management, Dubai, UAE. He completed his PhD in Philosophy at Cranfield School of Management, UK and MBA at University of Warwick, UK. Aside from management roles, Gary has supervised many Honours, HDR, DBA and PhD students to successful completion.

The post Training Future Leaders Through a Transformational Educational Experience appeared first on The European Business Review.

Corporate responsibility and sustainability have become key factors in today’s global business world. As society has become more aware of the environmental impact of business practices, companies have been forced to adapt to changing expectations and market demands.

Sustainable business practices, such as reducing carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, and promoting social responsibility, have become increasingly important considerations for companies seeking to maintain a competitive edge. As a result, more and more companies are embracing ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles to guide their decision-making.

The role of business leaders in driving positive change has never been more important, and pursuing an MBA can be a key step towards developing the skills and knowledge needed to make a real difference in the world.

An MBA with impact

Professor Andrew Crane is the Director of the Centre for Business, Organisations, and Society at the University of Bath School of Management. He also leads the delivery of Responsible Business on the Bath Executive MBA programme, helping professionals to develop the skills and knowledge needed to navigate sustainability challenges.

“There are so many challenges facing the world with everything from climate change and inequality to biodiversity. Business has a role in contributing to those problems, but also for solving them,” he explains.

“Contradiction in organisational priorities can be difficult for business leaders. The MBA programme can be a powerful tool to empower and liberate them to do something positive and be the changemakers in their organisations,” he adds.

The Bath MBA programmes are designed to provide students not only with an awareness of ESG issues within business, but also to equip them with the practical skills needed to tackle them. Teaching is underpinned by a deep focus on embedding sustainability and responsibility throughout both teaching and research.

“Students leave Bath, not only with a passion to enact change, but with the tools needed to effectively execute positive change throughout the duration of their management careers,” he continues.

“We try to instil the conversation of social responsibility and concern for social impact across the breadth of business, from finance and marketing to operations and HR practices. We tackle the challenges in these areas and then empower students to bring this conversation into their organisations and to have the right literacy to do so. They have the language but now they also the skills and knowledge to become as close as possible to an expert.”

Professor Crane adds: “We want our graduates to be leading employers who know how to achieve impact in their communities.”

Testimony to the School of Management’s commitment to ESG, the university was named as a top 10 global business school in the Corporate Knights MBA rankings, delivering one of the world’s most sustainable MBA programs and demonstrating a growing commitment to infuse sustainability throughout.

“The Corporate Knights ranking focuses on the sustainability credentials of the school and how they incorporate sustainability into their teaching and research,” explains Professor Crane.

“We have consistently been in the top 10 for a number of years and that’s a testament to the deep embedding of sustainability into the School of Management.”

Creating positive change for the future

Bath MBA graduate, Peter Davies, embarked on an internship with Good Energy during his MBA with University of Bath School of Management, enabling him to develop his expertise within the sustainability industry. The opportunity saw him secure a full-time position with the company working within corporate development.

Being new to the sustainability sector, Peter explains that it’s good to know that the work he is doing positively contributes to society. 

“Whether you’re looking to work within the sector of sustainability or not, sustainability is important in all aspects of management,” he says.

“Sustainability is driven by responsible leaders. Teams that really value sustainability can create and implement change that can lead a company to make amazing differences and impacts on the world.”

MBA programmes play a critical role in preparing students for tackling the sustainability challenges that they might encounter throughout their career, and teaching them to think critically about the wider impact of the work that they do.

Executive MBA student at the University of Bath, Laurent Perge, is working alongside his MBA studies to engage and support local businesses through the SET Squared programme, an initiative that works with the University of Bath to support businesses and help them grow sustainably.

“I have embraced a career in sustainability and to be able to make good changes for the people of the planet,” he says.

“The EMBA programme has helped me to reflect on my career and my leadership style. I have much more awareness about business, but also about how I lead people and how I apply the principles of good leadership to my role.”

Sustainability is good for business

A report by the United Nations Global Compact states: “More must be done by businesses globally to accelerate corporate sustainability and responsible business practice.” (UN Global Compact Strategy, 2021)

The statistics are overwhelmingly convincing too. Deloitte report that 49% of companies are developing new climate-friendly products or services; 44% are relocating or updating facilities to make them more resistant to climate impacts and an incredible 37% of companies are linking senior leader’s compensation to environmental sustainability performance.

Companies that prioritise sustainability and corporate responsibility are not only doing their part for the planet and society, but also improving their financial performance, operational stability and reputation.

There has never been a better time to pursue an MBA programme that brings these issues into sharper focus and equips leaders with the skills and knowledge to face the challenges ahead. The Bath MBA is a great place to start your journey towards becoming a leader who can make positive impacts and amazing differences in the world.

If you’re interested in finding out more about The Bath MBA, contact Becky Gallagher, Head of Admissions & Recruitment, at mbaapps@bath.ac.uk

The post The Power of Sustainability and the MBA Effect: How MBAs are Changing the World appeared first on The European Business Review.

Today’s business world is a complex, difficult-to-understand space for executives. It’s reasonable to suppose that good preparation for functioning effectively in such an environment might involve first understanding oneself. Here, Professors Goran Milenković and Steffi Weil of Antwerp Management School explain how the school’s PhD and EMBA programmes place an emphasis on personal development.

Good day, Professor Milenković and Professor Weil! Thank you for lending us your time and it’s a pleasure to speak with you both. How has the new year been treating you so far?

PROF. DR. GORAN MILENKOVIĆ: Like all international business schools, we have entered the new year with challenges due to COVID. Nevertheless, our intake numbers look good, and our operations teams, faculty, and international partners are ensuring continued delivery of onshore and offshore modules. As we speak, our EMBA team is making final preparations for participants to visit MIT in the USA in January, and the American University in Cairo in February. Our intake in Moscow is also doing well and we have just recently launched our programme in Paris. For the latter two, we are very grateful to our local partners IBS/Ranepa in Russia and ESSCA School of Management in France. 

PROF. DR. STEFFI WEIL: Thank you very much for this question. The year has started off very well. We have a lot of interesting projects in the pipeline and we have two PhD defences in January. This energises me a lot.

For 60 years and counting, Antwerp Management School has looked beyond the mere transfer of technical knowledge and imparted generations’ worth of leadership wisdom. What would you say are the cornerstones of the university’s teaching philosophy?

GM: Our motto, “Opening Minds to Impact the World”, has influenced our approach to knowledge transfer since the very beginning. As a management school, we try to nurture future leaders in both industry and the social enterprise sector. We don’t subscribe to any one individual economic or social theory. We pass on the multitude of conceptual options and views about management challenges and allow participants to make their own choices.

The AMS approach prides itself on simplicity: the better you feel as a person, the more confident you are when dealing with complicated business situations. How important is a healthy self-image when it comes to being a leader?

SW: This is an interesting question and certainly made me reflect. I am not an expert in healthy self-image but I luckily work for an organisation that puts a lot of emphasis on a healthy working environment. Healthy in the sense that we can identify with our work, that we enjoy what we are doing and that we can address issues that might become challenging. I think this kind of open working environment also has a positive impact on self-image and on leadership. To be able to discuss, reflect and brainstorm helps me to develop a positive self-image. To be able to “be who you are” makes for a good leader. A good leader is certainly not a perfect leader, but an environment which allows for mistakes and critical reflection creates good leaders.    

Antwerp Management School is the only Belgian business school to be included in the FT’s Top 100 list of Executive MBAs, consequently earning you the top spot in all of Benelux. How does it feel to gain all this recognition?

GM: Of course, it’s a great honour. We are a medium-sized business school, and the Benelux is a small geographic space. To be recognised on a par with, or even better than other global institutions is flattering. Overall, we are ranked number 45 in the group of global EMBAs, but on our specialities, such as international diversity or ESG/CSR, we score in the top quintile.

Executives who have successfully completed the EMBA programme describe it as “transformative” and “career-changing”. Do you recall a particular student’s success story or the career paths of some of your participants?

GM: Our participants are typically 35-45 years old. They are mature individuals with 15-plus years of practical experience. All are professionally successful. Deciding to do a degree programme at that stage of one’s life means that it is not just about acquiring additional knowledge. There is also an inner need to better understand oneself in order to correctly shape the next stages of one’s career. That is why our programme includes an extensive personal development portfolio. In addition to the usual array of psychometric tests and individual coaching that are quite common nowadays, we are fortunate to have our own NeuroTraining Lab. For example, our participants don’t just discuss the links between personality types and leadership styles. In our lab, they observe their own brain activity and recognise the influence of their own subconscious reactions in different situations, such as stress, conflict, and so on. This combination of soft and hard insights really improves personal effectiveness and communication. For many, it is a real eye-opener and helps clarify personal ambitions and understanding of themselves. In our last survey, 78 per cent of participants said that they had achieved their goals for doing an EMBA within three years of graduation.

With AMS now holding the highest ranking ever achieved by a Belgian business school with its EMBA, what would you say are the programme’s unique features and highlights? The Positive Impact Project, for example, is a unique way of stimulating global challenges.

GM: Besides the core subjects present in all EMBA programmes, such as strategy, leadership, finance, and so on, we pay special attention to the transitional challenges of global business, including environmental, societal, and governance issues. The latter is not positioned as a corporate responsibility, but rather as a deeply personal one. Future-oriented managers understand that responsible leadership is as much about ESG-related actions as it is about consistent behaviour. Our programme has ESG elements incorporated in every course and, on top of that, we ask our participants to do a hands-on Positive Impact Project. We are inspired by the notion that business and sustainability are not conflicting viewpoints. Rather, the world is still discovering how to combine the two. In total, we devote about 150 teaching hours to ESG-related topics and about 80 hours on fieldwork. Some participants focus on their local communities or their workplace. Others have crossed borders and even continents. We had participants working on initiatives reducing poverty, supporting the development of alternative energy sources, working in prisons, building schools, changing agroforestry, tutoring children, or assisting single parents. This is not charity work. It pushes every student to seriously go outside their comfort zone, but use their talents, management experience, and knowledge to find opportunities to bring business and ESG closer together. Every project proposal is carefully reviewed and finally evaluated by a mixed panel. And the emphasis is always on ensuring both short-term and long-term impact. 

Aside from its Executive MBA programmes, AMS also offers a PhD programme for executives? Professor Weil, in your role as academic director of the PhD programme, can you explain the programme to us?

SW: Yes, of course, with pleasure. I love talking about the PhD programme, because it gives me so much joy to witness how our PhD candidates engage in this life-changing project with us. But first things first – what is the PhD programme for executives? It is a four-year programme that supports and guides executives/managers to obtain a PhD degree. A PhD degree is a doctoral degree, the highest academic title one can receive. Our programme runs in close collaboration with the University of Antwerp. This means that our PhD candidates enjoy the full service of Antwerp Management School while being able to receive a fully fledged PhD degree from the University of Antwerp. To obtain a PhD is a life-changing experience and we are very proud to offer a programme to senior executives who aim to fulfil their dream with us. Our program is tailor-made around their needs. To hold an executive position in industry is challenging and to write a PhD alongside it is even more challenging. We aimed to turn this challenge into a opportunity. We see a senior leading position as an enabler to conduct research, to publish and to successfully graduate with a PhD degree. We have witnessed that a structured curriculum that educates our candidates in research and writing skills leads to success. The programme is now running in its fifth year and we can honestly say that our bespoke programme really works. We are immensely proud to call our graduates from all over the world “Doctor”! The degree itself, of course, opens new doors, not only intellectually but also career-wise and on a personal level. To be able to celebrate these successes with our candidates and to have the honour to get to know them personally during the four-year journey gives me a lot of positive energy. I am also lucky to be surrounded by a strong team that supports the candidates during this exciting PhD journey. 

Professor Milenković, you’ve mentioned that in order to fully step into a leadership position, you may need to lose attachment with certain functions of the model to welcome a broader sense of understanding the bigger picture. For people intimidated by the volume of knowledge needed to start a business, how would you encourage them to take that leap of faith? 

GM: An EMBA is a “generalist” programme and designed for professionals wanting to move beyond the confines of a single function or specialised occupation. Moving out of the “cosiness” of being an expert in a particular domain to becoming a general manager can be daunting. But that does not mean that everyone needs to be an expert in everything. The EMBA gives one the tools to analyse and rationalise, to understand the jargon of multiple functions, and to know what to ask if you don’t understand something. All general managers go through this “functional detachment” process. And an EMBA is the quickest way to learn how to do it.

What are the principal benefits that executive education has to offer in the post-COVID environment?

GM: COVID has brought a massive change to the way business is done, the way customers behave, and the way managers need to lead. I like to compare it to league football. We had sunshine for a while and now, due to the pandemic, it is raining continuously. The fact that it is raining does not mean we stop training or playing football. We must adapt how we train and what skills we train for. We already see that what is considered “good leadership practice” is different when you cannot meet your colleagues face-to-face. For example, our experience confirms that informal leaders in virtual teams are elevated to that position not by demonstrating traits of “a good leader prototype”, such as charisma, but rather by helping the dispersed team to be efficient and being a worker bee themselves. We also see that company cultures are changing. I live in Germany and, two years ago, you needed written permission to work from home. Now you must get permission to come to the office. In that situation, how does one pass on a company culture or work ethic, which is often instilled by replications, to new recruits who have never seen a colleague at work? There are answers. But they are different from what we have been teaching during the BC (“before COVID”) era. 

Professor Weil, as an expert in Global Political Economy it must be difficult to witness how the global arena has changed. As Academic Director of the China-Europe Business Master, would you be able to share your perspective on the current global political economy?

SW: Yes indeed it is difficult to witness how political and economic protectionist behaviour is rising. It is especially sad to watch how China has closed its borders to the outside world. This has implications not only for global supply chains but also for global politics. China remains a strong global player, an important stakeholder for international investments and global politics. The international community aims to have a two-tier approach: to remain open to China as a global economic actor, while addressing sensitive political issues in a relatively open manner. Yet, if I am very honest from an academic perspective, the current situation allows me to address very interesting research topics. We have learned that we cannot take liberalism or even democratic rights for granted. We should remain critical and learn how to ask different questions. We also address the new challenges and questions in our programmes. We have integrated new exciting topics on supply chain, global trade and the role of multiple international stakeholders into our lectures. It is exciting to discuss new questions that arise with our students and executive candidates.  

What are the biggest challenges you have encountered in handling multicultural groups and addressing the varying needs of business leaders across different industries? How do you overcome them?

GM: Our typical cohort is very mixed. We have on average 15-20 nationalities, with people coming from 20-30 industries. Around 40 per cent are women. This is a wonderful opportunity to listen to each other and discover each other’s views and experiences. I really believe that about half of the knowledge gained during our programme comes from participant interaction and learning from each other. Of course, we also have interesting discussions outside the classroom, especially during or after joint dinners. Views are many and widely varied. In addition, we spend about 20-25 days abroad during study visits to top academic institutions in Asia, Europe, the USA, and Africa. While there, our students have joint sessions with EMBA counterparts and experience teaching styles different from ours. This creates a wonderful and, I would even say, sparkling learning environment. But overall, I’m always pleasantly surprised how relationships grow over time and how people from different backgrounds and cultures are brought together through learning and, by graduation time, start treating each other not as colleagues but as members of an extended family.

SW: That is a very good question. In the executive PhD programme, there are lesser challenges, because the research of our candidates benefits from different perspectives and cultures. A number of our PhD candidates even conduct research on multicultural aspects. Yet, of course, there are challenges when working in a very international environment such as ours. We have students from all over the world. We are very much aware of this and we educate our students and staff on multicultural differences. In our Global Leadership Skills track, we work with our students on self-awareness, on how to become global leaders and global citizens, and societal consciousness. In COVID times, skills like this are particularly helpful and crucial. The biggest challenge was when the students enjoyed their semester in China when the Chinese government decided to lock down the country. Thanks to our international network and our strong coaching and Global Leadership Skills team, we were able to bridge cultural differences even during this constraining period. The students grew stronger as a team. There was great mutual understanding in a situation where students from multiple backgrounds were locked up together in student housing. 

It takes a certain level of commitment to pursue a postgraduate degree. How do you make sure that the participants and their organisations gain the highest return on their investment in terms of knowledge acquisition, career advancement, long-term profitability for the business, and other measures of ROI for executive education?

GM: There is no way around it – doing an EMBA is a serious investment, in both time and money. The ROI should exceed the total opportunity cost. We strongly encourage all students to make every effort and to use assignments and projects to solve their own company-related challenges. At the same time, we take a holistic view to ROI; that is, we value equally monetary and non-monetary returns. Of course, it is not easy to measure non-financial impact. We find that the best indicator of a positive ROI is word-of-mouth recommendations by employers. We are very happy with the fact that over 80 per cent of our participants have partial or full employer backing, when it comes to fees and study time. So, obviously, employers do see a positive ROI.

As the Academic Director of Antwerp Management School’s EMBA, what do you find the most exciting when it comes to nurturing the mind of an eager student? 

GM: For me personally, the biggest reward is the “twinkle in the eye” of a student that I see when a discussion or comment has made them think about a topic in a way other than what they are used to.

What will future participants in the EMBA programme be most interested in learning from it, in order to prepare them for this new world?

GM: The world is ever-changing. The role of leaders is ever-changing. I’m a great believer in William Gibson’s adage that the future is already here, but that it’s unevenly distributed. We hope that our EMBA programme will continue to bring  some of that future to our participants in more ways than one.

What can we expect to see from Antwerp Management School in 2022?

GM: For our EMBA programme, the biggest addition will be the start of a fully fledged cohort in Paris. For our school, however, a big step will be finalising preparations for Triple Crown accreditation and joining the 1 per cent of business schools that have achieved this distinction.

SW: A lot of exciting things! In the last two years, we have managed the COVID crisis quite well. This very unique situation also led to more innovation. We are excited to further develop and implement our projects on sustainable transformation and internationalisation. You will see exciting new teaching and learning aspects, more PhD candidates who will graduate, and new hybrid international short programmes where we aim to combine our domestic and international ecosystem and expertise.  

The article was first published on January 30, 2022.

Executive Profile

Prof. Dr. Goran Milenković, Goran Milenković is Professor of International Business and Academic Director of the AMS EMBA Portfolio. Prior to joining AMS, he spent 30 years collaborating with blue-chip companies such as DHL, Deutsche Post, Henkel, Stihl, and the American Management Association. He holds a DBA from the Henley Management College, a master’s degree from the American University in Beirut, and a BS from Belgrade University.

Prof. Dr. Steffi Weil, Stefanie Weil is Associate Dean for International Outreach & Academic Director (and Professor) of Antwerp Management School. Before she started her academic career in 2007, she worked as managing director in various consulting companies in Germany, France and the UK. Prior to her current posts, she held positions of research fellow at the Brussels Institute for Contemporary China Studies (BICCS) and was Head of Business Department and Associate Dean at the Vesalius College/Free University Brussels. Moreover, she has worked as a research follow at Tong Ji University in Shanghai. She is specialised in international political economy and China’s foreign policies. She has published on comparative politics across China, the European Union and the United States, on lobbying in China, and on comparative Western-Chinese political concepts.

The post Top Executive Education featuring Antwerp Management School: Opening Minds to Impact the World appeared first on The European Business Review.

With the onset of the global pandemic, academic institutions have quickly responded to the hugely increased demand for both training in and research into supply chain management. One institution determined to provide real value to the industry in this regard is the University of Tennessee. Ted Stank of the Global Supply Chain Institute tells us more.  

Good day, Mr Stank. Thank you for lending us some of your time. You’ve had a long career, starting with your time in the United States Navy through nearly three decades in marketing, logistics, and supply chain roles at American universities. What was the path like to your current position at the University of Tennessee?  

I started out as an operations officer in the United States Navy, serving on a guided missile frigate (a kind of small destroyer), first as an engineering officer responsible for all the auxiliary equipment on the ship: electrical system, fresh water, high- and low-pressure air – basically everything mechanical and electrical, except for the main propulsion system. Later, I was a fire control and ordnance officer, responsible for all the weapons systems on the ship.

In one deployment to the Persian Gulf in 1985, when Iran and Iraq were at war, my ship was responsible for the safe transit of US-flagged oil tankers in and out of the Gulf. Both combatants were blowing up tankers to try to prevent the cash flow to the other. Then our missile launcher went down. My team found the part that was broken and where it was in the Navy supply system, only to discover that it had a hold on it, and we could not get it for weeks (or months). Ultimately, unable to fulfil our mission without it, we had to appeal to a higher authority to get it released. It was then that I realised that unless you had the “stuff” you needed from the supply chain, you would not be successful in fulfilling your mission. 

After I left the Navy, I went to work for Abbott Laboratories Diagnostic Division (or ADD), selling hospital diagnostic equipment and chemical reagents used for blood testing. Abbott revolutionised the diagnostic testing industry in the early 1980s by introducing an analyser that automated testing for several therapeutic drugs. Previously, that had been executed through labour-intensive processes. As a result, ADD had a considerable market share ownership. However, when I went to work for the company, others like Dupont, Kodak, and Baxter Travenol had entered the business and cut into market share. While I was with ADD, the company developed a new business strategy called ADD-ed Value, which focused on both the product and the delivery service we could offer, including 24-hour delivery of reagents (chemicals). This way, lab managers would not have to keep tabs as closely on their inventory and could reduce inventory levels, knowing that they could be replenished in a day or less if supplies ran low. This notion of service as a competitive advantage stuck with me when I left Abbott and enrolled in the doctoral programme at the University of Georgia.  

At UGA, I met a young faculty member named Dr Patricia Daugherty, whose expertise was in logistics strategy. She helped me formalise my focus on using logistics service as a competitive tool. The rest is history. I spent my early career working with companies to explore how to utilise logistics capabilities to improve delivery service and engender a competitive advantage. 

