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International Institute for Management Development
Swiss business education school From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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International Institute for Management Development (IMD) is an independent academic institute with a campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, and strategic hubs in Singapore, Shenzhen, China and Cape Town.[2]
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IMD Business School is known for its Executive Education MBA, Executive MBA programs as well as its advisory work in helping leaders and policy-makers navigate complexity and change, and is renowned for its proximity to business and focus on real impact.[3] In 2024, it named David Bach as its new president.[4]
IMD Business School was recognized #1 globally for custom programs by the Financial Times in 2025.
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History and mission
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IMD Business School was formed in January 1990 through the merger of independent management education centers International Management Institute (Geneva) (IMI), established in 1946 by Alcan, and Institut pour l'Etude des Methodes de Direction de l'Entreprise (IMEDE) Lausanne established in 1957 by Nestlé.[5] The history of IMEDE and its merger with IMI is documented in Jean-Pierre Jeannet and Hein Schreuder (2015, chapters 2 and 4).[6] Its industrial heritage is unusual for business schools, which are usually university-affiliated.[7]
IMD Business School business school provides executive education; it is a Swiss university institute[8] accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Council[9] and it consists of one integrated multidisciplinary faculty. The faculty consists of more than 50 full-time members, made up of 21 different nationalities. The current president is David Bach, who follows Jean-Francois Manzoni, Dominique Turpin, John R. Wells, Peter Lorange, and Juan Rada.[7]
IMD Business School also publishes a quarterly management magazine, entitled I by IMD (www
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Executive Education
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Custom Programs
IMD Business School is in custom executive education, delivering over 370 programs in 2024 to nearly 200 organizations. These programs are co-designed with clients and delivered in flexible formats—face-to-face, virtual, and asynchronous.[16] Some partnerships include:
- Securitas: A five-year transformation journey recognized with a gold EFMD award.[17]
- Bayer: A Sprint program also recognized with a gold EFMD award.[17]
- Konica Minolta Inc: A talent development program received a Gold award at the 33rd annual Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management Excellence Awards in 2025.
- Coca-Cola İçecek (CCI): A leadership and development program also received a Gold award at the 33rd annual Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management Excellence Awards in 2025.
- Bühler Group: A leadership and high-performance team development program received a Bronze award at the 33rd annual Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management Excellence Award in 2025.[18]
Open and Online programs
IMD Business School offers over 80 open enrollment programs including 20+ online programs. In 2024, more than 5,000 participants joined open programs and 2,260 joined online offerings. The school emphasizes personalization, interactivity, and cutting-edge content, with 98–99% of participants reporting practical, applicable outcomes.[19]
IMD Business School was recognized #9 globally for open executive programs in the 2025 Financial Times Executive Education Rankings.[20] IMD was also recognized #1 globally in the Financial Times Executive Education Custom 2025.[21]
Degree Programs
IMD Business School offers a range of degree programs designed for experienced professionals and promising leaders:
- MBA: A one-year, AI-rich program named 2024 MBA Program of the Year by Poets&Quants.[22]
- Executive MBA (EMBA): A flexible, modular program with global immersions in China, Japan, and Singapore. In 2024, IMD announced a revamp of their EMBA offering to address the evolving needs of executives.[23]
- Master of Science in Sustainable Management and Technology: Delivered in partnership with EPFL and UNIL.
In April 2025, IMD Business School launched its first new degrees in 25 years:[24]
- Executive Master in AI & Digital Business Transformation
- Executive Master in Sustainable Business Transformation
These offer flexible, modular programs for experienced professionals, combining online and on-campus learning, and addressing contemporary challenges such as digital transformation and sustainability.
Innovation
IMD has won gold in the Immersive Experiential Learning category at the QS Reimagine Education Awards for its XR 360 AR Learning Theatre Experience – SpheriCO2.[25]
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Ranking
IMD Business School's full-time MBA has been ranked by Bloomberg[26] and Forbes[27] as one of the best one-year programs in Europe and internationally. IMD Business School is number 2 in Bloomberg's 2025-26 Best Business Schools Ranking.[28] Since 2018, IMD Business School has consistently remained in Bloomberg’s top three.
In 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 IMD Business School was ranked first in open programs worldwide by the Financial Times.[29]
Notable alumni
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IMD Business School counts 125’000+ alumnis across 140 countries and 80+ industries.
- Svein Aaser: Former CEO, DnB NOR
- Matti Alahuhta: CEO, Kone Corporation
- Ole Andersen: Chairman, Bang & Olufsen
- Bjarni Ármannsson: CEO, Glitnir Bank, Iceland
- Jon Fredrik Baksaas: President and CEO, Telenor
- Paul Bulcke: Former CEO, Nestlé
- Harsh Goenka: Indian billionaire and Chairman, RPG Enterprises
- Oswald Grübel: Former CEO, UBS
- Carla De Geyseleer, CFO, Volvo Cars
- Philipp Humm: Former CEO, T-Mobile USA
- Tarang Jain, Indian billionaire[30]
- Susanne Klatten: Member of the Board, BMW
- Gerard Kleisterlee: Chairman Vodafone; Former CEO, Royal Philips Electronics
- Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen: Former President and CEO, The Lego Group
- Abba Kyari: Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria from August 2015 to April 2020
- Christoph Loos, CEO, Hilti
- Jay Mehta, Chairman, Mehta Group
- Milinda Moragoda: Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister of Justice, Law Reform and MP
- Thomas Oetterli, CEO, Schindler Group
- Mark Opzoomer: CEO, Rambler Media
- Michael Patsalos-Fox: Former Chairman, Americas, McKinsey & Company
- Prince Pieter-Christiaan of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven, Netherlands
- Mark Rutte: Prime Minister, Netherlands
- Thomas Schmidheiny: Chairman, Holcim
- Søren Skou: former CEO, Maersk
- Ian Charles Stewart: Founder, WiRed
- Diego Molano Vega: Former Minister of Information Technologies and Communications, Colombia
- Peter Voser: Chairman and CEO, ABB, Former CEO Shell
- Erik Aas, CEO of Banglalink
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Faculty
Partnerships
IMD Business School has partnerships with[31]
References
External links
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