Archive for category: Press Release

• IESE MBA stands out for its internationality, high levels of student satisfaction, ability to help students reach their goals, and focus on sustainability

The FT Global MBA Ranking 2022, released today by the Financial Times, ranks IESE Business School’s full-time MBA among the top ten programs globally (no.10) and third in Europe. 

The ranking confirms IESE’s position as one of the best business schools in the world. 

“Our consistent position within the top ten schools globally points to the strength and depth of the IESE MBA”, says Marc Badia, IESE Business School´s Associate Dean for MBA & MiM programs.  “It´s a program that is constantly innovating, with a curriculum covering cutting-edge business topics such as AI and emerging technologies, an exceptional entrepreneurship ecosystem to develop budding entrepreneurs, and the option for students to deep dive further into specific areas like Data Analytics & Digital Business, Entrepreneurship & Innovation or Sustainability.”

The 2022 Financial Times ranking particularly highlights the international nature of IESE’s MBA, with the program ranking no.2 for International Course Experience. As well as studying business in an international context, IESE MBAs have the opportunity to study immersive modules in key business hubs like Dubai, Nairobi, New York, Sao Paulo and Shanghai, and gain first-hand business experience across different continents. 

In addition, the school’s highly international faculty and student body allow for richer classroom discussions that draw upon the diverse perspectives and business experiences of the cohort, faculty, and course content.

The care and personal attention IESE provides students throughout the program – which includes small group exercises, personalized feedback and support, and an open-door policy for faculty, among others – were also contributors to the high levels of satisfaction alumni expressed in their IESE experience. According to the British publication, survey respondents’ average score for how satisfied they were with IESE was 9.57 on a ten-point scale.

IESE’s ability to help students reach their stated goals or reasons for doing an MBA also stood out as key to IESE’s strong performance, with 90% saying they had achieved their aims.   

Finally, IESE’s MBA ranks first for Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) for the third consecutive year. The ESG metric looks at core course content dedicated to ethics, social and environmental issues. This reflects the school’s focus in its teaching, research and operations to promote a holistic consideration of sustainability, which looks at everything from how companies treat the world around them, to how they treat each employee.

This latest result continues IESE’s strong performance in the major international rankings over several years. Including: 

• 1st in the World according to The Economist 2021 MBA ranking
• 2nd in Europe for the Bloomberg Businessweek 2021 MBA ranking

Download the complete FT ranking here and check out our guide to interpreting business school rankings.

• 2021 Employment Report reveals a bright future for IESE MBAs

Despite the pandemic causing widespread disruption to job markets across the globe, the career prospects of IESE MBAs continue to look bright.

In fact, 94% of IESE MBAs secured a job offer within three months after graduation, according to the latest MBA employment report. What´s more, around a third of the class leveraged their experience at IESE to make a notoriously tricky “triple jump” career change – meaning that they changed industry, job function and geography all at once.

The report highlights how IESE remains a destination of choice for top recruiters, with the school connecting more than 400 leading companies with IESE talent over the last year through a number of activities and structured recruitment activities.

ABInBev, Amazon, Bain & Company, BCG, Citi, McKinsey & Company, Novartis and Pepsico were among the top recruiters for the MBA class of 2021, which comprises 364 students, 31% of them women, of 56 different nationalities.

MBA career trends

According to the 2021 employment report, Consulting remains the most popular destination for IESE MBAs, attracting 34% of the Class of 2021 who are seeking employment (and surpassing pre-pandemic numbers). Finance (25%) and Industry (24%) were the next most popular sectors, followed by Technology (17%). Within the industrial sector, healthcare was the most popular choice, with 10% heading into that industry.

In terms of geography, the 2021 report shows that Europe (excluding Spain) was the most sought-after region to work in, with 26% of graduates accepting jobs there. Following closely behind was Latin America (22%), followed by Asia-Pacific (20%) and Spain (20%), and then Middle East & Africa (7%) and North America (5%).

However, the most notable trend was that of career change. As well as 33% of the class changing their job function, geography and sector in one go, in total 72% changed their function, 62% their geography and 61% their industry.

Studying an MBA at IESE has proved a powerful platform for people thinking of switching careers, thanks to the access it provides to a dedicated career development center with expertise in many different sectors and geographies, as well as a variety of training, support, advice and mentorship opportunities.

The option to take a corporate internship (or work on your own entrepreneurship project) in the summer between the first and second year of the MBA, also enables career changers to test and get experience in their new field.

One example of such a career changer is Alix Chausson who pre-MBA was working in the UK as a vendor manager for Amazon. She decided to study an MBA at IESE after realizing her dream job was radically different from the sector and role she had at the time.