When I got to Michigan State University and later to the University of Tennessee, the industry was moving toward integrated systems thinking among planning, sourcing, making, and delivering operations to form an integrated end-to-end supply chain. Tom Mentzer recruited me to UT to help evolve the logistics programme and convert it into an integrated supply chain programme. Over the last 20 years, I’ve worked with the excellent faculty we’ve recruited to UT and top companies that partner with us to explore best practices in the broader supply chain, and how, if managed correctly, it can impact revenue increases through improved service, profit through reduced costs, and asset turnover through improved inventory management.  

We’ve seen an increased interest in supply chain and logistics courses in the US with the increased exposure the industry received throughout the pandemic. Have you observed a shift in interest or knowledge about supply chain management in your classrooms at UT?  

There has been a tremendous increase in recognition of the importance of supply chains among the public over the last three years. Mainly, they’ve been a source of pain for consumers when they break down. The number of interviews I do with media outlets has increased tenfold. And when I tell people what I do, they at least recognise the phrase. I do think that has created greater interest among students. 

But frankly, our growth as a programme at UT started more than a decade ago. When I first came to UT, logistics was the fourth-largest major in the business college. Today, supply chain management – what our logistics major evolved into – is the largest major at the university and across all higher education institutions in Tennessee. That is due to the number of partners who recruit our students into great careers.  

Not too long ago, we ran a survey with first-year undergrads. Their impression of supply chain management was that it prepared them to be truck drivers (not to denigrate truck drivers – they are essential to our economy and quality of life). But now I think students and their parents have a broader understanding of supply chain management and why it is increasingly important to private and public enterprises and society in general.   

While the university can trace its expertise in supply chain back to the 1930s, it was in 2011 that UT officially created its Executive MBA in Global Supply Chain (EMBA-GSC), with a curriculum adapted to the changing needs of the industry. How has the programme continued to evolve to cater to modern-day demands as the pandemic wanes? 

While the bedrock concepts of best practices in supply chain management have not changed considerably since the EMBA programme launched, there have been several emerging trends that we have had to work into the curriculum to keep up with changing times.   

These include: 

• Increasing applications of digitalisation and automation across supply chain activities; 
• Growing geopolitical and natural disruptions that cause supply chains to become more regional, as opposed to pan-global; 
• New skill sets that make talent development critical to success in the digital and cross-cultural world; 
• A critical shortage of talent, making recruitment a more strategic undertaking;  
• Considerations around when and where to automate; 
• A heightened focus on social and environmental issues, such as diversity, inclusion, and sustainability

Universities emphasise producing academic research. But, through the Global Supply Chain Institute, you and other faculty members have developed close relationships with the industry. Do you see academic research translating into industry practice? And how do participants utilise research methodologies and tools from their graduate studies in their professional lives?  

This is a hot button for me. If structured correctly by business faculty who understand the needs and are comfortable working with industry partners, research should be theoretically and methodologically rigorous. It should also be relevant to industry to help overcome challenges and improve performance. It is a cop-out for business academia to adhere to norms that suggest this is not the case. On the whole, a business school should produce knowledge generated from research that furthers both theory and practice. I completely refute those who believe the two are mutually exclusive.   

Our Advanced Supply Chain Collaborative is an exemplar of the potential of this belief. Each year, up to 20 faculty and PhD students engage 10-12 of our partners in collaborative research projects that yield results adapted and applied by those partners and published in various outlets by our faculty. These research projects inform cutting-edge curricula in our classrooms, including the EMBA in Global Supply Chain.  

There’s also been a spotlight on the importance of developing soft skills in executive education. Several US universities, influenced by the pandemic, have pivoted their curriculums to concentrate more on things like risk management, data management, and production reshoring. Has the university taken a similar approach? 

Well, yes. But I don’t consider those soft skills. They’re core supply chain knowledge and practice areas taught in our supply chain programmes for years.    

Our focus in the EMBA is to hone those skills and provide our students with the strategic and financial skills to communicate the benefits of world-class supply chain management to the C-suite and, further, to take their seats in the C-suite to direct the business into a future dependent upon best-in-class supply chain management for its success.  

Supply chain management is at an inflection point. It’s becoming harder for organisations to find people with the right skills to match. What kind of insights into logistics and distribution does the programme give students, and how can graduates use these in the workforce?  

First, a word of caution: supply chain management is not logistics and distribution. Logistics and distribution are vital parts of the supply chain, but there is much more to the discipline. 

Supply chain management spans boundaries. It facilitates an organisation’s ability to plan for and secure the resources needed to create and deliver everything from jellybeans to skyscrapers. This stretches from growing food, digging minerals out of the ground, or creating molecules in a lab, to delivering finished goods to consumers anywhere in the world. And it’s equally important to get packaging material and used products back into the value stream.   

Supply chains represent three of the four ways that organisations create economic value. These four value-adds include:   

• Determining customer wants or needs and what they are willing to exchange to get them filled (this is the responsibility of marketing and sales); 
• Creating the right product or service to fill the want or need;  
• Getting the product or service to the customer at the right time;  
• Bringing it to the place where they want to consume it.  

The last three are all the responsibility of supply chain management to plan, source, make, and deliver on the promise of the exchange. 

Our programme provides students with broad knowledge of how to manage, plan, source, make, and deliver operations as an integrated system and gives them the senior leadership skills in strategy and financial management to use their knowledge to guide the firm toward a successful future. 

How do you think that supply chain professionals are uniquely poised to see the future? And what do they see that other disciplines may not? 

First, most of the cost, human resources, and working capital in any operating firm lie within the purview of supply chain managers. 

Second, no other functional area in the firm is educated or structured to view firm operations as an integrated whole, seeking to optimise system performance rather than isolated functional performance. 

Third, no other functional area works both downstream, with customers and customer networks, and upstream, with service and goods suppliers, extending the system perspective to include the entire value chain.  

Finally, supply chain management, if done well, has a greater opportunity to significantly impact economic value added (EVA) than any other function, due to its impact on revenue, cost and margin, and assets. 

What is your high-level view of the supply chain field today – particularly from the perspective of executive education – and how do you see it evolving over the next five years? 

Executives with supply chain management expertise are increasingly finding their way into the C-suite. Firms recognise that, in the emerging world order, managing regional supply chains, dealing with massive instability in demand and supply, addressing talent shortages – and the skills possessed by supply chain managers equipped with best-in-class knowledge – are the key to their success. 

Much as finance and marketing expertise were the keys to senior-level leadership over several decades, supply chain management will be the key to C-suite leadership in the next 10-30 years.  

What advice would you give someone considering applying to the University of Tennessee’s EMBA-GSC programme?  

Our programme is designed for managers with 10-15 years of experience who want to broaden their knowledge base of end-to-end supply chain management and hone their skills in senior leadership traits like strategy, leadership, and finance.  

We have other educational offerings at UT that provide greater depth in supply chain areas; the EMBA is for people looking to move into positions of greater overall business responsibility. 

Now, if this description fits you, I’ll say this. Get ready for a year of tremendous growth and a new network of friends and partners. It won’t be easy, but join us if you want a transformational experience. After graduating 10 classes and over 150 executives who can attest to that statement, I can guarantee it. 

And finally, as someone who’s achieved notable distinctions in university education and supply chain leadership, what would you describe as success? 

Everyone must assign success for themselves. My mission is to positively impact other scholars, students, and organisations through my scholarship while maintaining a healthy work/life balance. I seek to implement this by creating effective teams and empowering others to achieve their full potential. 

Throughout my career, I have focused on doing work that makes a difference. As a result, I have never been overly influenced by goals like publishing another article or winning a teaching award (although that recognition is both satisfying and validating). My greatest satisfaction has come from seeing the knowledge I’ve generated and conveyed to others put to work to deliver results. This ultimate measure of impact has come in four forms:   

• Conducting scholarly research regarding the use of supply chain management to create organisational value;  
• Using the knowledge generated from my scholarship to work directly with organisations to make changes that yield value creation;  
• Disseminating knowledge generated through scholarship to students (at all levels), thus helping them create value for their organisations as well as themselves; 
• Facilitating the success of my academic colleagues and PhD students. 

Executive Profile

Theodore P. (Ted) Stank is a professor of supply chain management and co-faculty director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He leads the Advanced Supply Chain Collaborative, a joint initiative between UT and leading Fortune 500 partner firms focused on better understanding innovative applications in SCM. 

The post Supply Chain Management – Greater EVA Potential than Any Other Function appeared first on The European Business Review.

At ESMT we cannot teach modern digital business without using these modern digital techniques, something that makes the Global Online MBA a properly global experience as well as incredibly relevant to your everyday working life. But it would be simplistic just to leave our teaching in the virtual environment, while the internet opens doors, face-to-face interaction often seals the deal.

Today, more students than ever are keen to combine the flexibility of remote learning with the networking elements of the on-campus experience, and the new curriculum of the Global Online MBA has folded this face-to-face opportunity into our teaching.  

ESMT Berlin’s Global MBA enables professionals from all over the world to access innovative learning tools and draw knowledge from leading minds without leaving their home office.  

And, alongside the flexibility to study anywhere in the world, lies the opportunity to draw first-hand experience at the heart of one of Europe’s most exciting business hubs. 

What is the Berlin Experience Week?

An optional elective of the Global Online MBA, the Berlin Experience Week allows students to come to Berlin to meet their fellow classmates and professors, network in person and take advantage of lectures and company visits in the German capital.  

The optional, for-credit, elective module, engages students in highly interactive sessions focused on key developments in the German and global economy with a particular emphasis on Industry 4.0, Germany’s Hidden Champions, and the Berlin startup scene. 

For Rebecca Loades, ESMT’s Director of MBA programs, the in-person module is a unique opportunity for those interested in learning more about Berlin, arguably the largest start-up economy in Europe.  

“During the Berlin Experience Week we welcome you here at ESMT Berlin, we talk about doing business in Germany, take you out visit some companies to really get a sense of what doing business in Germany is like”, she explains.  

The week comprises a mixture of academic sessions, off site company visits, team-building events, and a lively social program to help build on the virtual relationships developed over the previous modules. 

The cost of participation as well as all other academic provision is included in the program fee, and all students must have completed Module 0 and at least two other core modules to be eligible to take part in the course, which runs on multiple occasions throughout the year. 

What do students say about the Experience Week? 

The first Berlin Experience Week took place from 11-17 July 2022, in what Canadian student Patrick Gall found to be an invaluable extension of his studies.  

“It’s a great opportunity for networking with students and other professionals at ESMT,” says Gall, a student network facilitator at the University of British Colombia. “Networking is crucial in business and it’s incredibly important if you want to progress.  

“Being able to connect with individuals that might be potential future partners is very beneficial and having that face-to-face connection really solidifies a strong relationship that can then be taken to the online world.” 

For fellow student Justina Geneviciute, from Lithuania, the experience has ignited a passion for German business.

“Berlin is a startup hub for Europe, so it gave me a lot of energy and a lot of inspiration,” she says. “It’s such a cool city and it was an opportunity to see if I could launch my own startup here.”  

As well at Berlin start-ups, Geneviciute and her classmates studied Industry 4.0, which focuses on smart automation and interconnectivity, and Germany’s Hidden Champions, which are highly successful privately owned companies whose names are practically unknown, even in Germany. 

“The experience has equipped me with data analytics skills, economics skills and knowledge of learning theories,” she says. “It was a lot of new information and I hope I can apply it in the future.” 

For Geneviciute’s classmate Ayaka Nogaku, from Japan, the Berlin Experience Week was a stepping stone to her new job in Germany, which she started in October. 

“The Global Online MBA helped me to be more confident working in an international environment,” she says.  

“We explored the beautiful city, we learned a lot about Germany and we’ve learned skills that we can apply to our work.” 

For Nogaku, who started the course while working in Tokyo, meeting her peers was a particular highlight, after studying together online for ten months. 

“Because it’s an online MBA, I thought I would feel more alone, but really we’re like a global family and finally we were able to meet,” she says. “It really felt like we’d been friends for a long time.”  

Klaus Bernauer was able to welcome his fellow classmates having travelled one of the shorter distances to attend.  

“I feel energized after an exciting week of studies and learnings at ESMT Berlin with my colleagues from all across the globe. I really enjoyed learning new histories and exchanging experiences.  

We also had the opportunity to meet Lars-Hendrik Röller who gave us an amazing lecture about uncertainties and what challenges he faced as head of the economic and financial departments during Chancellor Angela Merkel’s term.” 

Lucy Wanjiku Mutinda spoke about the curriculm specifics she learned on the program.  

“Being an ESMT student is humbling! Leading school with top-notch faculty and a combination of high-level experts for classmates! Mind-blowing applicable methodologies on growing a hidden champion firm. SME with a niche market, specialization, and ca.70% dominance!” 

Alassane Diagne found the week very valuable at getting his creative juices flowing.  

“As a manager, an entrepreneur, and eternal learner, the Berlin Experience Week I had at ESMT Berlin with my peers of the Global Online MBA was definitely one of the most inspiring times of my career so far. 

I succeeded in many areas and failed in so many others. But the only constant is that I always learn and get back on track or move stronger, faster, and better. 

Ideas, projects, and links are swirling around in my head, and I can’t wait to bring them to reality.” 

How do I apply?

Currently, ESMT Berlin is the only top 10 ranked European business school offering a fully online Global Online MBA. The program is designed to teach you everything that a modern decision-maker needs to be a successful leader. Technology and innovation are at the core of this highly flexible program that leads to a globally-recognized, triple-accredited ESMT Berlin MBA. 

• Earn a triple-accredited, globally-recognized, ESMT Berlin MBA degree (60 ECTS). 
• Learn everything a modern decision-maker needs to be a successful leader. 
• Highly flexible 24-month program with three intake dates (January, May or September) 
• Option to complete the program within five years. 
• Online delivery through the world’s most innovative learning platform, the Hub. 

Designed for professionals with a minimum of three years of postgraduate work experience, ESMT’s Global Online MBA is structured to expand the business knowledge of students around their current roles.  

Candidates should have an undergraduate degree or equivalent with a good level of English.  

Admissions for January and May 2023 intakes are now open. Visit degrees.esmt.berlin/gomba to start your application.  

The post Online or on Campus? Germany’s Top Business School ESMT Berlin Offers the Best of Both Worlds with its Global Online MBA appeared first on The European Business Review.

Chengwei Liu is the faculty lead of the Global Online MBA and is an associate professor of strategy and behavioural science at ESMT. Rebecca Loades is the director of ESMT’s MBA programmes. Both believe in the transformational power of education and, in this article, they share what makes the Global Online MBA unique.

Prof Liu says the motivation behind the program was to enable more students to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of ESMT’s world-class faculty so that they can have greater impact in their professional lives.

An innovative program for the innovators of the future

A part-time MBA is often taken by people who would already be busy enough without additional study demands — ambitious people ready to invest in themselves and accelerate their professional development. That’s why ESMT has structured its online MBA in a highly flexible way, where students can access the majority of the material online at a time that suits them. To add extra flexibility, the MBA can be taken over a period of up to five years.

While there are other flexible MBAs online, what makes the ESMT Berlin Global Online MBA stand out is the design of the programme.

Loades says: “We have structured the programme very differently from our competitors. Each module has been developed to address business challenges in an integrated approach.”

For example, core modules will enable students to make better decisions, to understand more about their organisation or market, and to create strategic advantage.

Since students are doing their MBA part-time while working, they can immediately apply what they’ve learned,  Loades says.

Or, as Prof Liu puts it, they “can apply whatever they learn to actual business challenges in real time.”

And students can expect more from the online programme than just watching videos. Loades says: “We’ve created an impactful learning environment. Every moment has been developed with intention, and to maximise learning.” Faculty at ESMT work closely with learning designers to optimise the learning journey and create a blend of independent study, interactive exercises, and group work.

Working in teams is an important and essential feature of the online MBA, With students coming from more than 45 different countries, teamwork takes place virtually and offers a rich and psychologically-safe environment to develop virtual communication and leadership skills.  The combination of learning about effective virtual communication and digital leadership, and applying that knowlege is powerful and very relevant to how we work today.

A unique curriculum

Aside from a unique structure, the content and curricula of the course also stand out, Prof Liu says. The professors teaching in the Global Online MBA are the same world-class faculty as teach in our other MBA programmes.  Students are therefore learning from thought leaders.

And to ensure that our courses include the latest research, they are reviewed and updated after each iteration.

To help understand the integrated approach taken by ESMT Berlin, consider the module Making Wiser Decisions Under Uncertainty. Upon completion, students will be able to apply quantitative techniques to decision making, address organisational issues that can prevent effective decision making, and holistically evaluate the implications of managerial decision making.

As Loades frames it, students are investing personally and psychologically in the program and they deserve a world-class experience.  After all, by choosing to study while working, students are choosing to reallocate time away from other things in their lives. One way ESMT ensures the investment is worthwhile is through ongoing programme development. Feedback is requested throughout the programme and used to inform improvements and updates for the following class.

An online MBA for online leadership

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of online learning. We were all forced to become comfortable with technology-mediated interactions and barriers to adoption were lowered.

“This almost overnight shift to hybrid work demonstrated that managing people and teams remotely requires a different skillset.  Students in the Global Online MBA program develop that muscle from day one.  Virtual collaboration is at the heart of the program and one of the first courses studied, Global Virtual Teams, has been designed to help students improve communication and leadership skills when interacting in mainly, or exclusively, virtual environments” – Rebecca Loades

While the MBA can be taken fully online, students can join us for Experience Weeks. This July, two-thirds of the first cohort came to Berlin, and Loades says it was as if “they had known each other for years”. To Loades and Prof Liu, it’s evidence that meaningful connections are being forged throughout the programme.

That shows in the way the students work together. While ESMT makes sure to arrange both professional and social gatherings, the students spontaneously and voluntarily do the same. For example, students support each other through voluntary tutoring sessions to help their classmates understand principles and concepts.

Diversity and accessibility as a key to a successful MBA

Diversity and accessibility are at the core of Loades’ and Liu’s approach to designing a successful online MBA in a number of ways.

Loades shares that they price the programme in an accessible way to ensure the broadest-possible inclusion. To make sure every student can join live sessions, every session is offered twice, so they cater to every time zone and no one feels left out. Besides that, ESMT Berlin has invested in online education technology, so that the insights and programmes from ESMT can be shared as widely as possible.

These efforts have resulted in a highly diverse and international learning environment with ambitious students from all around the world, stretching from Vancouver to Sydney.

And, according to Prof Liu and Loades, the diverse environment is helping students massively. As Prof Liu says: “It really excites me how diverse our students are. And it definitely benefits the programme as well as the students that people from all over the world join.” Loades adds that being exposed to the perspectives and values of different cultures is helping their students prepare for international careers as they work together and navigate the challenges global teams can expect to experience.

Corporate partnerships also allow for a diversity of nationalities and purposes. Prof Liu and Loades tell of their partnership with the BMW Foundation, which helps ESMT offer ten scholarships to displaced women from Ukraine to study for the global online MBA – upskilling that they can eventually take back to Ukraine to help rebuild the country.

Another partnership that ESMT has made to diversify its programme is with Allianz Insurance, which sponsors 10 students each year, of which seven are social entrepreneurs that get their global online MBA sponsored.

On success

Most people, if not all, starting an MBA or even thinking about starting one are people who have a high drive toward success in their professional life. So we conclude by sharing how Loades and Liu define success.

Loades says that, for her, success is “when I see our students transform through their learning and development. Because I think education is unique in its ability to genuinely transform lives. And seeing our students do that, that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.”

Prof Liu says: “I have a very short answer. Helping others to succeed. That’s it.”

The post How to Create a Successful Global, Online MBA: The Case of ESMT Berlin’s Online MBA appeared first on The European Business Review.

Good day, Mr Shamdasani! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us. Perhaps we can start with you sharing a few words to give us a sense of NUS Business School as an institution, as the banner behind you describes it as “APAC’s most established Executive MBA”.

For over 50 years, I’m proud to say that NUS Business School has a proven track record of successfully developing leaders and has consistently offered rigorous, relevant, and rewarding business education to outstanding participants across the globe.

Our NUS Executive MBA is distinctive for offering the best global business knowledge with deep Asian insights, preparing participants to lead Asian businesses to international success and helping global businesses succeed in Asia. We happen to be celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, a milestone event we’re incredibly proud of.

The NUS Business School and NUS EMBA experience is ranked among the best in Asia and Asia Pacific. What makes the programme truly special?

This is the Asian century, and about 60 percent of global GDP will come from the Asia-Pacific. I genuinely believe that, as a programme, we have consistently delivered on our brand promise of a rigorous global EMBA programme, and our Asian focus within a global framework is how we can differentiate our programme from other MBA programmes. With a strong focus on providing thought leadership, frameworks and tools, business insights, and experiential and immersive learning experiences in Asia-Pacific, participants can expect a rich array of content, including case studies, guest speakers, and company visits to key destinations around the region.

Having spent more than 50 per cent of their time outside of Singapore, participants will leave with the proper knowledge, competencies, and networks to lead both global and Asian organisations to compete effectively in Asia and globally. So, whether you see your future as a professional or an entrepreneur, if it’s in Asia, this is an excellent programme for you.

Participants of the NUS EMBA programme come from a diverse range of backgrounds, from across the region. Can you tell us more about the diversity you see in the classroom, and how this enriches the learning experience?

With each cohort, we would like to see diversity in all aspects. We look at cultural, professional, and geographical diversity. We also look at the experience profile of the executives and how they will be able to contribute to the class. Because we often encourage peer learning and peer sharing, I find that leveraging almost 800 years of experience per cohort and having a diverse, experienced class adds richness to the conversations and overall learning experience for the participants. This approach allows them to enhance their ability to successfully lead people, teams, and organisations with the myriad perspectives of business and culture they have gained from fellow participants.

The NUS Executive MBA is the only programme that comprises immersive learning experiences across seven APAC countries. What do you mean by “immersive”?

When we designed this programme, we thought to ourselves that one cannot learn about doing business, for example, in Vietnam, from books and a remote classroom in Singapore. We wanted to create an immersive learning environment. The NUS Executive MBA takes our participants on this immersive learning experience, through what we call residential segments, to eight cities in seven countries, and in doing so we’re able to provide participants with deep exposure across Asia-Pacific.

These residential segments help equip participants with first-hand perspectives into the varied cultural, business, and political landscapes across Asia-Pacific. They typically attend lectures and presentations, participate in lively discussions and debates, visit local and international companies, and meet with business and thought leaders. Spending time in these destinations complements and provides local context, relevance, and a feel for the nuances of doing business in these respective countries, giving participants a deeper understanding of the business operations and best practices within that market. We find that this enhances the overall learning experience, allowing them to deepen their appreciation of the specificities and complexities of doing business in each country.

And I’ve personally noticed that networking and bonding happen much more extensively. When students are out in different destinations, learning, networking together and even partying together, it helps to create that sense of camaraderie and to build close bonds and friendships that last for a long time.

You talk about discovery and opening the students’ eyes, whether it’s to different cultures or ways of doing business. Alongside those “hard skills”, the technical skills embedded in that core curriculum, how does the NUS Executive MBA journey teach the soft skills of leadership that will then serve them well in the next steps of their career?

There are various ways that participants can develop their leadership skills on the EMBA: project work, group discussions, and peer-to-peer learning, for example, can provide opportunities for participants to learn how to work with individuals from different cultures, backgrounds, expertise, and experiences. Company visits and dialogue sessions with industry leaders can also provide participants with a deeper understanding on the types of leadership skills required of business leaders today across a variety of functions and industries.

You have also taught for many years, with your present role as Executive MBA Academic Director. Since you have encountered many students, what is your opinion of today’s EMBA students? How has the educational process and motivation changed over the years?

Global business perspectives and processes have changed drastically over the last few years. Thanks to the significant disruptions the world has experienced, the senior executives who take our programme are more resilient than ever. With every passing cohort, I see more and more individuals with the hunger for knowledge that falls far beyond their industries. They seem to be more open to alternative concepts, perspectives, and ideas that will help their companies and organisations be future-ready. Paired with the skills acquired through our programme, their open-mindedness and that willingness to pivot will help them become even better, influential leaders. Seeing our graduates soar in their professional careers and other new businesses is hugely gratifying.

What leadership attributes and skills do you see as being the most needed in a post-pandemic world? How does the NUS EMBA equip them?

The future is going to be a lot tougher. Navigating the VUCAH world and managing increasing risks of disruption brought about by technology, climate, supply chains, geopolitics, cyber, and talent requires today’s leaders to lead with purpose, strategic vision, agility, and speed. Joining the NUS EMBA enables leaders to transform and reinvent themselves and their organisations for long-term growth and sustainability.

Aside from moving on in their careers and growing and pivoting their businesses for success, I am always very gratified and proud to see our alumni give back to the programme and the school in terms of sharing experiences, guest speaking, and providing internships and scholarships.

How do you think the programme will continue to evolve in the next five years to adapt and respond to what both students and the market are looking for?

Since welcoming our first participants in 1997, this programme has grown from strength to strength, providing unrivalled exposure and immersion in the emerging and powerhouse economies across the Asia Pacific region. The world is constantly changing. Therefore, we must keep our finger on the pulse and move with significant shifts and trends happening in APAC. The University does a great job of keeping up with new business trends and knowledge. It shows how business needs are constantly evolving and how important it is to keep oneself up to date continually.

We will make tweaks to the programme when the situation calls for it. Throughout the years, for instance, we’ve expanded our geographical footprint. We used to visit one city in China only. But, given China’s importance to the region and the global economy, participants will now spend two weeks in both Shenzhen and Shanghai.

However, our commitment to providing that Asian context and focus through networking and immersive learning has remained consistent and true to our proposition. Even if you were a graduate 25 years ago, you would remember your experiences travelling, learning, and networking in key destinations in Asia where we take our students.

Executive Profile

Dr Prem Shamdasani is Associate Professor of Marketing; Academic Director, NUS Executive MBA Program; Co-Director, Stanford-NUS International Management Program; Director, and the NUS Marketing Strategy In A Digital World Program at the NUS Business School, National University of Singapore.

He holds a BBA degree with first class honours from the National University of Singapore (1984) and received his PhD in Marketing from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles (1990). His research and teaching interests include marketing strategy, brand management, customer-centricity and relationship management.

Aside from teaching graduate and executive MBA courses, Dr Shamdasani is active in consulting, executive development, and training and has worked with over 120 companies globally, such as Abbot, Gucci, McDonalds, Samsung, Microsoft, 3M, Philips, Bayer Healthcare, GSK, Barclays, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Nestle, Volvo and Ikea.

He has co-authored two books, including one of the leading books on focus group research, Focus Groups: Theory and Practice, for Sage Publications (USA). His research publications have appeared in the leading regional and international journals and include the Journal of Consumer Research, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Asian Journal of Marketing, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Asian Case Research Journal, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, and the Journal of Leadership Studies.

The post Thought Leadership, Frameworks, Tools and Immersion: Interview with Dr Prem Shamdasani of NUS Business School appeared first on The European Business Review.

Having already seen significant success in her career from an early stage, Alessandra Del Centina, Principal Consultant at Vendigital, was keen to explore new opportunities to accelerate to a more senior level within her organisation and open up new challenges.

“After graduating in Management Engineering in Milan, I moved to the UK and worked on a graduate scheme supporting the different functions and departments across a business,” she says. “I realised very early on that I really enjoyed the variety of working on different projects and with different clients and so, took on a role as a Principal Consultant at managing consultants, Vendigital. It’s been a really fantastic opportunity to work across different sectors and companies, helping clients to rebuild their business models post-pandemic.”

“I’ve now come to a point in my career where I want to accelerate my success, expand my network and learn from others, surrounded by the best lecturers, support and opportunities that I can.”

Alessandra joined the Bath Executive MBA programme in 2021 with the support of her employer. “Having a background in engineering and business meant that a lot of the theoretical concepts are already known to me, but I was keen to revisit them as a professional and explore how different the experiences would be from my undergraduate studies,” she explained.

“As a management consultancy firm, we sell expertise, professionalism and skill, so the human element and the cultivation of talent is really important. I had seen colleagues grow and develop whilst they were completing their MBA so I was in a privileged position and could already see the benefits.”

Vendigital have been working with the MBA team at the University of Bath for almost 4 years. In that time, they have worked collaboratively to help identify and nurture potential candidates for the part-time Executive MBA programme, with the aim of developing talented colleagues with the right skills and knowledge to take the next step in their career ladder.

Anita Maguire, People Director at Vendigital, explained the strategic thinking behind their partnership with the University of Bath, “We were first introduced to the Bath MBA through the University’s graduate placement programme. It showed us the quality of graduates that come out of Bath and so we wanted to explore further how we could use this to develop our people, progress their careers and ultimately, deliver to our clients.”

“When thinking about succession planning, we consider how we equip our colleagues to reach their full potential and support their ambition to progress their career and move into bigger roles in the Vendigital team. We are always looking across our teams to identify motivated and passionate candidates who we think would benefit from an MBA. We quickly realised that there is a large appetite for it across our teams that was going to be of benefit to the organisation, but also to each of them as individuals.”

Anita stressed that there was more than simply good people development practice on the criteria list when looking for opportunities to develop their future leadership teams. “Have we seen a commercial benefit to our investment and partnership with Bath? Absolutely. We have seen a huge difference in every team member as they have progressed through the Bath MBA program. All of the students that we have sponsored have progressed in seniority levels.”

“Vendigital are expecting to grow by 30-40% this year alone and we see the MBA executive programme as a key enabler of developing our team and the leadership team of tomorrow. The impacts have been far-reaching, providing us with a competitive advantage and level of credibility that allows us to compete with the big consultancies.”

Alessandra recognises the impact the course has already had on her personal strategic development, and how she applies this to her role at Vendigital. “The programme teaches you not just theoretical concepts and business models, but also how to benchmark yourself against others and apply your personal learning experiences, which is absolutely fundamental in the progression and development of a person.”

“There is this fantastic, immersive learning atmosphere where it is safe to challenge one another and be really open and honest about some of the things that we can do better as professionals but also for our organisations,” she explains. “The modules and assignments encourage a strategic frame of mind and constantly challenge you to consider the bigger picture of why are we doing this and what are we trying to achieve? You can then apply this to your work and make changes that have huge impact and make you so much more effective in the workplace.”

Anita’s advice for anyone considering an MBA partnership for their employees? “If you are serious about succession planning and how best to develop your teams, do speak with the MBA recruitment team at the University of Bath. They are incredibly knowledgeable about the programme, the content, the type of individual that it would really benefit but also how to make it work for your organisation so that you get the most out of your investment.”

“We’ll absolutely continue our partnership with the MBA at Bath to help drive our business forwards.”

Visit The Bath MBA for more information or contact Becky Gallagher at mbaapps@management.bath.ac.uk

The post Driving Success Through Collaboration and Partnership appeared first on The European Business Review.

New approaches to corporate learning can be found at ESSEC Executive Education, through its ESSEC Executive MBA, the ESSEC and Mannheim EMBA programme, the Global MBA, the MSc in Hospitality Management, and the EMiLUX (Executive Master in Luxury Management & Design Innovation) programmes. These programmes demonstrate a humanist and socially aware educational philosophy, while also training students for entrepreneurial projects and goals.

For over a century, ESSEC has been developing a state-of-the-art education programme that gives the individual pride of place in a learning model that promotes freedom, openness, innovation, and responsibility. Preparing future managers to reconcile personal interests with collective responsibility, giving consideration to the common good in their decision-making, and weighing economic challenges against the social costs are some of the objectives ESSEC has set for itself and achieved.

ESSEC Executive Education offers the necessary teachings and tools to participants in all programmes. The institution sets itself apart with its “Entrepreneurship For All” creed, removing any assumptions that leadership and innovation are strictly intangible skills. Instead, they believe that entrepreneurship can be taught and honed to be meaningful, not just in the office but throughout each participant’s personal self-development.

Global MBA

The ESSEC Global MBA is a 12-month full-time programme delivered in France. With digital transformation altering the fabric of the business landscape, this programme aims to arm participants with the skills needed to remain relevant to the job market. Through its majors, Luxury Brand Management and Strategy & Digital Leadership, participants will be equipped with a macro-view of core business functions coupled with industry-specific skills and knowledge to help them make a successful career switch to industries such as consulting, tech, or luxury.

The Global MBA experience nurtures hard and soft skills through training on in-demand industry certifications, personal branding and development workshops, and career development support.

“The Global MBA programme opened many doors for my future. It was the gateway to the dream job that I never thought I would have. It introduced me to a lot of amazing people who are now a part of my life. They helped me participate in and appreciate this amazing international experience,” says Jaeseok Lee, a 2020 ESSEC Global MBA alumnus.

Executive MBA

The ESSEC Executive MBA is designed for high-potential executives seeking to transform their careers and broaden their management perspectives. Programme participants can expect to dive deep into general management courses and to acquire the confidence to be self-sustained leaders. Through residency programmes to the United States and Asia, participants in the programme will discover different ways of doing business. The Career Advancement Track will enable them to define their career goals through individual coaching sessions.

“In a very direct way, I was indeed promoted to regional manager, though this actually happened before graduation. The techniques and skills, including the soft ones, taught during the Executive MBA classes were absolutely instrumental to the success of my intrapreneurship project. I had the opportunity to apply them all, from the very basic design of a business canvas to the more elaborate techniques of modern financial management,” writes Allain Razafimaharo, who graduated from the programme in 2018.

ESSEC and Mannheim Executive MBA

One of the university’s most prestigious programmes, the ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA, offers a fast-track solution to career advancement. This international programme is designed to study all the core management basics and evolving cutting-edge business topics in-depth.

At the end of the programme, participants can expect to have acquired relevant knowledge and tools readily applicable to the challenges of their jobs, shared best practices with peers, obtained first-hand insights into different industries and functions through a group work philosophy, and gained an international perspective on doing business through exposure to a variety of cultures and growing business markets.

As Indra Rudava, a 2020 ESSEC & Mannheim alumna, put it: “The key takeaways from these three days: We’re stronger in a team; responsibilities within a team must be clearly defined; team leaders need objectivity, perspective, and the full picture before making decisions. […] And then of course, the residences abroad, which I did in Japan, Singapore and the US – they were eye-opening in terms of international communication and understanding geopolitical contexts.”

Executive Master in Luxury Management and Design Innovation (EMiLUX)

The ESSEC Executive Master in Luxury Management and Design Innovation (EMiLUX) is a 12-month modular executive programme delivered across seven modules, seven countries and three continents. This truly global programme is executive-friendly and culturally diverse, with most of its participants walking away with a life-changing experience under their belt.

This programme is located in various places, such as France, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, China, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates.  True to its name, an international crew of artists, celebrated designers, and industry leaders will guide participants in each city through immersive, multisensory experiences and behind-the-scenes industry visits.

“We had the opportunity to meet and speak with CEOs and managers of major luxury brands in fashion, cosmetics, wine & spirits, and other fields. They shared with us their experiences and vision about their businesses, which was incredibly inspiring, and a luxury in itself!” says Giulia Luckenbach, an EMiLUX programme participant, of her time in executive education.

EMiLUX participants will grow rapidly towards becoming more significant contributors to their companies. They may create their own companies, building upon the entrepreneurial project in the programme, and/or become stronger and more internationally oriented business leaders.

MSc in Hospitality Management (IMHI)

With a strong focus on international and strategic direction, the MSc in Hospitality Management (IMHI) is widely recognised by the industry as Europe’s leading hospitality management programme. Designed to prepare the next generation of young leaders, the IMHI programme is both demanding and rewarding.

“The diversity of those courses along with the recognition of the school provides adequate foundations for anyone pursuing his/her career in the industry, especially those focusing on general management or real estate side of the industry,” recommends Ramsay Rankoussi, a 2011 graduate of the IMHI programme.

Taking place near Paris, the programme gives participants the opportunity to study and work in the United States. IMHI students can choose to study in Boston and complete an internship in the US to receive a graduate certificate from Boston University School of Hospitality Administration (SHA).

For more information about the executive programmes, browse their brochure here. 

ESSEC Executive Open Day

ESSEC Executive Education believes that growth can happen at any age and phase in life. It’s never too late to transform your life by pursuing an executive education programme. As executives and senior leaders progress into the new normal, ESSEC wants to be a foundational step in supplying them with the necessary tools to combat the changes in the social landscape.

In 2022, ESSEC is proud to host its “Executive Open Day” on the 18^th of June, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CET. This event will be conducted in a hybrid format. The first one will be an on-campus event, mainly for people based around the Paris region and who are interested in programmes taught in French and English. The online webinars that follow will be for those eyeing international programmes and the EMiLUX programme.

The ESSEC Executive Open Day is a chance for like-minded individuals to convene and see what role ESSEC Executive Education can offer in the lifelong journey of their self-development and improvement. 

For more info about the ESSEC Executive Open Day and registration, click here. 

The post Lifelong Learning with ESSEC Business School appeared first on The European Business Review.

Ley, now lead business development manager with Lumen Digital Ventures, was not alone, although she was ahead of the curve when she began the process in mid-2020. The pandemic, like other life-altering shocks, has caused many in the workforce to question their career path and life goals. Over 40 percent of those who responded to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index, a global survey of over 30,000 people, are thinking about leaving their employer this year. Making a move that makes sense, though, requires thought, planning, and education. 

“I am a big follower of Tony Robbins,” says Ley, “and one of his key phrases for growth and change is about making something a Must. If it’s anything less than that, you probably won’t do it. I got to the point where I knew I wanted to make a pivot and education became a Must.”

“When I started looking for opportunities, I quickly found Wharton’s Venture Capital program,” says Ley. “I assumed it would be high quality, in terms of the content and the faculty, even though it was only offered online at the time. The live online format was new for everyone, and Wharton transitioned really well. The students especially were really engaged in the new ecosystem. Of course, there are tradeoffs between online and in-person learning, but I was encouraged by everyone, the Wharton faculty and staff, as well as the students, to make the learning experience as positive as possible.” 

She says it was during that week that she first heard about the Advanced Finance Program (AFP), which includes six individual classes. “Many of the other students were raving about their experience in it. At that time no one had attended all of their programs online or completed the AFP through the virtual platform, but the key selling point for me to continue past Venture Capital was the incredible support staff and the high level of engagement from the other students. Wharton’s staff made it so easy as a working professional to complete the program in what was then [August 2020] a unique online environment. It was great to be able to engage with people from diverse industries who come at the world with different lenses.” 

“I would certainly like to attend an in-person class at Wharton in the future to get a different learning experience, but I was able to make meaningful connections that are already paying dividends,” Ley says. “You can form connections no matter the platform.”

The “Stars Aligned” with Online Education

“Last year taught me the importance of flexibility and how we all have to be more agile,” says Ley, who also works as a startup advisor, board member, and angel investor. “Everyone’s life turned upside down, and there was no commuting, networking events, or conferences. You had to find new sources of professional engagement and growth, and get smarter about remaining relevant while working from home.”

She says Wharton and the AFP provided a “great conduit to engage me mentally and professionally — the ability to complete the program online was positive. It was something I had wanted to do for a while but never made the time. All the stars aligned: I was fortunate to have had the resources and the time to make it happen.”

Mid-Career Learning

Ley highlights two important reasons for completing a comprehensive program like the AFP. “An MBA was essential to help me navigate the early years of my career. But as I gained more seniority, started making more strategic decisions, and was required to make more impactful decisions, I needed a new toolkit to achieve optimal outcomes. I think of Wharton’s AFP as an MBA part two.”

“The second reason for completing the program is that everyone you meet is dealing with the same challenges and is at a similar point in their career path. We all have to make decisions about whether something is a good or a bad deal, or whether to buy or sell a company. The level of discussions is very different from those you have in an MBA program.”

“I encourage everyone who is considering the AFP to think about where they are in their career. If you need new tools to get to next level, are struggling with decisions, or want to make a pivot, this is an opportunity to make the changes you are looking for,” Ley says. “It’s so easy to go on autopilot in your career, but this acts as a reset. It sparks new interests, introduces you to new people, and recharges your battery.” 

Visit WhartonAFP.com for more information

The post Making a Mid-Career Pivot with the Advanced Finance Program appeared first on The European Business Review.

In the midst of all the uncertainty, business educators have been hard at work to arm these professional executives with the intellectual arsenal and expertise they will need to robustly handle such challenges.

With French roots dating back to 1907, ESSEC Business School has fashioned itself as a titular academic institution with the goal of passing on cutting-edge knowledge to new generations of curious minds with a passion to lead and influence.

In order to prepare tomorrow’s leaders for the transformative changes of today, be it in technological, industrial, managerial or social spaces, ESSEC developed an educational model that has successfully kept pace with a rapidly changing world.

RISE Strategy

With the values of the institution rooted in its heritage, ESSEC inspires new forms of leadership through their symbolic RISE strategy. As a higher education institution centred on humanist goals, the university is committed to enlighten, lead, and change the world by instilling a sense of responsibility and direction to the leaders of tomorrow.

ESSEC Business School aims to infuse executive education participants with new business and economic models that are impactful in result as well as mindful of the environment at large. Through meaningful and economically-conscious projects, future leaders will be prepared to run companies and organizations that are more inclusive, innovative, sustainable and fair – all with the goal of bringing value and positive impact to the world.

The golden standard of international excellence

As the 5^th provider for Executive Education worldwide (Financial Times, 2020), ESSEC’s campuses  in La Défense, Paris and Singapore, have dedicated many decades to nurturing the invigorated spirits of executive professionals and deepening their business acumen and leadership development.

ESSEC Executive Education equips participants with the necessary tools to hone their skills, talents, and ideas into that of real world applications they will greatly benefit from.

Placing uniqueness and individual integrity at the heart of their educational model, the university’s post-experience learning journey draws out an individual’s innate leadership potential through practical theory and collaboration.

From March 2021, ESSEC Executive Education is also under the new leadership of Jérôme Barthélemy, recently appointed as Executive Vice-President for Post-Experience programs and Corporate Relations.

In a tight international environment, having in-depth knowledge backed by research and education is the double-edged sword ESSEC provides. Through the executive education programme, this higher form of enlightenment will give executives the foresight to better understand multicultural problems and address them with the appropriate multidisciplinary approaches.

A unique interdisciplinary ecosystem

Having been in existence for more than a century as an academic institution, ESSEC prides itself on providing graduates with a fully immersive educational experience. Through peer-to-peer interactions, enriching coaching sessions, and the practical application of their learnings with social projects, to name a few.

ESSEC Business School’s approach to education places human individuality and uniqueness at its fundamental core. The institution has built its name on educating a wide range of professionals throughout the course of their career: from high-potential individuals in their early stages, mid-level associates steadily making their way up, to experienced executive leaders who need refresher courses.

The executive educators for each programme are more than equipped to guide every participant towards the implementation of their life project, encouraging them to embrace their own individuality and nurture it in such a way it becomes their edge in the real world.

Reveal your talents

ESSEC Business School’s programmes not only develop participants’ management qualities and expertise, but also give them the intuition to be able to call on such skills when needed.

The learnings they will derive from these sessions can be applied to different fields, such as: purchase management and supply chain, marketing, human resources, finance, information systems, and more.

The part-time Executive MBA, one of the school’s most respected degree programmes, also ranked 8^th worldwide in the QS World University ranking, is designed for seasoned executives looking to build a stronger network in an international collaborative environment. The full-time Global MBA, on the other hand, can greatly benefit younger executives with 3 to 10 years of experience, leadership potential  and their eyes set on careers in consulting, digital leadership or luxury brand management. It is also the world’s MBA with the largest representation of women (Financial Times, MBA ranking, 2020), a testament to the school’s ambition to promote diversity by encouraging female leaders to accelerate their careers.

Other programmes of the school, such as the part-time Executive Master in Luxury Management & Design Innovation (EMiLUX) or the full-time MSc in Hospitality Management (IMHI), accommodate individuals who want to foster stronger relationships within a global frame, as well as fine-tune their mastery in business acumen and getting first-hand experience in high-profile roles.