“I arrived at IESE with a laser focus: to work in a venture role in foodtech – specifically in alternative proteins – post MBA”, she says.

She is now working in Germany as a senior associate for Evig Group, a foodtech company, and credits IESE with her move.

“This was a radical shift from my pre-MBA work and I strongly believe that my two years at IESE provided me with solid foundations for this unusual transition. As a committee member of the Tech Club, I put together and moderated a panel with foodtech experts where the exposure to investors and entrepreneurs was a fantastic opportunity to further my transition.”

Download the 2021 MBA employment report.

• The 3-day event focused on sustainability takes place on IESE’s new Madrid campus and online

IESE’s Global Alumni Reunion (GAR) 2021 gets underway Thursday, with a record 5,000 people registered to attend the annual event that this year will explore the urgent need for companies to do their part in the transition to a more sustainable world.

It is the first time the GAR has taken place since COVID-19 spread across the globe, and occurs as larger-scale, in-person events are again possible in Spain and elsewhere. It will take place on IESE’s new Madrid campus, completed in recent months and applying the highest environmental standards, on Nov. 11-13.

“We’re delighted to once again celebrate our Global Alumni Reunion this year, for the first time since the pandemic. This event is new and innovative in every way: we’re holding in-person sessions on our new Madrid campus, which is a model of sustainable architecture,” said Mireia Rius, head of IESE’s Alumni Association.

“There’s also an option for attendees to connect online, choosing their events and networking with others, creating a unique, customized experience for all,” she added. “And we have an unparalleled line-up of global speakers who will talk about what sustainability means to them and to their work. This promises to be our most impactful Global Alumni Reunion ever.”

New Sustainable Leadership Initiative

As part of the event, IESE is announcing a new Sustainable Leadership Initiative, the umbrella under which a dozen professors are working on different sustainability-related research, teaching and outreach projects. The initiative features three main areas of investigation: sustainability in the financial sector, in cities and communities, and in leading corporations for a just transition.

“Sustainability has been an essential part of IESE’s approach to business since the very beginning. We’ve always been committed to creating businesses with a long-term vision and commitment to communities and people,” said Fabrizio Ferrari, the director of the new initiative and an expert in sustainability. “We’ve chosen sustainability as our theme for this year’s Global Alumni Reunion because we feel that there’s no more important issue for our times. The moment for businesses and business leaders to act is now, and IESE is committed to leading a global shift to more sustainable business models.”

To explore what those business models might look like, the event features some 35 global business and policy leaders, including keynote speeches by Dame Vivian Hunt, Senior Partner of McKinsey; Michael Sandel, a political philosophy professor at Harvard; Pablo Isla, Chairman, Inditex; and José María Álvarez-Pallete, Chairman and CEO of Telefonica.

In addition to the plenary sessions, there are a dozen sessions featuring high-profile leaders such as:

• Citi CEO Jane Fraser
• Jean Lemierre, Chairman of BNP Paribas
• Author John Elkington of Volans & Maria Neira, Director, Public Health and the Environment Department, World Health Organization
• Halla Tómasdóttir, CEO of the B Team 
• Hiromichi Mizuno, United Nations Special Envoy on Innovative Finance and Sustainable Investments
• Francesco Starace, CEO Enel
• Javier Goyeneche, Founder of ECOALF
• Enric Asunción, Founder and CEO of Wallbox Chargers.

In addition, Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida will help open the event on Nov. 11, and Isabel Díaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid, will close the sessions on Nov. 12.

Saturday, Nov. 13, is a day dedicated to social and artistic events, including a golf tournament for alumni, a piano concert by Ignasi Cambra (EMBA ’21) and a special tour of the Madrid campus.

• 95 global innovation leaders take part in new report presented at an event co-organized by IESE Business School, Acciona and Cardumen Capital
• The new study, including 100+ examples, sheds light on how corporations can better innovate with startups via enablers such as VC investors, research centers, private accelerators, and more
• The 9^th Open Innovation Conference, hosted at IESE in Madrid, brings together chief innovation officers, corporate investors, and innovation leaders from Airbus, Santander Bank, BBVA, Acciona, Cardumen Capital, Telefonica, Decathlon, Mutua Madrileña, among others

Madrid, October 28 2021. Authored by IESE Business School, in collaboration with Acciona and Cardumen Capital, a new report is released today about corporate venturing – the collaboration between established companies and startups, a phenomenon globally growing at speed.