ESSEC Executive Education’s portfolio of functional programmes incorporates different cross-cultural and custom-built tools for leadership and change management, operational management, and social entrepreneurship.

Executive Open Days

From 21-25 June 2021, ESSEC Business School is hosting an all-out online event open to all interested participants. Through this virtual seminar, executives, managers and leaders will have the chance to gain a better understanding of the different aspects of executive education and how it can accelerate one’s career.

Upon registering, you can expect to find a range of masterclasses taught only by the most respected professors and experts in the university, the chance to talk to advisors and admissions to help identify which programme is best suited to your needs, Q&A sessions with returning alumni, workshops – and more!

You can register here.

The post Unlocking Leadership Potential through ESSEC Executive Education’s Programmes appeared first on The European Business Review.

ESMT Berlin is the highest-ranked business school in Germany and Top 10 in Europe. Founded by 25 leading global companies, ESMT offers a full-time MBA, an executive MBA, a part-time blended MBA, and a master’s in management, as well as executive education on its campus in Berlin, in locations around the world, and in an online blended format.

Studies show that the vast majority of knowledge workers feel they do not have enough time to do their actual jobs, let alone step away from their desk for formal training. Over 40% of employees’ time is reportedly spent on tasks that do not tangibly help them achieve their professional responsibilities. Their workflow is frequently disrupted – often, ironically, by a notification on one of their multiple collaboration tools. As a result, 1% of the working week is all they feel they can devote to professional development.ⁱ Meanwhile, digital disruption and increased automation has created an unprecedented skills gap in the global jobs market.ⁱⁱ
In these changing times, engaging in career-long learning has never been more vital.

Consequently, ambitious young managers are increasingly taking their professional development into their own hands, eschewing the rigid syllabus of traditional executive education in favour of micro-learning platforms such as LinkedIn Learning. These online platforms offer flexible, mobile learning – with the individual in the driving seat.

Indeed, the heyday of off-the-shelf, syllabus-led executive education is over. The return on investment (ROI) of these often expensive leadership development programs has been called into question. Companies rightly demand ways of measuring change, in performance or behaviours, in the years following their purchased program. Executive education providers must search for those answers.

The problem is not a lack of expertise at top business schools, but the way some of their business has been conducted. Clients, after communicating their transformational agenda, often let teaching faculty decide the content and design of training programs – while the executive participant remains more or less anonymous until that very first coffee and icebreaker session. Highly motivated participants may proactively try to relate the learning objectives to their own (very personal) career roadblocks and team dynamics. Others may switch off when they perceive topics to be unrelated to their own needs. Either way, the content is often in danger of being processed on an intellectual level only – however engaging the topic or the trainer.

Clearly, as executive educators, we need to maximize the impact of our offerings. We cannot afford to brush off accusations of irrelevant content and academic bombast. Instead, we must set the bar for a new standard of leadership development, upending the top-down nature of certain business models and shifting the focus on to individual participants.

A typical example from the ESMT archive

A few weeks before the course began, the client’s Learning and Development Lead sends the full names, job titles, and email addresses of the program participants – and little more. Useful information for printing name badges and certificates, perhaps, but no insights into the people behind the job titles.

Last year Mandy Hübener and Bianca Schmitz, both program directors at ESMT Berlin, talked with Allianz – one of the school’s most regular clients – about an accelerated leadership program for the insurance giant’s top HR talents. The ESMT team shifted the focus of the program design process, so that participants’ differences were placed front and centre. “On a traditional participant list, the nominees would have looked rather similar”, explains Hübener. “These men and women held similar positions across the company’s various business units, with similar years’ of service.” However, it soon became clear that the cohort was extremely heterogeneous. “In a traditional client partnership, we would only be told that these individuals had all demonstrated potential to take over senior executive positions in HR”, adds Schmitz. “Before we met them on campus, we would have had little insight into what that means in practice for each individual.”

The ESMT program team advocated for a complete co-creation between Allianz’s Learning & Development Lead, the participants and the ESMT teaching faculty. As financial sponsor, the L&D lead would continue to represent the client’s interests, and define the end goal of the program – in this case, defining the core competencies that their HR talents needed to demonstrate before stepping up to senior leadership roles. A pre-program baseline assessment was conducted for every participant, ensuring their own interests were represented before the design process kicked off: How confident did they feel in each core area? What specific challenges were they facing? What qualities would their ideal mentor possess? These self-reports were aggregated with more objective measures of performance, such as the 360^o feedback survey from their colleagues, direct reports, and line managers. The ESMT team was then able to map a personalized learning journey for each individual, designed to run alongside the expert-led teaching on mandatory topics.

The data that the two program directors gathered at this stage proved invaluable. It became clear that the participants had followed diverse career paths and had demonstrated different strengths since progressing through the company. Crucially, the data also revealed significant variance in the competency areas they felt less confident about performing in their future role – and in the personal learning objectives for the program they were each about to embark upon. In addition, Allianz and ESMT scheduled four individual guided development conversations for each participant at key moments in the learning journey (a unique feature of this program). These candid conversations helped keep participants accountable to their own specific goals and facilitated a continuous open dialogue between the business school, the client, and the executive student.

One size fits . . . nobody?

Lateral career moves are increasingly common, and job descriptions increasingly fluid. Many mid-career professionals in agile organizations are being trusted to take on more responsibilities, without receiving a formal promotion. Businesses operating in a ‘VUCA’ environment are demanding high autonomy, initiative, and ownership from their executives. In these so-called ‘adhocracies’ leaders are less able to rely on formal authority and must learn to flex their style depending on the context. Without proper training and support, many will struggle to keep up with the pace of change.

The needs of the modern knowledge worker are therefore very specific, increasingly divergent, and, above all, changing rapidly. Education providers have two key challenges: first, to get better at recognizing and meeting individuals’ needs, in terms of content and learning format; secondly, to ensure that what is taught is transferred from the classroom to the office.

Directing more resources towards individualized learning will help the executive education industry meet both challenges. Learnings are more likely to be transferred if the content of a customized learning journey is personalized. Encouraging program participants to apply what they have learnt between formal teaching will help bridge the ‘skills transfer gap’. There is ample evidence that interleaved practice and elaboration is one of the most powerful techniques for making learning stick.

Champions of co-creation

Hübener and Schmitz have now co-created several programs with a range of clients. Each has followed a similar ratio of expert-led classroom teaching to fully personalized, data-driven learning journeys, with plenty of high-touch elements:

Regular 1-on-1 coaching or mentoring sessions for self-reflection – to keep abreast of progress and evolving needs, and as an accountability mechanism

Curated learning content and activities in the form of specific readings, job shadowing opportunities, mentorship programs, mini challenges, and project assignments

Unlimited access to a pool of self-paced online modules specific for each individual, with guidance via pre-defined learning
paths or topic clusters

The collaborative effort between sponsor, education provider, and participant functioned like a continuous conversation. The individual learning journeys drawn up at the beginning of the partnership were treated as ‘first drafts’ – allowing for changes to be made based on individuals’ changing needs.

Having worked more closely than ever before with individual participants, Hübener and Schmitz are firm believers that the ROI for their clients is irrefutable. The experiment has proven successful several times, so the program directors now feel confident that this level of customization is a scalable business model for ESMT. Recent developments in online learning have meant many aspects of the learning journey can now be achieved in pre-recorded videos or virtual seminars, which drastically reduces overhead costs for the business school. The ESMT team were inspired early on by low-cost, data-driven customization techniques used in targeted marketing, and soon realized this allowed more spend-per-head on high-cost, high-impact content such as one-to-one coaching. What was prohibitively expensive a few years ago has now become possible in a blended format.

Conclusion

To guarantee maximum ROI for its clients, executive education needs to fulfil some key criteria.  The content must be tailored to individuals’ profoundly personal career paths, knowledge gaps, and blind spots, and the format must also suit the learning style and working context of each participant (podcasts, TED talks, print – no learning method is invalid). Self-paced online modules are a good step in this direction, allowing a decoupling from the rigid corporate calendar or the availability of teaching faculty. But individualization must also mean creating regular opportunities to reflect on and assimilate new skills and knowledge. Furthermore, executive participants should feel they have the toolkit and the support network they need to continue their learning journey long after they leave campus.

About the Authors

Mandy Hübener joined ESMT Berlin’s executive education team as a program director in 2019. Prior to that, she was head of consulting for Germany at Gallup, a research-based consultancy, leading a team of consultants and account leads and managing a diverse portfolio of executive and organizational development programs for key accounts in EMEA. Her primary focus is on organizational culture and culture change. She is passionate about creating impact for organizations and helping leaders create exceptional workplaces where employees and teams excel and grow. She has a background in banking and holds an MSc in management and strategy from the London School of Economics.

Bianca Schmitz is a program director at ESMT Berlin and has been one of the founding directors of the Hidden Champions Institute (HCI). She is also responsible for establishing new international alliances with other business schools, institutions, and networks. Her research has been published in journals such as Industrial Marketing Management and Journal of Family Business Management. Beyond academic research, Bianca has published a number of case studies and managerial articles on hidden champions and digital transformation. Her teaching focus lies on agile methods and innovation, bringing digital innovation to market, business models, the success factors of hidden champions, and the cultural implications of innovation. She has been trained in design thinking by Hasso Plattner Institute and is a certified Scrum Product Owner. She studied regional sciences of Latin America at the University of Cologne and finished with a diploma, with a focus was on economics and the Spanish language.

Bethan Williams joined ESMT Berlin as a program manager in 2019. She holds a master’s degree in modern and medieval languages from the University of Cambridge and completed a post-graduate scholarship in Mandarin Chinese at the Shandong University of Science and Technology. Prior to joining ESMT, Williams worked as a translator for Allianz Deutschland and as a sales manager for a chain of schools in China. Her professional career in the global education market includes digitizing programs for executive education clients, content writing, and research assistance, especially in areas related to Sino-European business and intercultural management.

The post Individualized Learning in Executive Education Accommodating the Modern Learner appeared first on The European Business Review.

How are we adding value?

In an environment where disrupters can appear overnight and destroy whole markets, there is a real and present danger of becoming irrelevant fast. The challenge for each one of us and indeed the organisations we work for, is to constantly expose our views and perspectives to fresh challenge, to re-frame how we make sense of our experience, and to infuse our thinking with new ideas. For individuals that can mean updating your own knowledge and skills. For organisations that means making sure you are positioned to be able to succeed in the face of fierce competition.

The hard question to ask personally is what value am I creating? Am I simply hanging on, or am I thriving in this new environment? As an organisation, are we creating new value for our customers and our shareholders?

It’s never too late to expand our knowledge and skills, it is vital across the generations. Most of us will be working to a greater age than ever before, so the education process is something we all need to embrace as a constant, ongoing scenario.

Uniting theory and practice

Working with a business school brings a number of benefits, such as accessing the latest research theories and insights, working with the faculty who are originating those ideas, meaning you are hearing those ideas directly from the people who are at the cutting-edge of thinking.

The psychologist Kurt Lewin famously said, ‘There’s nothing so practical as a good theory’. Sometimes we are a little bit afraid of the word ‘theory’, but a theory is really just a lens that allows us to examine and explore our experience and current organisational reality, and make sense of that in a way that means we can leverage it much more effectively as we go forward. Our faculty are extensively engaged with the real world of practice through their research, engaging with organisations collectively and individually on an on-going basis, sharing insights from a wide range of sectors and experiences with participants on our programmes.

The Warwick Executive Diplomas

Our Executive Diplomas are designed for a senior executive audience who are perhaps doing one of two things, both closely related. One is to address a specific challenge facing their business – a classic example would be digital disruption, something which is washing across most sectors and industries, but people are struggling to make sense of that and catch up.

The second trigger is to plug that capability and knowledge gap as an individual. As senior executives we all bring significant experience, but the pace of change is such that that experience can be rapidly made redundant. It is vitally important that we are constantly updating ourselves, and constantly reinventing our knowledge base.

These programmes are suited for people who want that deep immersion in a particular subject matter. For example, for executives who don’t feel they have the time for a fully-fledged MBA programme, the Diplomas provide a shorter, more focused and more applied alternative. However, there is a pathway for people to go on to study the Warwick MBA following a diploma if they wish.

All of the Diplomas are delivered at WBS’ London base at The Shard, over four four-day modules. A typical day involves interactive sessions in the classroom, alongside a lot of break-out work in small groups, and working on case-study material, providing a dynamic learning setting. Our faculty are highly skilled not just in communicating the ideas that they have, but also in engaging and surfacing the experience of people in the room. That co-creation of learning is a critical aspect.

The Diplomas will be delivered in the classroom in the first instance, however our online platform my.wbs will also play a very significant role. Coming on a programme should be thought of as entering a learning eco-system, one that provides access in person to globally recognised thought leaders, to a network of industry leaders and to a wealth of materials online, that can be tapped into, not just on the days that you’re present with us in London, but over the full duration of the year. My.wbs is the learning platform behind our Distance Learning MBA that has been ranked No.1 globally by the Financial Times for the last three years (Online MBA ranking 2020).

The post Thriving amidst disruption with a Warwick Executive Diploma appeared first on The European Business Review.

Time will tell whether history will record the Zeitgeist of our times as one of isolationism or internationalism. But one thing is certain: in today’s world, business leaders need to be comfortable collaborating across borders and cultures. Here, Professor Hervé Remaud, director of KEDGE Global Executive MBA of the KEDGE Business School outlines how the truly global ambiance of the school and its international partnerships makes an ideal training ground for executives.

Good day, Professor Hervé Remaud! We are delighted to speak with you today.  First, we would like to congratulate KEDGE Business School and the KEDGE Global Executive MBA on being globally recognised as one of the best business schools and top executive MBA programmes. How do you feel about these recognitions?

I would be lying if I said that it is not a good feeling. But this is a 2019 feeling that will be challenged in 2020, and then again in 2021, although I believe we definitely are on track …

First, such recognition is that of the value of our Exec MBA alumni in their respective jobs and in the market. In the FT EMBA survey, 55 percent of the ranking is due to the alumni, who are interviewed three years after graduation.

These results are also the fruit of collaborative teamwork towards the same ambition: making the KEDGE Executive MBA programme amongst the best in the world, in terms of the personal and professional achievement for our participants. This fully illustrates the values that our school advocates and that we wish our participants to foster: values of innovation and open-mindedness to new technologies and ways of achievement; caring values to others and themselves; and sharing values, be they knowledge, best practices or skills-sharing.

The KEDGE Global EMBA ranked thirty- ninth in the world (fifteenth in Europe, fourth in France) in the 2019 Financial Times survey, and we are collectively proud of this result, though it does not yet totally reflect the quality and value of the EMBA to our participants. There remains room for further improvement.

With ten campuses spread across three continents, KEDGE Business School is a truly international school. What do you think are the advantages of KEDGE Business School that set it apart from other business schools in Europe and globally, and what are the inimitable attributes and highlights of the KEDGE Global Executive MBA programme?

Actually, KEDGE Business School has seven permanent Campuses (four in France, two in China and one in Africa) and three associate campuses in France.

KEDGE’s campuses abroad definitely give the school an international reach in terms of faculty, students, global network and image. It also paved the way for some of the international programme partnerships, such as: the Global Executive MBA in partnership with JiaoTong University in Shanghai – China; and the recent partnership developed with Athena School of Management in Bombay, India. This international exposure and implantation overseas is related to our capacity to train executives with an international ambition and with an international background. It also enables our EMBA participants to interact both professionally and socially with participants from different cultures. Starting with the next intake, we will organise one of our core courses – Negotiation – with European- and Chinese-based cohorts all together. My objective is to motivate KEDGE cohorts to mix and network, right from the beginning of the EMBA programme. Likewise, French-based EMBA participants will visit their Chinese colleagues in 2021 for another core course in Shanghai, which is Leadership across Culture.

In the same perspective, we initiated a collaboration with two excellent universities and executive MBAs in Europe: Frankfurt School of Finance and Management in Germany, and Bocconi SDA.

Apart from this international openness for our participants and faculty members, we are enthusiastic about the attribute of flexibility that we bring to the delivery of the programme. The KEDGE Global EMBA can be taken over a period of from 20 to 48 months. The participants set their own pace and can either accelerate or slow down, according to their professional agenda. The whole team is dedicated to facilitating the participants’ journey through the EMBA.

Another attribute of the programme that we put a lot of focus on is personal development, with guidance through individual and group coaching, as well as a mentoring programme.

We work to promote participants’ self-confidence and open-mindedness through practical business cases and multi-cultural teamwork.

The KEDGE Global Executive MBA programme has a unique flexibility option that offers not only a fully transformational learning experience for the executives, but helps them to have a good work-life balance. What do you think are the particular facets of the executive education curriculum that are the most valuable tools for your participants?

We are in a business world that requires more and more adaptability from high-level professionals. At KEDGE, due to the geographical split between our campuses in France and abroad, we practise agility on a daily basis, and are in a good position to share this experience with our EMBA participants. Physical agility favours intellectual agility. As we offer schedule and geographical flexibility, there is a constant movement of participants attending the courses. Even if you are part of a specific intake, you can easily find yourself mixing with participants from earlier intakes who have delayed or anticipated courses, and happen to share yours at a point in time. This is a good way to enlarge networks and learning experience. International business seminars and international majors are also outstanding opportunities to grow both networks and the sharing of best practices. We fully understand the value of creating a cohort spirit, with some participants knowing each other very well after a few courses. But extending their networks through participation in courses delivered for previous cohorts is a real chance to get to know other EMBA participants at KEDGE.

For 14 years, KEDGE has been a key player in higher-management education in China, where high quality of education is given the utmost importance. The KEDGE Global Executive MBA is also the only French MBA recognised by the Chinese government. Can you tell us more about your experience and plans for engaging with the Chinese market?

For many people, saying that you “build a relationship over the years with your partners” is somewhat of a cliché. What our Chinese friends call “guanxi” is actually important. We may be doing fantastic things, and sometimes things that are less fantastic but, in any case, we trust each other. Trust is the key to foreseeing what the future could hold. We have been building our collaboration with Shanghai Jiao Tong University on one side, and with Renmin University on the other, with a long-term perspective in mind. Today, that positioning is rewarded with the recognition of our Global MBA by the Ministry of Education of China, and we operate (with two other French institutions) a French Chinese Institute in collaboration with Renmin University. A couple of other initiatives will be announced before the end of the year,  so stay tuned … 

Most of the executives who have successfully completed the programme describe the KEDGE Global Executive MBA as “transformative” and “entrepreneurial”, adding that it has opened more opportunities for career growth and personal improvement. Can you share a particular student’s success story or the career paths of some of your participants?

We have quite a number of examples to share. There are some entrepreneurship successes, such as Nino Sapina, who founded Realcast in 2017 after a successful career with UbiSoft. His start-up creates innovative solutions using augmented reality, and was a finalist at the Aurea awards 2020. Our graduates also either achieved positions of higher responsibility in their companies or entered new ones. I can mention Hermann Chenal, who became Head Supply Chain Director at LIM (Leather In Motion) Group, a mid-sized company with strong expertise and “savoir-faire” in leather, saddlery and tannery. He is based today in Florida, where he reorganised the entire LIM business in the US. Nadine Gouba became Purchasing and Project Director at Amaury Group, a family press group specialising in sports, and well known in France for its newspaper (and app) L’Equipe; or Dr Maximilian Hemgesberg, who became Global Head of Business Development Coatings-Adhesives-Specialties at Covestro (Germany). On a different perspective, Pierre-Jean Laine became Head of Procurement, Vehicles & Tactical Systems BL at Thales; or Max-Ariste Metadier, who took up the position of General Manager EMEA for Mercury Marine. There are many more examples, of course, of people who developed their competencies and displayed their leadership skills, reaching the next step.

KEDGE Business School houses a diverse and unique learning community and global network. What are the biggest challenges you have encountered in handling a multicultural group and addressing the varying needs of business leaders across the different industries, and how do you overcome them?

A big challenge is probably encouraging participants to be patient and open-minded with each other, especially when dealing with cultural gaps: differences in approaching business cases, or communication misunderstandings. Some participants are very sharp in the financial aspects, others in management, others have marketing and communications reflexes or international experience … but the fact is that everyone is bringing something different to the group, and there is always a period of adaption going on. A second challenge is to have them sharing these experiences and for everyone to assimilate and build on this knowledge. In the KEDGE Global EMBA programme, our aim is to refresh and update hard skills, but are very keen, too, on developing soft skills. This will ensure that participants are agile and adaptable, and able to cross-fertilise. We mix groups culturally, and forbid any use of languages other than English. The Negotiation course with Chinese and European participants is a big success in this regard.

How do you make sure that the participants and their organisations will gain the highest return on their investment in terms of knowledge acquisition, career advancement, long-term profitability for the business, and other measures of ROI for executive education?

This is a good point and let us be clear on this. KEDGE assures its EMBA participants of high-quality content and cutting-edge faculty members (all with doctoral degrees and work experience, or close to the business), offers optimal learning conditions, maximises exchanges, listens to participants’ proposals, provides opportunities to meet in France and abroad, and offers individual and group coaching. But in the end, an Executive MBA is what you make it through your personal involvement, work, posture development, open-mindedness, and your will to network.

ROI is measured not only in terms of salary increase (as demonstrated in the FT ranking), but also in terms of soft-skills development. Our last graduate survey (June 2019) shows that 84 percent of graduates developed their self-confidence, 88 percent felt an impact on their professional evolution within two years after completion of the EMBA (66 percent within a year), 80 percent developed their personal performance, and 75 percent their leadership. We’re rather proud of the fact that 97 percent of our graduates would recommend the KEDGE Global MBA to people looking for an EMBA.

Kedge Business School Paris campus

Today’s leaders need to adapt and respond quickly against the digital disruptors to generate new value for customers and to manage their workforce better. How does the Global Executive MBA programme help companies and leaders achieve their goals of creating a high-performing workforce in these fast-changing times?

To put it briefly, the KEDGE EMBA is not about making sure they become experts in blockchain, IoT, big data or Industry 4.0, etc. My job is to make sure that they understand what it’s all about, and how this can disrupt the business model of the company they work with or manage. I want to make sure that, with all the seminars and experience they gain from the EMBA, they can connect the dots between all pieces of information and assemble them as a result of their EMBA journey. Then, they can make sure to recruit, bring aboard and work with the real “technical” experts in these domains, to help them implement the strategy they come up with. It would be fantastic for many of them to be expert in everything, but somewhat impossible. However, we can help them to understand the big picture, and give them the knowledge and tools to catch the opportunities that our fast-changing environment generates.

You are also known for your research expertise on the interface between consumer behaviour, marketing research and integrated marketing. How does this help you in developing the KEDGE Global Executive MBA programme into a stronger international brand?

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to discuss the research expertise I have developed during these last 15 years. I spent five years at the University of South Australia, working at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, where empirical generalisation is the way of producing knowledge. As part of that, I analysed the real purchase behaviour of people buying wine and spirits. Although you may think this industry is far from an EMBA type of business, in fact it’s not. Part of my job is to make sure that the KEDGE EMBA brand is easy for candidates to “buy” and easy to think of when they look for an EMBA. In brief, along with various marketing and academic contents, I try to maximise the physical and mental availability of the KEDGE EMBA brand in the international EMBA market. Being well ranked by the FT is one such content, but just one of many.

As the director of KEDGE Global Executive MBA, what excites you most or what do you eagerly anticipate in terms of the programme’s present and future endeavours and partnerships with elite schools?

We look forward to welcoming more high-level foreign candidates to our programme and, to this end, I anticipate quite a few international exchanges in the context of our partnerships, which is very exciting. International partnerships are on the corner and the next few months will see the first intake of our Indian participants in Bombay, in partnership with Athena School of Management.

An exciting partnership is currently building in the form of an alliance with Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, and Bocconi SDA. I do believe in a coopetition world. But to develop efficiently, I believe that we need to partner with institutions that share similar values and similar challenges. In that perspective, alliances are a chance to have three brains and wills building the future development of our respective programmes, instead of just one. 

Based on your experience working with senior leaders and executives from different industries, what advice would you give to aspiring leaders and seasoned managers in terms of building a successful career? What do you think are the essential qualities a 21^st-century leader must have? Can you give any examples of leaders whom you consider to be inspiring?

You may be disappointed, but I don’t have in mind any leaders who are really inspiring, not because they don’t exist, but mostly because I don’t try to imitate or get into the shoes of someone who might be perceived as a successful leader. On top of that, a successful career is very personal. Long story short, I enjoy my job today because it gives me an equal opportunity to learn and a deliver knowledge… If I really have to give you a leader persona, it would be someone who accepts risk when building and developing a business.

The essential qualities of a leader today, to answer your question, would include understanding the big picture of the business environment you evolve in, anticipating and implementing the changes in your organisation that are required to survive tomorrow, demonstrate empathy for others and for society at large. 

Managing people is a different story… somewhat of a daily learning process and experience! You can be a good leader and a poor manager, and vice versa. We tend to focus a lot on managers, but having good people to work with is also important in that relationship and exercise.

Lastly, can you share with us what success means to you?

As the director of the Executive MBA, success means having the chance to congratulate EMBA participants onstage during their graduation ceremony – not because of the piece of paper with “MBA” written on it, but because of the transformational journey that they achieved. In that perspective, I would make mine this quote from Albert Einstein: “Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” The KEDGE EMBA promotes values of innovation, sharing, diversity; it encourages participants to take risks. These values bring them out of their comfort zone, enable them to fail, and try again. This is what will make participants successful.

Thank you very much Professor Hervé. It’s a pleasure speaking with you.  

Executive Profile

Professor Hervé Remaud is the director of KEDGE Global Executive MBA and a Senior Professor of Marketing at KEDGE Business School. Following 5 years spent at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of the University of South Australia, he took over the direction of KEDGE Wine and Spirits MBA in 2010. Herve obtained his Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Agricultural Economics and Management from Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier. He is the author of some 50 articles that are published in academic, professional journals and conferences. His area of research focuses more specifically on agrifood and wine marketing, brand perception and brand performance measure.

The post Cross-border and Cross-cultural: the KEDGE Global Executive MBA Programme has a Worldwide Reach appeared first on The European Business Review.

We live in turbulent times, and business leaders need to draw on a range of different skills as they plan their strategies, look for innovation, strive for sustainability and cope with digitalisation. Against this background, business educators are working hard to arm executives with the training they need in order to deal robustly with the issues. Warwick Business School (WBS) has an impressive suite of executive diplomas that aim to do just that. Director of Executive Education Tim Wray fills us in.

Hello, Tim! Thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to talk to us. Could we begin with a few words about your work day? What does a normal day look like for you?

It may be somewhat clichéd to say it, but no two days are the same! The variety in my role as Director of Executive Education at Warwick Business School is one of the great attractions for me. The job can take you anywhere. To start with, we have a base at Warwick University and also at The Shard in London. But I could just as easily wake up anywhere around the globe, as we have an international client base. One day might be spent with a client in a highly creative process as we put together a learning intervention; the next may be taken up navigating the procedures and committees that necessarily underpin life in a university setting. There will always be regular interaction with my team, either in person or virtually, as we are constantly managing multiple projects. It’s often fast-paced and pressurised and you need to thrive in that environment. Having said that, wherever I am, I like to get up early and have a couple of hours at my desk before the demands of the day really kick in. That’s an important time to ensure that I keep focused on the highest priorities.   

Warwick Business School’s suite of executive diplomas are a key part of its executive education programme. Could you give us some background on what led the school to set up the programme in this format?

We recently conducted an extensive survey among our alumni, who are located all around the globe and are typically operating in senior executive roles. We asked them to identify the most pressing challenges they are facing today, both organisationally and individually as business leaders. We wanted to know how we could best add value as they seek to take on these challenges.

The key areas that surfaced in the survey were leadership, strategy execution and building digital capability. We have designed the suite of executive diplomas around these critical themes. The diplomas represent a deep dive into each subject area, in contrast to a more general management programme. They are delivered in a more concentrated format over one calendar year, and the modular format suits people working in high-pressured jobs who are time-poor.

The executive diplomas are aimed at a senior executive audience who are interested in addressing a specific organisational challenge, like digital transformation, or plugging a capability gap, such as their own leadership skills and understanding. Another key characteristic of the diplomas is the strong focus on application and impact, not just theory.

Warwick Business School at The Shard, London

The WBS Diploma in Strategic Leadership not only aims to highlight the link between leadership and strategy in today’s fast-changing business environment, but is also predicated on the notion that strategy is no longer a top-down activity in a business organisation. Could you enlarge on that idea?

We know in the world we’re operating in that leadership has changed dramatically, and the idea of hero leaders at the top of an organisation who know everything has long gone. We need distributed leadership right across the organisation, and very often the executives we work with are seeking to build that leadership strength at all levels of the organisation. If we look at companies who do that extremely well, such as the likes of GE, they will have a premium on their share prices as a result. So, there is a real, genuine recognition of not just the strength of the senior management team, which of course is critical, but also the strength of your leadership right down through the organisation.

In a rapidly changing business environment, it is people located at the boundaries of the organisation, close to the market and competitors, and directly interacting with customers, who see opportunities first. How you enable these people to respond and mobilise support across the business is a critical question for those at the top of an organisation and a key theme of the strategic leadership diploma.

The Diploma in Strategy and Innovation is another member of the WBS executive diploma suite. What led to the establishment of a diploma course that links these two concepts?

We all know that every sector of the global economy is facing exponential change. Technological innovation is disrupting whole industries and shortening product life cycles. Where there is high uncertainty about the future, the strategy paradigm shifts away from analysis and planning, towards experimentation and discovery. Essentially, we need to learn our way to the future, building a portfolio of projects from which we hope the business of the future emerges. All of this requires a fundamentally new mindset and is why the diploma also focuses on leadership and creating an organisational culture supportive of innovation. Increasingly, strategy is emergent rather than planned, and the diploma helps senior leaders think about the individual and organisational capabilities required to make this happen.

If there is one feature that characterises the world in which we are now living, it is change. Warwick Business School’s Diploma in Organisational Change would seem to be highly relevant to today’s business scene, but how can the course help executives who probably come from a range of different business sectors to cope with this challenge?

Our research among our alumni community, which is made up of senior executives from a wide range of global organisations, told us that strategy execution, that “knowing-doing” gap and how to bridge it, is of critical importance to them. We know that up to 80% of strategies sit on the shelf and the real challenge is about strategy implementation. I recall speaking to a very successful chief executive who remarked that he’d rather have a good strategy well implemented, than a brilliant strategy that didn’t go anywhere. So that “knowing-doing” gap and that execution is of critical importance, and that’s what the diploma in organisational change is focused on.

Of course, a “one size fits all” approach will not work when it comes to implementing change. Different contexts require different change strategies. In fact, you could argue that every change setting is different and requires a nuanced approach. This contextual awareness and intelligence is a key characteristic of successful change leadership and a major theme running through the programme. We challenge participants not to implement formulaic approaches to change slavishly, and that includes methods that are currently much in vogue, such as agile, but rather to look at the subtleties of the context – the stakeholder landscape, the dynamic of power in the organisation, the legacy of previous change initiatives, what needs to stay the same as well as what needs to change – and to think carefully about what all this means for the approach to change that’s adopted.

I think a critical feature of a programme like this is also how participants evolve their own thinking and craft their own solutions from the many inputs. The expertise of faculty is one obvious source, but the diversity of experience and backgrounds in the room adds further richness to the discussion and encourages a participant to see their own situation through a different lens. A typical day on the executive diploma will involve a lot of break-out work, working in small groups, working on case-study material, making it a very interactive and dynamic learning setting that spans sectors and industries. That co-creation of learning is a critical aspect.

We’ve been talking about leadership, strategy, innovation and change. How can businesses cope with the extra dimension implied by digitalisation in connection with these concepts?

Digital disruption is washing across most sectors and industries. Our research has surfaced a real desire among executives at all levels to have a better understanding of the implications of digital transformation – both the opportunities this presents and the potential for a business to be disrupted if it does not keep pace. There is clearly a significant knowledge gap. The senior executives we work with have a lot of experience, but the pace of technological change is such that this experience can rapidly become redundant. Our digital leadership diploma provides a deep dive into topics like artificial intelligence, data analytics and platform strategy. It helps leaders identify the full potential of new technologies to add value to their own business, transforming the customer experience and growing value for shareholders. As with the other diplomas, Digital Leadership is all about application and the course work that participants engage in is intended to move forward the digital agenda tangibly within their own organisation.

These days, the notions of sustainability and defence of the environment are very much in people’s minds, in both the social and the business context. What do you think are the implications of these factors for today’s business leaders? How can business educators help?

A key research theme for WBS is understanding how companies respond to and integrate global sustainability challenges into their business strategies, management practices and corporate governance systems. In fact, our MBA programme has been declared the best in the world for sustainability and advancing environmental and social goals in business. Corporate Knights’ 2019 Better World MBA ranking focuses on the programmes that educate students on sustainability and responsible business, with WBS coming top out of nearly 150 of the best business schools in the world.

Research by colleagues in WBS has identified that a firm’s green credentials can insulate against the worst effects of an economic downturn. A business built on an ethical approach based on clear values can build a loyal customer base, making profits more stable and less correlated with economic cycles, reducing risk and increasing firm value. So not only is the approach better for the environment, it’s better for business.

As examples of the rapid changes taking place in the business environment, we may cast our thoughts to fintech and technologies such as AI, blockchain, mobile payments, cryptocurrencies and crowdfunding platforms. Can the school help executives to understand these kinds of developments and, if so, how?

Trends like these are a core part of our research and teaching agenda. It’s a key benefit of coming to somewhere like WBS, where our teaching is informed by groundbreaking research. In fact, the University recently received one of its largest donations from an individual to establish a new fintech research centre. The Gilmore Centre for Financial Technology will be housed at Warwick Business School and will bring together the school’s existing research in the area along with a host of new appointments. Developments in AI, blockchain, mobile payments, cryptocurrencies and crowdfunding platforms will be a key area of focus for the new centre and the insights generated will be immediately integrated into programmes such as the digital leadership diploma.

We’ve mentioned business involvement in wider issues, such as sustainability and the environment. Do you think that today’s business leaders have a role in terms of their responsibility to society as a whole? The concept of the inclusive society is one aspect that springs to mind.

Yes, I do. I remember looking at a survey that asked people who would they trust to tell them the truth. Business leaders came one place off the bottom, with only politicians ranked lower! So, we have a lot of work to do to restore trust and confidence. The first step is to understand that the public good is a key consideration, right alongside, if not ahead of, profitability and shareholder value. However, as I mentioned earlier, the mood of society around issues such as climate change and ethics means that responsible business practice and profitable business practices are no longer at odds. The biggest constraint on growth for most businesses is attracting and retaining the best talent. Increasingly, these people only want to work for organisations that share their values. So, the way to succeed is to fundamentally understand how your business fulfils a wider purpose in society.

On a more personal note, most people seem to accept the idea that we all need to find a suitable equilibrium between our professional and private lives – in other words, a work-life balance. What, for you, is an ideal work-life balance?

A former colleague of mine used to rail against that phrase, arguing that what we need is life balance rather than work-life balance, and I think he had a point. Work is a big part of most people’s lives and we should not think that it competes in some way with everything else that then gets labelled “life”. It’s along the same lines as someone asking, “Do you work to live, or do you live to work?”! If you enjoy your work, if it is engaging, fulfilling and purposeful, it is an incredibly important part of life! Of course, that also requires the space for physical, mental and spiritual renewal, and that’s were the balance issue kicks in, alongside a perspective on what is most important in life, particularly time for family and friends.

Finally, the word “success” means many things to many people. How would you, personally, define success?

Without wanting to sound overly high-minded, I find that as I progress further into my career, the answer to that question becomes much more about impact and legacy than anything else. What difference have you made, what impact have you had on those around you, what have you built that will outlast your tenure in the job?

Thank you very much Mr. Tim Wray. It’s a pleasure speaking with you.  

Executive Profile

Tim Wray is Professor of Practice and the Director of Executive Education at Warwick Business School. He has more than 20 years’ experience as a practitioner, consultant and executive educator specialising in strategic change, leadership, organisational communication and employee engagement. He has successfully delivered executive development programmes at senior levels for leading international companies in a range of sectors.

The post Get Ready for Disruption: WBS Prepares Executives for a Volatile Future appeared first on The European Business Review.

With seven campuses across five continents, Business School has already lived up to its goal to be THE global business school distinctively positioning itself as a centre for excellence, humanism, diversity, and innovation. One of its signature programmes, the Global Executive MBA, was established in 2014, and it has already made the top of French and international rankings through its quality and unique blended-learning framework and enhanced multicultural training.

In this enlightening interview, Director Anke Middelmann gives us a glimpse into just what makes the school’s business-educational programme so attractive to aspiring business leaders from all four corners of the globe.

Good day to you, Ms Middelmann. Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity to speak with you. We would like to congratulate SKEMA for its 10^th anniversary this year and on the fact that the Global Executive MBA has been ranked among the 12 best Executive MBAs by Forbes. How do you feel about this achievement? What do you think are the unique features that set this programme apart from the others?

Thank you very much for the congratulations. We’re delighted with the ranking in Forbes because it’s another milestone for this relatively young programme. I think this is all due to SKEMA’s vision, and the dedication of all of the people involved in making the programme what it is today, including students, faculty and all other stakeholders that have brought us to this point so soon. I think it is also important to note that this comes in addition to the fact that we have the triple-accreditation from AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA, and we’ve just obtained a new EFMD programme accreditation for the Global Executive MBA.

What makes us so unique? I think it’s the fact that we’re truly global in our outlook. Our student body is about 91% international and our faculty has either lived and worked abroad or comes from other countries. This makes for a very vibrant atmosphere. Another unique aspect is that it’s a blended-learning programme, which means that our students, wherever they are located in the world can follow courses online, through webinars and other means. Then they meet face-to-face during the six residential weeks. Last but not least, the strength of the programme content not only enables us to give leaders tools to capitalise on but to manoeuvre and re-invent themselves in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.

All these elements are important in today’s and tomorrow’s global business environments. So we have managed to recreate today’s typical professional environment and atmosphere in the programme. Our students find that this is a real strength and a major reason why they choose SKEMA.

As SKEMA’s Global Executive MBA Director, can you give us a glimpse of what your day looks like, and also can you share with us some of your favourite routines to ensure a productive day ahead?

My routine is that there is no routine! Given the international nature of the programme, with residential weeks on all of our campuses, in France, China, Brazil, the United States, and soon in South Africa, I constantly need to juggle with time zones. I can start my day with a conference call with the China campus, because they’re six to seven hours ahead, and might end it by exchanging with the Raleigh or Belo Horizonte campuses, because it’s the beginning of their day. My routine revolves very much around my ability to be adaptable and flexible. In short, it means that no day is like another, and that makes it a very exciting job. One key aspect of my job is to ensure that we, as a team, communicate as clearly and directly as possible with all our stakeholders, whether it’s about organisational matters, exchanging with faculty on course content, communicating with our campuses abroad to organise residential weeks, or our students and our business development team. 

You have an impressive and extensive professional track as a multicultural consultant of some major international organisations. Can you tell us something about your professional journey and what the transition was like when you shifted into academia?

My personal life journey is very much reflected in my professional journey. I’ve lived and studied in different countries from a fairly young age, and I’ve been in multicultural environments for most of my life. This has really heightened my curiosity about, and interest in, other cultures quite fundamentally. That set me on my multicultural career path. I’ve worked with quite a few global organisations, always with the goal of enabling people to understand the cultural differences and to overcome them to work together more effectively. Some of the organisations that I’ve worked with include, AXA, Rockwell, Siemens, DSK, business units within Airbus and Saint-Gobain.

At the same time, I taught at business schools and I found that really enriching, because I was able to take the experience from my multicultural work in companies into the classroom. It is something the students find valuable, because of course they are leaving the classroom to work for those international companies afterwards. 

The transition into academia was therefore quite smooth. In teaching multicultural management, I see the links between theory and practice at all levels, and it’s one of the things that I feel very passionate about conveying to my students. My desire is to enable individuals to become consciously competent in their international professional lives, so the opportunity to apply the practical side in an academic context is especially enriching for me. 

What do you think are the crucial aspects that need to be addressed in order to bridge the gap between academic learning and the practical needs of business leaders and industries across the globe?

They often feel like two worlds apart. Academic studies are tucked away in one corner and business is at the other end of the scale. But you can link the two quite successfully. What’s important – and this is what we achieve with the Global Executive MBA at SKEMA – is to create very vivid links between the theory and the practice. Academic learning is necessary because you need that crucial foundation; without a theory, how can you put things into practice effectively? But, at the same time, theory on its own is not complete without some form of practical context. We do this across the board, through case studies, student observations and feedback into the classroom, or hands-on business simulations.

We also achieve this through the way we teach. For example, Dr Philippe Chereau, Professor in Management Science on the Global Executive MBA and former consultant in the strategic management of innovation and business modelling, uses his experience, expertise and latest academic research to draw that bridge when he teaches on the Global Executive MBA. Students are encouraged to analyse and rethink their company’s business model through the theory of disruptive innovation to help create a rupture in their environment by developing a new innovative business model for their organisation. Students can apply the theoretical foundations in ways that enhance their critical thinking and their analytical and communication skills. We think of entrepreneurs as innovator-transformers.

SKEMA Business School impressively delivers its blended format, specialisations and flexible options for the Global Executive MBA programme across the four continents. How will this global experience enhance the executives’ or your students’ cultural competence and management skills?

Studying at SKEMA is a global experience at all levels. The student body and faculty are international, and the programme takes the students to five continents. The sheer force of this – different perspectives, different experiences – makes the programme a real multicultural laboratory, and students learn to deal with each other’s differences first-hand, both face-to-face and in the virtual classroom.

To enhance these cultural and management skills, students take a course called “Developing Global Mindset”, throughout the programme where we combine learning about culture & cultural differences as well as geopolitical and international economic issues. In this way students really get the whole spectrum of what it means to be in an international and intercultural environment.

Practically, students do a lot of their coursework in teams, both virtually and face to face during the six residential weeks. I always pay great attention to ensure that teams are made up of diverse groups of students to ensure a real balance between cultural, professional and gender diversity.

What are some of the common challenges that you observed amongst your participants or students in a multicultural environment, and how does SKEMA address the shifting market trends and the varying demands of executives from different countries and industries?

The challenges among our participants are very much the same as those faced by organisations working internationally and multiculturally. These can be language issues, as well as differences in attitudes and expectations, to name just a few. It is our responsibility to work on these issues; and we do this through our courses, team-building activities and by taking the time to listen to our participants, to understand what issues they may encounter, and to explore underlying assumptions and preferences.

In terms of shifting markets and market trends, our programme is very much aligned with SKEMA’s overall strategy, which focuses on globalisation, innovation and the knowledge economy.

For example, we have recently developed two hugely successful specialisations: entrepreneurship and innovation and project management. Both of these were developed in response to participants’ requirements to work on innovation and project management in a global context.

What are the types of organisations that would benefit mostly from the unique set-up of the Global Executive MBA, and so far what is the best feedback you have received?

While our participants come from many different professional, educational, and organisational backgrounds, they do have a few of things in common: they all want to move beyond their current professional levels. We offer them a rich learning environment that provides them with a helicopter vision of business from a strategic perspective; linked to this is are the strong leadership skills that they all need to break the ceiling they have hit in their career. In addition to formal courses and teamwork, we offer all our Global Executive MBA students access to professional coaching. They leave the programme equipped with a skill set that large and small companies need, and particularly those that operate at international level. Past participants have come, as examples, from large and medium size insurance, telecom or engineering companies. Others are start-up founders who come on the programme to develop, consolidate and validate their business model. We have seen graduates being promoted to executive level during the programme or soon after they graduate. Others have moved up to new and demanding positions in other companies or have successfully created their own businesses. Satisfaction amongst students is high and former students or alumni send us new students every year.