As it opens the doors on innovation, it’s bringing more players in. In corporate venturing, “enabler” institutions, such as universities and venture capital firms, are increasingly key: they help established companies join forces with startups and benefit in return, offering distinct advantages from independent knowledge to opportunity deal-flow, cost de-risking, and network effects.

Authored by IESE’s Josemaria Siota and M^a Julia Prats, in collaboration with Vittoria Emanuela Bria, Acciona’s Telmo Perez and Cardumen Capital’s Gonzalo Martínez de Azagra, the study aims to shed light on how to unlock hidden opportunities for corporations by knowing their roles, which types could be most valuable to different firms, and how to craft a compelling value proposition for the two institutions.

Download the report

As corporate venturing turns to institutional enablers, six categories have become apparent:

1. Knowledge institutions, including research centers, university departments and think tanks.
2. Boosting institutions. Namely, private incubators and accelerators that support entrepreneurs by providing space, technology infrastructure and other types of assistance.
3. Investment institutions that fund startups, including business angels, venture capitalists (VC) and private equity firms.
4. Public institutions, including government branches and embassies.
5. Business institutions, including other large corporations, even competitors, as well as chambers of commerce.
6. Service institutions — i.e., consultancy firms offering specialized innovation support.

Based on 95 interviews with innovation leaders in companies across four continents, the report identifies the most salient benefits of enablers in their view. Topping the list is “independent knowledge” (in 32% of the cases) because of the rapid evolution of trends such as venture clients as a service, fund-of-funds and excubators, combined with the complexity involved in understanding deep tech startups. Next in line is “opportunity deal flow” (in 26% of the cases), an area which is increasingly critical as scouting suppliers have proliferated and identifying opportunities before competitors do is becoming more challenging.

The report also finds that enabling institutions benefit in return from their interactions with corporations. Interviewees highlighted companies’ “domain expertise” (in 29% of cases) and their “business applicability” knowledge (in 17% of cases) as some of the main benefits. Lastly, it showcases the relevant of corporations working together to innovate with startups, also called corporate venturing squads.

The report is being released as part of IESE’s 9^th Open Innovation Conference, held on October 27 at the new building of IESE’s Madrid campus. The conference brings together chief innovation officers, corporate investors, and innovation leaders from companies such as Airbus, Santander Bank, BBVA, Acciona, Cardumen Capital, Telefonica, Decathlon, Mutua Madrileña and Business Insider.

The gathering counted on the support of the dissemination partners Amazon Web Services for Startups, Endeavor, Madrid Innovation Driven Ecosystem, Embassy of Spain in Tel Aviv, Impact Hub, Madrid City Council, ICEX, Chamber of Commerce of Madrid, The Collider, Global Shapers, and ASCRI.

Access the agenda of the conference.

• IESE MBA stands out for its exceptional learning experience and networking opportunities

Bloomberg Businessweek has ranked IESE Business School´s full-time MBA as the second best program in Europe. The Bloomberg Businessweek Best European B-Schools 2021-22 MBA Ranking, released today, highlights the exceptional learning experience that IESE provides MBA students, as well as the rich networking opportunities that are available when studying the program.

The result caps off a record-breaking year for the IESE MBA, which has seen it place among the top positions in the most recognized international rankings in 2021, including ranking no.1 in the world by The Economist, and no.4 in the world by the Financial Times.

This year´s edition of the Bloomberg Businessweek ranking gathers the views of students, alumni, and recruiters on business schools throughout Europe. It then assess them across four areas: Compensation, Networking, Learning, and Entrepreneurship. (More on the Bloomberg Businessweek methodology.)

With IESE scoring high marks across the board, the results shed light on how current and former students continue to value their IESE MBA experience, as well as the high regard in which recruiters view IESE talent.

In particular, IESE ranked no.1 for Learning, reflecting the quality, depth and range of instruction on IESE´s MBA, as well as its relevance to real-world business situations. IESE´s innovative approach to learning, which combines discussion-based methodologies with highly personalized follow-up and support, was also key to its high marks.

IESE also performed well for Networking, taking the no.2 spot thanks to the breadth and depth of an active alumni community of more than 50,000 executives, a highly regarded careers service and excellent links with top recruiters, among others.

IESE´s focus on helping participants develop an entrepreneurial mindset, and support across all areas of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, also resulted in good scores for Entrepreneurship, where it also ranked second. Finally, IESE´s marks for Compensation (no.4), highlight how an IESE MBA continues to be a solid investment for participants.

Coming off the back of a string of strong ranking performances, this latest result by the weekly American business magazine once again consolidates IESE´s MBA as one of the best programs in the world.

More on IESE´s latest rankings.