What do you think are the most challenging issues when addressing the different needs of your participants, and what are the different career paths of your students? Can you give us some examples?

Given the diverse nature of our cohorts, meeting needs and requirements could be very challenging. It is also very invigorating! One of the key elements for us is to provide a good learning and growth experience for all as well as to give them support, advice and individual attention, whether this is academic or personal.

To help them enhance their professional performance and impact, they work on a substantial final project called the Capstone Project, in which students develop their professional paths by linking their project to their current future professional situation. Therefore, students who want to stay within their current company are often supported by their employers, and will tend to develop practical recommendations for intractable business challenges. Students seeking a career change will focus on a final project that will give them the opportunity to really discover themselves, improve skills and define their preferences. One of our students took a leap to move from France to Australia to start a new business venture Down Under, utilising all the skills that she gained on the programme. Another has just set up his own business in his home country as a result of doing this degree. We are able to meet the individual needs and requirements of our students and we accompany them and give them support throughout their time at SKEMA. We encourage them to use this unique opportunity to develop and strengthen their academic and professional skills and knowledge.

The uncertainty and the hypercompetitive roles of today’s industries call for a leader who can create these strong and positive changes, not only for themselves but for the whole organisation as well. How does SKEMA’s Global Executive MBA help and shape the new generation of leaders, and what do you think are the important qualities of a leader of the future?

Leadership skills are something that all students feel they need. In response to that need, we’ve recently created a major new course within the programme, which we’ve called “The Leadership Lab”, a course that covers every aspects of leadership development and gives students the space to experiment with and develop their leadership qualities. This is complemented by the teaching of practical skills such as negotiation, public speaking, resilience and mindfulness. Additionally, students get access to an executive coaching package tailored to their needs and requirements. But leadership development also happens intuitively and tacitly within the programme, and students develop new insights about themselves by interacting with, and being challenged by, classmates. Passion, self-awareness, confidence and self-belief are also very important, as well as the ability to lead inclusively, collaboratively and with integrity.

By the end of the programme, students have a clearer vision of where they want to go, both as individuals and professionals.

On a lighter note, we are interested to know how you maintain a healthy work-life balance. People in the upper echelons naturally have a lot on their plate. How do you manage?

An important learning curve for me was to recognise that, while you can multitask, you can’t do everything equally well. Setting priorities is very important and I try not to spread myself too thinly.

To maintain a balanced professional and personal life, it’s extremely important to make a point of ending the work day and not being tempted to check emails at night. It is vital for any leader, and I try to practise this as much as I can myself, to spend some time on myself every day, whether that is self-reflecting, reading a good book, going for walks, or spending time with family and friends. These type of activities help me recharge my batteries.

One of the global advocacies that we have nowadays is to empower women for leadership roles across all industries. So as a female leader yourself, how do you think we can progress in such an endeavour?

This is a very pertinent issue and it has been for a while. I feel very grateful to be where I am today, because it hasn’t always been (and still is not) like this for women everywhere in the world. When I see the number of women in high positions today, in business or in government, compared with even 10-15 years ago, I feel that we’ve come quite some way towards the empowerment of women in the professional context. It is mirrored in our Global Executive MBA, where we have a very impressive and very gratifying rate of 40% female participants. Of course, having said that, much still needs to be done. I think we need to recognise that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Actions need to fit cultural circumstances; to give one example, we operate a female scholarship and we’ve noticed that it is proving highly attractive.

Lastly, what message of motivation would you like to get across to future and aspiring leaders, and what does success mean to you?

Success means something different to every one of us, and I can’t speak for everybody. For me, it means doing what I’m passionate about. And I have to say that running this international and multicultural programme with talented, highly motivated and passionate participants, and a wonderful team is exactly that, so I feel very blessed in that regard. If I were to advise or motivate any future aspiring leader (or, indeed, anyone really who’s not sure about what they want to do next), my message would be: start with yourself! Reflect on who you really are, listen to yourself and your intuition and you will identify that dream. And then, you should go for that dream, because if you’ve got the confidence and the determination, you will get there.

Thank you very much Ms Middelmann. It was a pleasure speaking with you.

Executive Profile

Anke Middelmann, Director of the highly esteemed Global Executive MBA of the SKEMA Business School, holds a Masters degree in Intercultural Communication from the University of Bedfordshire in the UK, and a Bachelors degree in European History from the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. She also holds a coaching qualification from Coach U in the United States, and from the World Class Coaching Academy in the UK.

She is a permanent assistant professor in Multicultural Management.  Prior to working for SKEMA Business School, Anke Middelmann worked for the European Commission in both Brussels and Washington, DC, and as an independent intercultural trainer, facilitator and coach.

The post Developing Future Business Leadership with a Truly Global Mindset appeared first on The European Business Review.

Being one of the Top Executive Education Programmes with the Best ROI, Columbia Business School places great importance in addressing each organisation’s specific challenges. In this episode of the feature series, we had the pleasure of meeting with the Merrill Lynch Professor of Workforce and Transformation Ann Bartel, who shared with us the invaluable benefits an organisation can gain from partnering with a custom-built programme, the powerful impact it can make on the company’s talent retention rate, and how it can significantly enhance the company’s global competitiveness in these fast-changing times.

Good day, Professor Bartel. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. Being a professor at Columbia Business School must make for a busy schedule. To begin, would you please tell us how you start your day to make sure it is a productive one?   

The first thing I do is peruse the Wall Street Journal to see if there are any interesting headlines or stories that might be relevant to something I’m teaching that day or to something I’m conducting research on. Time permitting, I go to the gym before I go to the office.

You are an expert in the field of labour economics and human resource management. Can you tell us what excites you most in terms of the latest developments in your field, and what are some pressing issues you are focusing on at the moment? 

The biggest change in human resource management that I have been seeing in recent years, especially within the last year or two, is what’s called people analytics. This is the use of data to help companies recruit and identify talent, measure performance, and retain employees. I think that’s the most interesting thing that’s going on in the field of human resource management today. The field has become much more data oriented.

In terms of my own research, while I use data throughout my work in the area of human resource management, what I’m focusing on most recently is family-friendly policies. I’ve discovered that employees are demanding these family-friendly policies and that companies are using them creatively as a way to attract and retain talent.

You are the director of Columbia Business School’s Workforce Transformation Initiative and one of the faculty directors for Columbia Business School Executive Education’s custom programmes. Can you share some of the unique advantages a custom-built programme can offer organisations?

The Workforce Transformation Initiative was made possible by a generous gift from Merrill Lynch to support research and executive education on the transformation of the workforce. This covers topics such as the impact of technology, new ways of organising work, changes in career patterns, and diversity and inclusion.  This was the genesis for the Women’s Executive Development Programme we currently run with Bank of America.

Custom programmes provide faculty with an opportunity to understand the company and its specific needs, and it’s an iterative process. It starts during the very first meeting, where the company communicates their idea about the type of training and skill development they’re looking for.

Custom programmes like this one, and the one we run for the law firm Debevoise and Plimpton, give companies the opportunity to work directly with Columbia Business School faculty to develop a programme that specifically meets the company’s needs. Often, when we first meet the client, we sit down together and learn about the company, what their pressing issues are, why they think an executive education programme is right for them, and what they are looking to accomplish. We then design a tailored programme that specifically addresses the interests and concerns that the company has.

Columbia Business School Executive Education has partnered with several prestigious international organisations to build custom programmes for their executives. Can you tell us how the programmes are designed to meet the clients’ requirements and continuous demand for innovation?

Custom programmes provide faculty with an opportunity to understand the company and its specific needs, and it’s an iterative process. It starts during the very first meeting, where the company communicates their idea about the type of training and skill development they’re looking for. The Columbia faculty then sketches out a programme they think would be appropriate – in terms of the number of days – and effective – in terms of skill building – for the company. Then, there are multiple discussions with the company where ideas and suggestions are exchanged. It is through this iterative process that we create a programme that truly addresses the company’s needs.

Success of the programmes is largely defined and measured by the client. We partner with them to understand how the learnings have been implemented, if the programme has met their expectations, and various qualitative measures.

For clients we work with year after year, we’re constantly tweaking the programme. We might delete a session, we might add a session, based on the client’s evolving needs and what’s happening in the business landscape. Typically, we look at the programme evaluations after the programme concludes, reviewing what the participants liked, what they felt was missing, and we revise the programme accordingly. So each year, while we may have the same overarching framework, improvements are made from the learnings.

What are the biggest challenges you have encountered in designing/leading the custom built programmes, and how do you overcome them?

The biggest challenge is for the Columbia faculty to understand what the company is looking for. We spend a lot of time with the client learning about their business and their training needs and then designing a learning plan in which their executives will develop practical skills and the tools needed to meet the immediate and long-term business objectives. Then, based on these discussions, we present the client with a proposal that explains the overall learning journey and how each session ties back to the company’s training needs. The client will then share their thoughts on the proposal, and the faculty further refines the proposal. It can be a time-intensive process, with lots of interaction between the Columbia faculty and the client.

Another challenge is that you have to be willing to make changes. It could mean changing faculty, eliminating sessions, or adding new ones. We need to be open to the feedback we receive both from the client and the participants and be willing to change.

How do you measure and ensure long-term success for an organisation? Can you share some of the best feedback you have received from past participants of a programme?

Success of the programmes is largely defined and measured by the client. We partner with them to understand how the learnings have been implemented, if the programme has met their expectations, and various qualitative measures.  And then, of course, we look to the programme evaluations from the participants to quantify the experience.

Any industry that’s undergoing change and that needs to innovate in order to stay competitive would benefit from a custom-built programme.

We’ve received feedback from Bank of America that their programme, which focuses on women’s executive development, is giving them a competitive advantage in attracting talent. They’re able to differentiate themselves from their competitors and show potential employees what they’re doing to develop the skills and talent of their female executives. In fact, Bank of America looked at promotion rates and found that women who go through our programmes are 3.5 times more likely to be promoted than those who do not.

The business environment has grown more complex and interconnected. What industries do you believe would find value in and benefit from custom-built executive programmes?

I think any industry that’s undergoing change and that needs to innovate in order to stay competitive would benefit from a custom-built programme, and frankly, it’s hard to think of an industry that’s not undergoing change and needing to innovate. Unless it’s an industry that’s being phased out, custom-built programmes are perfect for any industry that’s looking for that competitive edge.

It goes back to what I mentioned earlier about how custom programmes enable us to look at what is going on inside that company today, what are the challenges they are facing, and what do they need their employees to be able to do? This allows us to design a programme that’s specifically targeted to the issues the company is facing, which isn’t limited to any one industry.

From the perspective of workforce transformation, how does the executive programme help companies and leaders achieve their goals of creating a high- performing workforce?

To me, the modern definition of workforce transformation is continuous learning on the part of employees. People need to be able to adapt to changes in the workforce. The job that you had a year ago may not be relevant to what the company needs you to do today, which demands continuous learning and continuous innovation. That is how I see the workforce currently being transformed.

Based on your experience working with senior leaders and executives from various sectors, what are some key takeaways and advice you have for aspiring leaders and seasoned managers in terms of building a successful career?

The world today is such that there are always new things coming out – new technologies, new products, new processes, new ways of measuring. I think that aspiring managers and seasoned leaders need to be able to adapt to this new type of environment. You can’t just be comfortable saying, “I’ve been doing a great job for the last five years, so I’m just going to stay where I am.” That’s not going to help you be successful in your career. Companies today are looking for people who can adapt to change and not be resistant to it. People who want to learn, people who seek out new opportunities. I think that’s the key to a successful career.

One last question, Professor Bartel: What is your definition of success?

For me, success is setting a goal and taking pride in whatever I was able to achieve, recognising that some goals may be difficult or even impossible to reach. Being able to look in the mirror and say, “I’m proud of what I was able to do. Even if I couldn’t achieve everything I set out to achieve, I’m very proud of what I was able to do.”

Thank you very much Professor Bartel. It was a great pleasure speaking with you.

Executive Profile

Professor Bartel is the Merrill Lynch Professor of Workforce Transformation at Columbia Business School and the Director of Columbia Business School’s Workforce Transformation Initiative. She is an expert in the fields of labor economics and human resource management and has published numerous articles on employee training, human capital investments, job mobility, workforce practices, work-family policies, and the impact of technological change on productivity, worker skills, and outsourcing decisions. She teaches Managerial Negotiations and Economics of Organisational Strategy. Bartel is a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the recipient of numerous research grants. She has also served as a consultant for many companies on strategic human resource management issues and has directed executive education programmes for talented women executives who are positioning themselves for career advancement.

The post Custom-built Programmes for the Future Workforce appeared first on The European Business Review.

Since its establishment in 1990, Cambridge Judge Business School has always been a leader in innovation and new knowledge creation. Executive Education at Cambridge Judge Business School continues to hone executives and organisations to be instruments of change and contribute to society through its rigorous curriculum and world class learning environment. 

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Kishore Sengupta, Cambridge Judge Business School’s Director of Executive Education, and he shared with us his views on the state of Executive Education and how Cambridge Judge combines research excellence and practice expertise to meet the demands of business in the face of the rapidly changing world.

Good day, Dr. Sengupta! Thank you for sharing your valuable time by doing this interview with us. To start, for a top academic leader like you, what are the best morning routines to jumpstart a busy day and your quick tips to improve productivity for a day’s work?

One of the key elements to starting the day properly is to eat a healthy breakfast, which helps to create and channel positive energy. A quick scan of emails first thing can help prevent distractions and avoid firefighting later in the day. It’s also a good idea to tackle writing chores early in the day – before phones ring, emails arrive and people request meetings.  A diary scan in the morning helps to prepare the day – but it’s also important to scan a day ahead in order to prepare for upcoming issues.

Nowadays, business practices are being transformed dramatically by globalisation and digitisation. Are there also significant changes or new trends in the executive education field? What are the major challenges?

One major challenge for executive education in today’s era is to align online delivery with rapidly changing business models around the world.  There is a lot of noise associated with these changes, but there’s also evidence of the landscape settling into more predictable models with more stable partnerships and alliances.  It’s also important to remember that while digital delivery is transformational, it will never replace the quality of a face-to-face learning relationship in such an intellectually vibrant hub like we have here in Cambridge.

Cambridge Judge Business School is a highly reputable institution for management education and a forerunner in delivering top quality Executive Education programmes. Can you tell us what are the outstanding features that set you apart from other business schools and what make your programmes unique and with best quality?

Cambridge Judge’s excellence is based on two features which are common across the wider University.  First is our research capability.  We have 16 research centres and are looking to add more all the time.  Second is our small class sizes.  We have significantly higher ratios of Faculty to participants on our programmes than most other schools.  This gives an intensive and focused environment where original thought leadership and subject expertise come together with real world experience.  It is why the UK government rated us as number 1 for the impact of our research.  We use the term “deep engagement” to describe how research and practice play off each other, enhancing both aspects to the benefit of our Executive Education participants.

King’s College, University of Cambridge

Despite the growing competition and changing nature of the market, how does Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education respond to market shifts and new opportunities, as well as address the different learning and development needs of top executives?

We scan the horizon: using our research outreach, we’re able to spot trends and anticipate changes in the market and in the demands facing senior leaders around the world.  We recognise that it’s difficult for many business leaders to take time away from the day to day to reflect and learn.  Therefore, it is important to make the most of senior leaders’ time.  Because of our research strength and emphasis on high Faculty to participant ratios, our programmes are often more intensive and focused than elsewhere.  We feel that is important in how we add value.

To operate in a turbulent world, business leaders need radical innovation and network competencies. What do you think are the particular facets of the executive education curriculum that are immensely valuable tools for your participants? 

The global nature of our clientele lends itself to the creation of powerful networks.  Journeying to Cambridge from around the globe, our participants and clients form enduring and deep connections that last long beyond their brief time in Cambridge. We have groups of senior leaders still sharing experience, memories and advice years after completing their programmes. Clients bring disparate and multinational groups to programmes in Cambridge from around the world, creating internal networks and leveraging the power of organisational learning.

Can you tell us more about one of the interesting and strong features of your programmes – the peer learning exchange process. How does this help in enhancing the success of your programmes?

Our flagship Open programmes include the opportunity for personal transformation through peer coaching.  Led by experienced and highly qualified practitioners, this coaching complements classroom theory with real-world examples through in-person sessions and online post-programme forums. 

What are the important metrics that you use to gauge the inclusive and long-term effectiveness and impact of your programmes? How do you make sure that the participants and their organisations will gain the highest return on their investment in Executive Education programmes?

We carefully monitor all teaching sessions and measure their success in achieving the objectives for organisations and participants. Measurements taken post programme, which gauge differences in approach and attitude, can indicate the effectiveness of the learning experience at three and six months. Doing things differently – or identifying the barriers to change – are important measures of success.  Feedback is shared with our teaching faculty to ensure they can act on areas that need improvement and enhancement.

With your vast professional experience prior being an academic leader of a prestigious university, what do you think are the kind of business leaders we need for a rapidly changing world and what kind of leadership the modern industries require?

From my experience, having worked across continents, I think that leaders need a global perspective in order to navigate today’s increasingly global topography. Resilience and tenacity, coupled with emotional intelligence and humility, are the personal attributes that I have seen in successful leaders. 

On a lighter note, we are interested in knowing what are the top things or activities does a high-calibre academician like you do to recharge during your day-off from work? 

Fast cars, sailing, new technological toys, and music.

Lastly, what does success mean to you? Any message you wish to share with our readers?

In my current role, I look at professional success through the prism of our Executive Education clients’ individual and organisational success.  It’s a bit like a parent beaming contentedly on the sidelines if their child scores a goal on the football pitch – satisfaction through others’ achievements.

Thank you very much Dr. Sengupta! A pleasure speaking with you. 

About the Interviewee

Dr. Kishore Sengupta is Director of Executive Education and Reader in Operations Management at Cambridge Judge Business School. He has served as advisor on several projects with the US Government Department of Defense and NASA, and has consulted with organisations in Silicon Valley and Hong Kong. He has also worked at the AT&T Network Software Center (now LucentTechnologies) and Ernst & Young.Dr Sengupta’s published research appears in journals in information technology and management, such as Management Science, MIS Quarterly, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, and IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. He is currently working on a book on online electronic environments.

The post Deep Engagement: Where Thought Leadership and Subject Expertise Meet appeared first on The European Business Review.

Founded in 1953 in one of Europe’s premier education spots, Vlerick Business School in Belgium focuses on knowledge creation through research-based learning structure to produce business leaders that approach business problems in a broader and more scholarly mindset.  To further advance the research excellence in the business management field, Vlerick Business School, Ghent University and KU Leuven have launched its DBA programme in Europe last year. In this interview, Professor Brecht Cardoen, PhD, Academic Director of the DBA programme, shared with us the unique features and benefits of pursuing this highest academic degree in business administration. 

Good day, Professor Cardoen! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. Let’s start this interview by giving us a glimpse of what a day looks like for an academic and business leader like you?

Being part of our career faculty, a typical day mirrors activities at different levels. I could be enjoying an interactive teaching session with our executives or making advancements in one of our research projects on process optimisation and value-based healthcare. In both cases, I have noticed an increasing interest in decision-making supported by quantitative methods, which has created opportunities to innovate and learn. Therefore, a day in my academic life definitely turns into a good day when conversations spark an idea for further research. Listening is a crucial capability here, as there are many challenges, ideas, opportunities that cross paths in the business school. This is also evidenced in our Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) programme, where candidates show research interests in various functional domains, sectors, or geographical areas. As the Academic Director of the DBA programme, helping our candidates in assessing their fit with the programme and matching them with supervisors are also part of my daily activities.

As the Academic Director of the DBA programme, can you tell us what sets this programme apart from other advanced management degrees? 

It is important to understand that the DBA is a programme in which research is the key cornerstone and thus emphasis is put on research methods and their application. This is very different from MBA programmes, which have the ultimate goal to make you a better manager, which is not necessarily the same as becoming a great scholar. Scholarship is about the disciplined search for knowledge that remains reliable independent of the passion, desire or material interest of the discoverer. It requires developing a wide variety of skills, including creativity, critical thinking, writing skills, community building skills, persistence and resilience. The difference in mindset makes a researcher’s approach to a challenging question very different from a manager’s approach, probably leading to many more questions. So when thinking about the DBA, the main focus is on in-depth knowledge creation instead of knowledge dissemination. At Vlerick Business School, we talk about ‘bringing action to knowledge’, leveraging the experience of our candidates. And, when talking about degrees, a successful completion of our DBA programme is awarded by a joint PhD degree from the university partners KU Leuven and Ghent University.

You also hold teaching assignments at the Executive MBA, Full-time MBA, and graduate level at Vlerick and KU Leuven. How do you think the DBA programme could advance and leverage its participants’ business knowledge and expertise should they pursue a Doctorate in Business Administration? What are the significant edges one could obtain?

DBA participants excel in finding relevance in the research questions they want to tackle. Building upon so many years of experiences, there is a solid base that helps them to point to a relationship or hypothesis that is worth investigating. Next, a DBA participant also typically has a unique access to data, which is often seen as a challenge by scholars. By making use of their network or company resources, they create a head start and open up a range of opportunities. However, not all that glitters is gold, and I believe a DBA participant could also often be uncertain about some aspects of doing research. In this case, our programme helps them to install rigour next to relevance, i.e. educating them how to adequately design and execute research, building that analytical mindset as mentioned. We enable our participants to conceptualise compared to the daily firefighting their jobs often bring. In a way, they learn to slow down again and step away from the daily hassle their executive function often entails.

Vlerick Business School has joined forces with other Belgium’s top ranked universities namely Ghent University and KU Leuven in creating the DBA programme. Can you tell us how this partnership benefits the participants  and how the three institutions collaborate?

Indeed, our DBA is a partnership of three strong institutions, which allows playing on the strengths of each partner. Whereas the business school enjoys a triple accreditation, is pragmatic and familiar in working with executives, the universities bring in an exceptionally strong research culture and performance. Every DBA candidate gets at least two supervisors whose expertise is tailored to the real need of the participant. Also, it means we make complementary teams of supervisors, as hardly ever all necessary expertise to support a participant is bundled in a single person. The partnership provides a large faculty base to make such supervisory teams. The collaboration between the three is however not restricted to the supervision of the participants, but stretches also to the course teaching, access to libraries, and so forth. Finally, joining forces enables the award of a joint PhD degree, giving stronger branding and value for the participant.

Your research is centred on healthcare process management and optimisation with a particular interest in hospitals. You also head the healthcare provider initiatives of Vlerick’s Healthcare Management Centre such as MINOZ, a research network of Belgian hospitals searching for solutions to operational challenges. How does your background help you manage and cultivate a unique design for the DBA programme? 

My research in healthcare is multidisciplinary and combines many strands. Let’s think for instance, about value-based healthcare. Porter defines value in healthcare as achieving the best outcomes at the lowest cost¹. One way of looking at this equation implies that more value is obtained when the same outcome is delivered at lower cost. Having thus a detailed understanding about costing mechanisms is essential to think further on process improvements, and therefore it makes sense to team up with an expert in the field of cost and management accounting. Value-based healthcare is furthermore not only a topic that triggers the interests of academics, but also the interest of industry and healthcare providers. In other words, with my research I connect and combine different angles. Making these bridges also enables the creation of spillovers in research: why would a good research design not lead to both an academic paper and insights that fit the interests of our business community and society? Furthermore, being an active researcher also makes me aware of the potential pitfalls and difficulties, which I try to translate together with my colleagues into the DBA programme.

How do you make sure the results of participating in your programme will be worthwhile for participants and their organisations in terms of knowledge acquisition, career advancement, long-term profitability for business, and other measures of ROI for a business education degree?

Now we’re talking about impact, which has different dimensions. The DBA creates impact towards the individual, the company, but also society. We embed an elective part and also specific skills sessions that together ensure the personal growth of our participants. The electives can be directed towards academic, business or teaching oriented activities. Skills sessions are organised around topics such as but not limited to presentations for different audiences (how to adapt your message according to the recipient), or career management (thinking about opportunities the PhD degree might create). We actively stimulate our participants to think about impact, and also require them to write an impact plan. For companies, the major impact follows from developing an in-house expert, leading to innovation and discovery. We often see that research questions can be pinned into the business context of a company, which creates a clear win for both company and candidate. Also, the DBA can be seen as a validation method for ideas or insights one might have, and thus finding evidence to confirm or reject current thoughts. Listening to our participants and their motivations, I’m not sure that ROI of a DBA should be defined in terms of profitability or financial gain, which is often the case when talking about management degrees and measuring their impact. Well, I guess we can have an entire talk discussing about impact and doing research that matters. It is no coincidence that we chose the latter topic as central theme of this year’s DBA conference, given the importance of this debate for research institutes in general but certainly also for doctoral education. 

As you have just launched the programme last year, what should the present and future participants look forward to in terms of the academic and extracurricular experience they may obtain? What are your significant plans and/or initiatives to strengthen the programme in the coming years?

It is important to keep in mind that pursuing a DBA is in essence a very individual trajectory. In a way, the success and progress of your research is determined by your efforts and capabilities, which by no means imply that you are alone in your journey. Besides the obvious support of your supervisors, building a community of peers is of crucial importance. We especially would like to strengthen this community of peers who all face a similar endeavour and are in need of sharing and caring when it comes to their doctoral journey. This is fostered by different activities during the course weeks. In the future, we want to build on our strengths. Naturally, growing our international DBA community is a top priority in the upcoming years, including leveraging our doctoral school and extending some key activities such as our DBA conference.

What’s the most challenging when addressing the needs of your participants? How do you meet their expectations and have them better prepared upon returning to their respective workplaces?

First, I already pointed out that seeing relevance of research is a strong capability of our DBA participants, leading to a clear management question. However, a management question is not yet an academic research question, and this translation appears to be hard at the start since the academic world often is yet to be discovered. During our application process, we first screen for eligibility, and in a second stage we actively help our participants in drafting a first research idea. Here, a crucial role is attributed to potential supervisors who will discuss and guide the candidate even before admission. This implies that, when admitted to our programme, the participants already have been assigned supervisors, have been in touch with those supervisors, and have a research idea that connects to an ongoing academic debate, all starting from their initial idea. Second, next to the research question, we see challenges at the level of rigour, as often methodological skills and knowledge still need to be developed, which is in the programme addressed by the coursework. Third, finding the work-research balance is not straightforward as executives have busy calendars. Therefore, providing a smoothened process – allowing for some flexibility – is important not to lose any valuable time. We also invite our candidates to communicate well and in advance about their engagement in the DBA, both professionally and with relatives. Finally, as for any degrees, there are deliverables and deadlines, turning the professional somehow into a student again. This might need some adaptation, but our DBA team is ready to provide the necessary guidance here and regular progress reporting helps in the communication.

As the world and businesses rapidly evolve, leadership becomes more challenging. What do you think are the important qualities a business leader must have in order to drive business functions successfully into the future? 

This is a question we’ve been thinking about as a business school, especially since the pace of change is high, and I’m confident our point of view also holds for the DBA. First important quality is that you have to live your dream. You need to understand the context today, but have a goal for tomorrow and dare to take the first step. Second, be a student, always. A leader should be open to lifelong learning and challenge the status quo when it comes to current models and methods. Third, leaders leap and succeed in making a transformation and creating impact. I think this fits the entrepreneurial spirit of Vlerick Business School, and thus also translates into the DBA programme. Live, Learn, Leap.

And subsequently, how do you make sure your programme has a lasting impact on the professional development of your participants? 

 We create that lasting impact mainly by changing and broadening their mindset to become a scholar for life. It’s a different way of looking at problems, a habit or mindset you never forget. Furthermore, impact is created where the (unmet) needs are the highest and the offer is up to expectations. Therefore, explicitly screening for relevance is important, just like tailoring the programme with electives and the right amount of flexibility. Don’t forget that participants can build upon vast experience, a fundament that offers the right framing to internalise and connect new learnings.

Pursuing a doctorate is a demanding journey. Can you share with our readers and prospective participants of the DBA programme how you make sure that you maintain a healthy lifestyle, both in your professional and personal life? What are your favourite routines?

Not sure whether I’m providing a best practice here…I tend to think about healthy lifestyle in two dimensions: mentally and physically. It is important to clear the mind from time to time: being physically present not necessarily means you are also mentally present. I still remember from my own PhD studies that leaving problems at work is not so easy. At that time I was programming quite intensely, and nothing worse than knowing there’s a bug in the code just when the packed weekend was about to start. Physically, I make sure to give sufficient attention to sleeping as it also helps balance professional and personal life. Area for improvement? I would like to drink less coffee, find a more healthy way of commuting, provide sufficient time and attention to having a diversified lunch; a bit more of sports would be welcome too. I guess too many wishes for a single year, no?

Lastly, what does success mean to you? Any other message you wish to share with our readers?

Success points to reaching the goals you have defined within a defined set of constraints. One typically defines multiple goals on sometimes very different levels that simultaneously need to be aimed for. So in this sense, I find it difficult to give a straightforward answer to this question, as there are so many things I actually want. Supporting people in reaching their successes also feels like a success for me personally, regardless of whether it is in pursuing a DBA or the broader educational field. I truly hope that whatever activity you do, you do it with joy, since I’m a strong believer that joy and success ideally go hand in hand.

Thank you very much, Professor Cardoen! It’s a pleasure speaking with you. 

Brecht Cardoen is the Academic Director of the DBA Programme. He is Associate Professor in Technology and Operations Management at Vlerick Business School and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business and Economics of KU Leuven (Belgium). His research is centred around healthcare process management and optimisation with a particular interest in hospitals.

The post Live, Learn, Leap: Doctorate in Business Administration at Vlerick Business School appeared first on The European Business Review.

Interview with Professor Paul Ingram, Faculty Director of Advanced Management Programme from Columbia Business School Executive Education

Located in one of the world’s most dynamic business hubs – New York City, Columbia Business School Executive Education has an unparalleled environment for advanced business education. To find out how it allows executives to immerse themselves in NYC’s rich culture and vigorous business scenes, we sat down with Professor Paul Ingram, Faculty Director of Columbia Business School Executive Education’s Advanced Management Programme, who sheds light on their uniquely designed curriculum and the proven learning methodology that help executives respond to evolving leadership challenges and create a vision to lead their companies to success.

Good day, Professor Ingram! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. Let’s start this interview by giving us a glimpse of what a day looks like for an academic leader like you?

I spend a large portion of my time teaching, so most days, I’m in the classroom – or teaching in other locations. Yesterday, I taught a group of associates at a global law firm; today, I’ll be in meetings about a new way to bring leadership tools online. This evening, I’ll be travelling to Morocco where I’m teaching Executive MBA students as part of a great partnership programme that Columbia Business School runs with the African Business School. And I’m a scholar, so ideally there’s also time for some research, maybe some analysis of data and some writing, which is how I like to spend the extra hours that I can eek out.

Having held visiting professorships in various parts of the world, can you tell us the most significant development in the business world you’ve witnessed thus far? How about the next big thing in business / leadership education?

In a sense, we’re seeing a form of globalisation. I’ll start by pointing to China, where I’ve taught for close to 20 years. In the past, Chinese organisations were managed differently from what we would see in other regions of the world. Now the leaders that we teach from China are tapping into a lot of the universals about effectiveness of managing yourself, managing teams, and structuring organisations while dealing with their own culture and their own strategies. We’re also seeing some of the same leadership strategies in some countries in Africa. In a sense, human performance – individually and in teams – is becoming a kind of universal ideal. This means that we get to interact more and more with leaders in different kinds of organisations in different places.

As the Faculty Director of the Columbia Advanced Management Programme, what excites you most or what do you eagerly anticipate in terms of the programme’s present and future endeavours?

In every programme, there will be some incredible people. The participant pool is incredibly diverse, and I can rely on the fact that it is going to have a massive impact on me, just as it does on everybody else in the programme.

Another aspect that excites me about the Advanced Management Programme is that we’re always innovating in the programme. While we have a core pedagogy, we’re always looking to incorporate new content and ways to take the content to the next level and deliver it in more unique, differentiating and impactful ways. It’s exciting to be part of something that is continuously evolving.

Columbia Business School is known for being strategically positioned at the very center of business in various aspects, and the Advanced Management Programme is Columbia’s flagship residential programme for senior executives. Can you tell us more about what sets this particular programme apart from other executive education courses?

I don’t think there’s another executive education programme in the world like ours. Our programme is different from the other Advanced Management Programmes at other universities.

We’re dedicated to experiential learning where the participants are actually doing things as a way of learning. We may have a presentation of important new research, a case study, or a framework, but every day the participants are going to be putting ideas into action, trying them out in unique ways.

For doing that, we have New York City as our laboratory. We will learn about presence on the stage of a Broadway theatre. We’ll learn about new organisational designs with a startup company. We will learn about shaping culture in one of the world’s great museums. We’ll learn about teamwork in a jazz club interacting with a jazz band. These are ways to delver a lesson that you can’t get any other way – and the learnings stick. That’s the pedagogy and the methodology.

Then we aim the content of the programme at what’s most important to the senior executives who have joined us, which is strategy and leadership. We may have a session that touches on the latest ideas from branding or consumer behaviour, but it’s different – and designed differently – from what an MBA student might learn in a marketing class. It’s designed for a leader of an organisation, a potential Executive Director or CEO, through the lense of what they need to know about using these ideas strategically.

Your programme curriculum has been regarded as “eye-opening,” “empowering,” and “transformational” by your participants. Can you tell us more about the unique design of the Advanced Management Programme?

We have a programme that ran around 60 years ago, and it’s changed constantly over time. The changes are intentional improvements, thinking about the programme design in a very conscious way. It’s not just pieced together. Instead, we have a real arc of learning.

There are three phases. First, we excite participants about the potential of the programme – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a chance to do something great. We introduce them to new learning habits and processes and we set the foundation for what will best allow them to seize this opportunity.

Next, we stretch and challenge them. They’re doing exercises in teams that they never thought that they could do before. They’re building a network which is helping them in the programme, but will also support them for the rest of their careers.

Finally, we prepare them to take this great experience forward to their organisations and their careers. This is where they’re actually applying ideas to challenges in their organisations and where they’re thinking about how they’re going to tap into resources in their class at Columbia to continue their improvements that seem most important for them.

How do you make sure that the participants and their organisations will gain the highest return on their investment in terms of knowledge acquisition, career advancement, long-term profitability for business, and other measures of ROI for an executive education?

Based on research and decades of experience, our programme has a system for helping participants extract learnings and think about how they’re going to apply them. Research has confirmed how important 20 or 30 minutes for reflection at the end of a programme day are to the long-term impact of ideas. It’s now a proven practice for learning, but we were ahead of the curve with how carefully we attend to helping the participants with this reflection.

We also think about every element of the programme in terms of its return on investment. We are a unique programme that has actually measured that systemically. We’ve done pre- and post-programme tests on the leaders’ capability, and we’ve demonstrated that they have improved in the course of the programme.

What approach do you take to equip executives with the knowledge they need to immediately and effectively respond to their respective challenges?

We actually build their challenges from work into the programme. Participants bring a “Living Case,” a current business challenge they are facing, and apply ideas from the programme with the help of coaching from their peers and faculty to their challenge in real time. They receive feedback on themselves as leaders from the people they’re working with on the job, and – with a lot of support – develop a plan of improvement and constant learning in the ways that are most important for them individually as leaders. During or immediately after every session, we give participants the space to think about taking these ideas back to their workplace.

What’s the most challenging when addressing the needs of your participants? And how do you meet their expectations?

The biggest challenge is the biggest opportunity: diversity. The participants in the programme are all highly experienced and capable leaders, but they’re diverse in terms of the countries they’re coming from, their backgrounds, the industries which they work in, the organisations they lead or serve, and the paths their careers have taken.

This creates challenges of understanding and communication. They have to find ways to relate their organisations to each others’ so they can share learnings that cross between an insurance company in Nigeria, for example, and a financial services firm in the UK.

During the first few days of the programme, a lot of time is spent bumping into each other as they’re encountering these differences. But then there’s a shift. It usually happens by the end of the first week after we’ve given people with different perspectives the opportunity to shine and add value. People start to say, “The first day of the programme, I couldn’t have anticipated how I would have learned from this person sitting next to me. And now I can’t believe the lessons I’m taking back to my business from them.”

This is almost guaranteed to happen, by design, because if you really want to be an effective senior leader, you must look outside your company, your country, your industry, your area of functional expertise and by seeking out learnings and lessons from unexpected places. The diversity in our class is an incredible resource for this.

Over the years, the Advanced Management Programme has created positive impact on leadership development and bottom lines results. What have been the remarkable achievements and best feedback that you have received?

We see careers go in incredible directions. People go on to be CEOs of global organisations and affect the world in ways that they were only dreaming of when they were in the programme. That’s of course very satisfying. But that’s what the programme is designed to do.

What is most satisfying for me is when we get personal recommendations, often across generations of leaders. When people in the class say, “Look, I’m here because I know so-and-so who was in your programme five years ago, 10 years ago, sometimes even 20 years ago. They said it changed their life, and they said I have to do the same.”

One of your current research projects focuses on the structure and efficacy of managers’ professional networks. Can you share with us your research findings so far? And what is your advice for participants of the Advanced Management Programme in terms of network development?

That’s a research topic I’ve studied for a career. We have evidence that your set of professional relationships impacts the bottom line, your capacity to get things done, your access to ideas, your advancement in your career, and the efficacy in the performance of your organisation.

What I’ve been working on uniquely is the navigation between the idea that we get economic benefits from our relationships and at the same time have a drive that if there’s something that we call a personal relationship or friendship, it should be authentic. That it really should be personal, and it can’t simply be somebody who fits the box in terms of the kind of knowledge or help you need and therefore they become part of your network.

How do you navigate between the fact that these are social relationships, but they have economic interests? I have been looking at how leaders navigate this, and the conclusion I have reached is that economically useful network relationships are also authentic – socially and personally. Leaders can’t look around the world and say, “This person would be useful, so I’m going to add them to my network.” Instead, you have to go around the world, build authentic connections to the places you’re going to make investments to reach your professional goals.

But your sincerity, your authenticity, the personal connection actually is the foundation for an effective network. In the Advanced Management Programme, we examine and teach practical ways based on research of helping leaders do this. We help them understand their values, what they really stand for as a leader, and how to express that to others.

What do you think are the important qualities a business leader must have in order to drive organisations successfully into the future?

I think the two qualities that are defining successful leaders at this moment are a capacity for ongoing learning and the ability to lead cultures.

Learning, because business is evolving and organisations are only going to be more dynamic in the future. From the Advanced Management Programme, the executives who have been the most successful over time have been great learners. Of course, we try to cultivate learning, but there’s also the intrinsic capacity like their curiosity or their openness that they bring with them.

Then there’s the capacity to lead cultures. Culture and strategy are the defining inputs, the differentiators, that determine whether organisations succeed or fail. They’re both critically important, however strategy is easier to learn. And while leading the culture is learnable, it’s also an art that takes practice. It takes looking at examples, understanding yourself, and probably some painful failures. It’s the rarer skill, and I think the best leaders of the next generation are going to be great learners who will be artful leaders of the culture.

How do you make sure your programme has a lasting impact for the professional development of your participants?

It’s in the ways we address those two necessary capabilities of great leaders, learning and culture. Our programme invests a lot of time in the leader as a learner. Our opening session in the programme is about the why and how of learning, and then we continue to introduce tools of great learners throughout the programme.

And we spend a lot of time focussing on this art of leading the culture, particularly in the second half of our programme. We spend a lot of time – especially during the two weeks of the programme that take place in Manhattan – looking at original organisations, looking at organisational change and transformation where culture is always critical, where CEOs and the participants who have great leadership experience share their learnings on careers engaging with culture. We’ve seen that it’s a differentiator for what the people who go through the programme need to be successful after that. We focus on what the leaders need, the process and capacity to be a great learner throughout their career, and being effective with the difficult demand of organisational culture.

Source: Columbia Business School/ Eileen Barroso

On a lighter note, people in the upper echelons naturally have a lot on their plate. How do you make sure that you maintain a healthy lifestyle, both in your professional and personal life? What are your favourite routines?

I’ve actually learned a lot about the balance between health and well-being and professional success at the Advanced Management Programme. We have a component of the programme that gives executives the chance to practice well-being every day, to think about their own health, and what they need to refine it, and to get expert advice and coaching on that. There are eye-opening experiences, where everybody begins to understand how important an hour of exercise is for their productivity in the other hours of the day.

The well-being sessions that we have at the programme are also really important for my own health. I’ve tried to incorporate it into my day-to-day life. I’m with the programme two months a year, but that leaves another 10 months. One of the things I do is I walk to work. I find that to be really important and maybe not the quickest, most efficient way to get to work, but it’s a good investment in my mindset, my well-being, and my capacity to be successful while I’m sitting at my desk or teaching in the classroom.

What does success mean to you?

I think about this a lot – because I have a professional investment in a programme that is aimed at helping people reach their success. I pay attention to how participants view success. I look at the people who seem successful and satisfied, and I think about the inputs there. I’ve learned a lot about that through the Advanced Management Programme.

One of the great eye-openers for me has been revising my own ideas about success over the last 10+ years. The conclusion I have reached is that success is a function of constant learning. The people who have opened my eyes and excited me from the early days of the programme were great learners. I’ve seen over time as people finish the programme and go on, the difference their trajectory for learning makes, which has some personal characteristics – openness, humility, curiosity – but what it means is that success is not a moment in time. It’s not about where you stand in terms of your achievements or your relative status in your field or in your organisation at any one moment. It’s about your trajectory over time. The people who have affected me most are the ones who are focused on the trajectory. Over time with my engagement in the programme, I’ve come to adopt more of that perspective myself.

I don’t know if I could have said it 12 years ago, but now my own definition of success is about my constant learning. I have a failure that I learn from, I’m usually happy, satisfied, and excited for the future.

Thank you very much, Professor Ingram. It was a great pleasure speaking with you

About the Interviewee

Paul Ingram is the Kravis Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and faculty director of the Advanced Management Programme. His PhD is from Cornell University, and he was on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University before coming to Columbia. He has held visiting professorships at Tel Aviv University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Toronto. The courses he teaches on management and strategy benefit from his research on organisations in the United States, Canada, Israel, Scotland, China, Korea and Australia, and his research has been published in more than 60 articles, book chapters, and books.

Ingram’s current research project examines the intersection between culture and social networks. Recent papers investigate questions such as the role of value similarity to foster business networks, determinants and outcomes of individuals’ fit in organizational cultures, and influences on ethical decision making.

The post Empowering Your Leadership at the Pulse of Business in New York City appeared first on The European Business Review.

Interview with Mr. Renaud Champion, Executive Director AIM Institute EMLYON Business School

As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly plays a big role in today’s business and society,  it is important to know how different sectors can properly utilise such innovation in order to maximise its full potential. At emlyon business school, a multifaceted initiative was created with the aim to understand the opportunities and implications of artificial intelligence for the management of organisations, industries, and business ecosystems – The Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Management (AIM). To tell us more about the research centre, we sat down with Mr. Renaud Champion, the Director of Emerging Intelligences at the AIM Institute.

Good day, Mr. Champion! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. Let’s start this interview by giving us a glimpse of your day as a Director and industry leader in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics?

I usually wake up around 6am and start the day with a kiss to my kids, a great source of energy for me. Before work I exercise and go running, cycling or swimming, to be ready for the competitions I take part in at least twice a year. During this practice I take the time to go over all kinds of digital media to get a feeling of the general atmosphere. Robotics and AI have such tremendous impacts on so many domains that I want to be aware of what’s happening everywhere: I am addicted to the news and don’t want to miss a thing. Then, when I am not travelling to meet young entrepreneurs or great researchers in the field of AI, I have a tight schedule of meetings, either face to face or via video conferencing. Those daily interactions with others are a real source of inspiration for me. I love to exchange views in order to better understand the world, challenge people and be challenged by them. I usually work according to three principles: affect – I like to work with people I appreciate both as humans and professionals, fun and the need to feel socially impactful.

Prior to assuming your Executive Director role at AIM Institute, you worked in capital markets involving companies like BNP Paribas and founded your own venture capital firm. How was the transition like?

I was trained as an AI engineer in France and the U.S. My ten years of experience as a quantitative researcher and practitioner of international capital markets has taught me to invest and take risks, while applying AI algorithms in trading rooms. Then the following decade as a venture capital professional in advanced robotics & AI, I was at the crossroads of my engineering background and my entrepreneurial interests. Along that road I pragmatically experienced the impacts of those technologies from an ethical, socio-economic and business point of view. So, I would say that the transition to my new role as Executive Director of the AIM Institute was quite natural and in continuity with what I’ve done over the past 20 years.

The AIM Institute is a multifaceted multifaceted initiative focused on understanding the opportunities and implications of artificial intelligence. What do you think makes your research institute excellent, unique, and successful in its expertise?

The ambition of AIM Institute is to understand the opportunities and the implications of artificial intelligence for the management of organisations, industries and business ecosystems. There are many predictions about how AI will change business and the way we work but relatively few empirical studies. So, our first goal is to support grounded, empirical studies of the way AI can create value on a broad range of business and also how this technology is changing what it means to work and the way work is organised, done and being rewarded. Our positioning as social science researchers studying real-world issues facing organisations in an interdisciplinary way is very unique. Only a few months since the launch of the institute, we already have 20 researchers from different backgrounds and we are expanding very quickly. We can also count on the involvement of our Scientific Committee made up of leading academics from Stanford, EPFL, UT Austin, VU Amsterdam, Florida State University and University of Southern California to help us drive excellence.

You are in charge of developing the strategy on Artificial Intelligence as well as the digital transformation of the school and its practice. What are your plans for attaining more innovations and transformation in and through AI for the school in the next few years?

It is our mission at emlyon business school to prepare the managers and the leaders of tomorrow to work in a technology driven world. For this reason, we are including in all our programme courses on data, robotics or machine learning, etc. and on the impacts these technologies can generate for companies. I think it is highly strategic for us as a business school to take a leading role in such a positioning, and make sure our programmes are increasingly hybrid. On the other hand, AI is also transforming pedagogy itself. We are building new AI-augmented tools to support our students in their lifelong learning journey. Digital technologies can strongly help us personalise that experience. But all those new functionalities are also challenging the role of the professor. What could be optimised by the algorithms, what should stay in the hands of the teacher? This question on collaboration and complementarity of the technology with humans needs to be tackled also in our domain: education.

In terms of the developments you’ve produced at the Institute, what innovation initiatives or enhancements are you focussing on at the moment and what should your present and future audience and partners look forward to?

On the research side we have several projects under review for high-ranked academic journals and we are working on many new projects studying human-machine interaction, impact of smart devices for the supply chain and operations, new business models from AI-augmented digital platforms or how to design and create better user experiences interacting with new intelligences. We have also launched several series of seminars and workshops with leading scholars from all over the world to address the questions of the impacts of AI on work and value creation. But at the same time we organise monthly outreach lectures open to the general public about the technologies behind AI. On the pedagogy side we are also very active with the creation of an online certificate on AI and Business for managers, new courses on our fields of expertise to be integrated in all emlyon’s programmess (bachelor, MBA, MSc or Executive Education), and regular keynotes posted on the YouTube channel of the school.

Last but not least we are working on the creation of our Technology Transfer department. For every research project, we consider whether the work has the potential to contribute to our understanding of how organisations and institutions can take meaningful and responsible advantage of AI. When we encounter projects that have concrete business applications, we might develop patentable models that could be coded and used to develop an application that a partner business might find useful. Or, we may explore the possibility of launching and supporting a start-up to exploit this innovation.

How significant is AI in the workplace and management today and how could organisations and companies handle its impacts effectively and make the most out of it?

AI, robotics, blockchain… all these technologies have already transformed the workplace. At work we use AI-powered smartphones every day, thanks to the web and smart cameras we interact with colleagues on the other side of the planet just as if they were in the same room, robotics has been transforming factories for more than 30 years and chatbots are changing how we interact with customers… Companies have no choice today and need to adapt, understand how they can use these technologies for their benefit from an economic but also from a human resources point of view. So, it is the responsibility of each manager, not only the COO or CTO, to ask oneself this question at one’s level: how can AI help me do my job more efficiently or differently? But to do so they need to be trained on these technologies, on design thinking methodologies, on agility, etc. Companies need to invest in AI but also in their own people to make the most out of these technologies.

What do you think are some of the real-world challenges facing organisations and policymakers in terms of understanding the implications of artificial intelligence for work, human resource management and labour markets, and governance? How do you at AIM Institute help address these challenges?

It is true that some jobs will disappear on one side and that new ones will be created on the other.  But rather than focussing on the numbers for each side, I think we need to understand how the whole structure of employment is being transformed by AI – most jobs won’t disappear, they will evolve. At AIM Institute we address these challenges by deploying researchers to study the impacts on the ground, within companies, with technology providers but also at end-users’ locations to gather data, understand the impacts and build knowledge out of it. From this knowledge we could then identify trends in the labour markets’ transformation: what are the new skills required to retrain the workforce impacted by AI? What are the new jobs about to emerge and how companies should adapt their recruitment process?

Margherita Pagani (left), Digital Marketing Professor of Emlyon Business School with other AI experts at the Women’s Forum Singapore. September 2018

We have learned that you are particularly interested in the ethical, legal, and socio-economic issues linked to Robotics and AI. How do you think achieving sustainability and maintaining ethical practices are possible while making technological innovations through AI?

Over the past 20 years working and investing in AI and robotics, I was lucky to be involved in many projects impacting various market domains, from finance and industry to agriculture, transport, or healthcare for instance. From this experience I really got the conviction that AI is not only an economic but also a societal opportunity because it can bring the human back at the centre of the game. This is true in the industry, thanks to intelligent robotics systems that work in collaboration with humans who are back in the production line (see the automotive industry). It is also the case in the healthcare domain where assistive robotics can help elderly people for their mobility and their toilet, while the nurse is focussing on the social interaction. Researchers, engineers or product managers need to be trained to become even more ethically responsible when they design new AI technologies. The respect of dignity and human well-being are key values underlying the “ethical by design” approach that most companies or big tech associations like IEEE are now promoting.

Evidently, there are changes in leadership style as our world advances. How do you think the AI will transform the future of leadership? 

Leadership will remain a human attribute for a very long time and I don’t believe we will be challenged by machines on that point. AI is definitely changing how we interact with our clients, colleagues and peers. But as exponential automation will undoubtedly boost productivity or open new territories of business, the human factor will stay the key driver of this interaction. Our empathy, our ability to question the world, to unconsciously desire or simply to make mistakes and use this as a source of creativity, are unique features difficult for machines to replicate. So, I think the future of leadership is all about emotional intelligence. I am not a strong believer of Artificial General Intelligence or technological singularity for basic ethical questions. As a humanist I believe that AI should foster human skills and, in the end, human well-being.

On a lighter note, leaders atop a company or organisation naturally have a lot on their plate. What habits keep you focused and healthy at and off work?

Actually, I have many different plates because I have several hats. Since everything I do is connected to AI it is quite easy not to lose focus though. This mix of activities is a real source of diversity and energy for me – I never get bored with what I am doing! But I have to admit that I also have a double-life: when I am not an actor of the higher education and AI, I turn into a farmer during the weekends, driving big agricultural machinery like 350 horse power tractors or 18 tons combined harvesters. Going back to my farm and working on my land is a kind of balance for me. It allows me to keep serenity in my life and to maintain a connection with the real world and my roots. But AI is never too far. I am currently working on an amazing project with other farmers to test and deploy robotics solutions in order to make agriculture less difficult and more sustainable from an ecological, economic and human point of view.

What advice would you offer for those who want to catapult their career forward in the technology sector?

First of all, I think it’s a very good idea because the technology sector will be massively hiring in the coming decades! First thing I would suggest is to get a strong cultural understanding of what these technologies are about, what are their histories, how have they changed the world so far. In a nutshell, get an objective understanding of what it is, what it can do – far away from all the fantasy, and make your own opinion. Then be curious and open yourself to many application domains. Even if you are interested in industry, look at what is happening in the healthcare sector with robotics. Even if you are interested in finance, look at what is being developed in the cybersecurity world with the blockchain. AI is a very transversal technology that impacts all market domains and its potential of transferability is huge. Another advice would be to team up with people you get along well with and who have a complementary expertise – build a team. This is especially true for technology because inventing a great new tech is one thing, but making a product out of it that some clients would buy in the long term is a different question. So the more relevant points of view around the table, the quicker you’ll find the way!

Lastly, what are the three things you will not leave home without?

My smartphone to connect to the world. My enthusiasm to be open to others…and my keys to come back to my family and kiss them goodnight.

Thank you very much, Mr. Champion. It was a great pleasure speaking with you.

About the Interviewee

Renaud Champion is Director of Emerging Intelligences at Emlyon business school, member of the Executive Board in charge of developing the strategy on Artificial Intelligence as well as the digital transformation of the school and its practice. He is also Director of euRobotics AISBL, the European Association of Robotics acting as the private side of SPARC, the Public-Private-Partnership for Robotics in Europe, and an independent expert for the European Commission on innovation and investment in advanced technologies. He has published articles and white papers on the ethical, legal and socio-economic issues linked to AI and Robotics.

The post Understanding the Potential of AI in a Technology Driven World appeared first on The European Business Review.

Good day, Professor Davidson! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. Let’s start this interview by giving us a glimpse of what a day looks like for an academic and business leader like yourself?

My role as EMLYON MBA Programme Director falls at a focal point between many different activities – formulating and promoting great programmes, working with faculty to deliver impactful courses, ensuring participant satisfaction, guaranteeing accreditation, and pursuing gains in the rankings. The perimeter of my responsibility covers both MBA and EMBA programmes, delivered in both English and French, in Lyon and Paris, as well as overseeing programmes delivered in China and Morocco.

The biggest endeavour that we have underway are projects related to our commitment to executive participant success. We are moving rapidly away from merely conveying knowledge to focus on capability building and measurement, which better serves our participants.

My top priority is making sure that our participants are well-served. At the same time, I fundamentally believe that management is a service job and that motivated staff will create satisfied customers. So, my days are typically packed with meetings to ensure that my team and our support services are engaged and possess the resources they need to get their jobs done to a high standard.

That said, within the broader context, executive education is an industry in transition facing rapidly changing technology and increasingly tough competition. In my opinion, business schools need to be transforming their business model to be more focused on the professional and personal success of our participants. This needs to come in addition to the high quality of our research. Leading this shift within the business school is a difficult and challenging change management opportunity which takes up much of my time.

As the Director of MBA Programmes at EMLYON Business School, what excites you most or what do you eagerly anticipate in terms of the school’s present and future endeavours? What are some of the strongest executive programmes that EMLYON offers in the coming year? 

The biggest endeavour that we have underway are projects related to our commitment to executive participant success. We are moving rapidly away from merely conveying knowledge to focus on capability building and measurement, which better serves our participants. Capability building consists of three things; gaining knowledge, demonstrating the ability to use this knowledge, and generating confidence to reuse it in the workplace. Managers are looking for more than gaining an understanding of finance, strategy, marketing, and operations. They want to know how to “get stuff done”. Moving beyond knowledge to building capabilities demands a focus on experiential learning or “learning by doing”. This is a huge change. The transition at EMLYON is by no means completed but is already well underway. Through our partnerships with companies such as IBM we are also harnessing digital approaches that allow our participants to set their own learning agendas according to their professional goals and to measure their own progress.  With all of this transformation, it’s an exciting time at the school.

EMLYON Business School has triple accreditation from EQUIS by the EFMD, AMBA, and AACSB. Can you tell us more about EMLYON’s distinct characteristics and how it lives up to its motto i.e. “Early makers”?

“Early Makers” is a natural extension of our belief that executives come to us to build competencies that are critical for their future success. As I just mentioned, this demands experiential learning. Researchers tell us that learning that “sticks” needs to be tightly connected to our emotions.  The Early Maker approach puts knowledge immediately to work using experimentation and high-impact learning experiences. This might include working in teams on projects with clients, playing serious games (real-world simulations), creating and testing prototypes, experiencing foreign business environments, or researching and writing case studies. All these types of experiences are designed to trigger the neural circuits of emotional memory. By creating salient learning events that leave a trace in our memories and by taking the time to reflect with each other on experiences, our managers can use learning to guide future thoughts and actions. This in turn provides our executives with the confidence to reapply knowledge and build long-lasting and relevant skills and competencies. This is the great strength of Early Makers.

Before working in executive education, you were a business consultant and established a boutique consulting company focused on strategic innovation partnering with large multinational companies. Can you tell us the most significant development you’ve witnessed in your expertise thus far?

Researchers tell us that learning that “sticks” needs to be tightly connected to our emotions.  The Early Maker approach puts knowledge immediately to work using experimentation and high-impact learning experiences.

Over the last twenty years, I was lucky enough to experience at first-hand how the power of search and the transition to a world of ubiquitous knowledge has fundamentally changed the way in which we conduct business. As business consultants we coined the term “knowledge brokering” to describe using search to find answers to business problems rather than inventing solutions. We developed processes to decompose problems into manageable pieces and to search for answers that already exist in other industries and professions. This development was enormously powerful for strategic innovation and up to ten times more effective than conventional problem-solving approaches.

It’s these processes that are now taught in our MBA programmes to assist student teams working on business challenges for external clients. For instance, these skills are practiced in our Entrepreneurial Leadership Project, where student teams work on a company’s business challenge for six months.

Your work over the last ten years has focused on creating and testing action learning techniques based on open innovation and design thinking. Can you tell us more about this? How do you cultivate a unique design for your executive programmes?

Open innovation is another way of describing knowledge brokering because it involves looking outside the company, bringing in ideas, and overcoming the not-invented-here syndrome. Design thinking also plays a key role in allowing teams to recombine answers found through knowledge brokering with internal ideas in new ways that uniquely serves the company with the business challenge.

Another key finding from many years of action learning is that when working with real projects, both the individuals and the company need directly benefit from the experience. This may sound obvious, but it can be easily forgotten in the rush to “fix the problem”. This is why at EMLYON we are totally focused on developing leadership and teaming skills in parallel to problem solving and also why we pay as much attention to building client relationship skills as we do to making smart recommendations.

How do you make sure that the results will be worthwhile for participants and their organisations in terms of knowledge acquisition, career advancement, long-term profitability for business, and other measures of ROI for an executive education?

It’s exactly that. We have to be ruthlessly focused on the value created for both the participants and, if they are taking a part-time EMBA, on the value for the companies where they are working.

At EMLYON we work one-on-one with our participants to boost their careers, whether this is being promoted, or moving industry, or relocating to another part of the World.

Business schools in the past have mostly focused on research, which was driving the reputation of the school, and in which participants would share  as a kind of “halo effect”. Measures of educational success focused on input measures such as number of hours in the classroom, or the number of published papers of professors, or the number of faculty nationalities. Now we need to move to output measures, such as what our participants can actually do when they leave us, the success they can expect, and the value that they are creating for their companies and for society. This is a big change and challenges the assumptions on which most business schools operate. At EMLYON we are seeking to align all of our activities with these ROI goals. And we must not forget that some elements of the ROI, such as the amazing network that you get from an MBA or EMBA, can be rather hard to measure!

What’s the most challenging when addressing the needs of your participants? How do you meet their expectations and have them better prepared upon returning to their respective workplaces?

We spend a lot of time in our MBA programmes focusing on the skills and capabilities that are the most highly requested in the workplace. Employers require hard skills such as strategic thinking, finance, and the ability to solve complex problems. But it’s the soft skills that are the ones which typically differentiate managers; drive and resilience, ability to influence others, ability to work in teams with a wide variety of people.  These skills are harder to develop but are also a natural by-product of experiential learning and the “Early Maker” approach. Developing these more generic capabilities is challenging but manageable.

It’s harder for us to tailor our MBA programmes to everybody’s personal learning agenda. For instance, in our International MBA, we offer around thirty different electives and participants can choose ten to fourteen of these. Some of these electives offer further technical skills such as advanced financial management, supply chain, or digital marketing. Other electives address the business impact of new technologies such as IoT, blockchain, AI. We also provide more in-depth soft skills electives such as people management or negotiations. But with the ever-widening waterfront of business topics, its not possible to offer everything.

At EMLYON we work one-on-one with our participants to boost their careers, whether this is being promoted, or moving industry, or relocating to another part of the World. For instance, on our EMBA programme, participants complete an individual dissertation supported by project skill-building and faculty tutoring. These projects are typically focused on a company business challenge within the organisation where the participant is employed. As a result of this project, we expect each of our executives to be promoted.

Over the years, your executive education has created positive impact on leadership development and bottom lines results. What have been the remarkable achievements and best feedback that you have received?

Maybe it’s truer to say that we need more leaders than ever because of the ever-expanding population of our planet and the more systemic nature of our business challenges in an increasingly interconnected world.

Over the years many remarkable executives have passed through the MBA programmes. There were those who were leading hugely ambitious transformational projects in their multinational companies or in smaller private enterprises, and for whom the EMBA was a vital toolset for their success; Or graduates that have built their own businesses from ideas that originated during our programmes. We receive, of course, news from many graduates sharing their personal successes, promotions, and achievements.

The feedback which perhaps gives me the most pleasure is when participants say that taking an MBA at EMLYON allowed them to better understand themselves as a leader and to take better career decisions that have led to a much higher level of personal fulfilment. To quote one of our Lebanese participants, Elie Maaloui, who now works for Nissan in Paris, “What you gain from the program is not only monetary; it is a network, a new way of thinking, tools to better yourself, and the confidence to take risks in life and your career.”

As the world and businesses rapidly evolve, leadership becomes more challenging. What do you think are the important qualities a business leader must have in order to drive business functions successfully into the future?

I’m not sure that I agree with the question. In my mind leadership has been largely the same for the last 10,000 years. Leadership is about coordinating a group to deal with the challenges that the group faces, while at the same time serving the needs and aspirations of the individuals within the group. Leadership is a human thing and our DNA has not changed that much.

While it’s true that the World’s knowledge is growing, but at the same time the world is a less threatening place. We don’t worry about the Mongol hoards or about being eaten by a dinosaur. And do you think that things were changing rapidly during previous industrial revolutions? Of course. Maybe it’s truer to say that we need more leaders than ever because of the ever-expanding population of our planet and the more systemic nature of our business challenges in an increasingly interconnected world.

One of the global advocacies we have nowadays is to empower women for leadership roles across all industries. As a female leader yourself, how could we progress in such an endeavour?

Our future highly interconnected business world is one where knowledge brokering, collective intelligence, and collaboration are all critical skills. This future is well suited to female leadership styles; rugged self-reliance is much less of an asset. We are at the beginning of the transition to these new ways of working, but we are already seeing the change and evolution as more women put themselves forward for political office and gain a voice though vehicles such as the #MeToo Movement.

In terms of pushing this forward, I’m a big fan of mentorship, where mentors can be women or men. I was mentored by an amazing business leader who made a significant difference to my leadership style and my view of the role of management. In turn, I am more than happy to mentor others. Perhaps the largest contribution of business schools is to help our female managers to find the right mentor and identify the best role models. As more women are mentored and subsequently become mentors then this will be a great viral accelerator of female empowerment in leadership roles.

With your long-established career working on strategic innovation and change management, can you tell us in three words how we can ensure the success of a strategic initiative?

Service to stakeholders – Teamwork – Innovation. You will notice that it’s mostly about the people.

People in the upper echelons naturally have a lot on their plate. How do you make sure that you maintain a healthy lifestyle, both in your professional and personal life? What are your favourite routines?

Perhaps the largest contribution of business schools is to help our female managers to find the right mentor and identify the best role models. As more women are mentored and subsequently become mentors then this will be a great viral accelerator of female empowerment in leadership roles.

I have not done as good a job as I would have liked. I believe you have to put in place structure and process to make sure you take care of the three key elements of health; self, family and friends, professional. The saying goes, “work flows to the competent until they drown”. It’s important to put boundaries around the amount of professional opportunity you are given, matched against the resources that you can access. In situations where the three factors are out of balance, the first element to suffer is paying attention to “self”. And of course, with too little time for physical exercise or inner reflection then the other two elements of your life suffer. The only solution is to find more resources, or to place strict boundaries around professional work. Patrolling those boundaries must be an on-going activity because organisations will take everything you can give. It’s tough to find the right balance!

What does success mean to you? Any message you wish to share with our readers?

For me, during this phase of my life, its about giving back and about the service I can perform in creating tomorrow’s leaders. Our World has lots of challenges and opportunities ahead. It’s a time of enormous change in business and we also need to work together to keep our planet healthy. Forming our best and brightest leaders from every country, is an essential job that adds meaning and purpose to my life. I can only encourage others to step-up to these leadership challenges, find a voice, and join in.

Thank you very much, Professor Davidson. It was a real pleasure speaking with you. 

About the Interviewee

Rhoda Davidson is an experienced educator, business consultant and entrepreneur. She has worked in executive education for over twenty years at top global institutions such as IMD, Duke CE, and EMLYON. She leads strategic innovation and corporate entrepreneurship programmes with large multinational companies. As a pioneer in business-driven action learning, her focus with MBA participants is on skill development through hands-on experience. Her research has appeared in practitioner journals including MIT Sloan Management Review and the McKinsey Quarterly.

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