IMD 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]
History and mission
IMD 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 new organization, the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), settled in Lausanne. 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 solely 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 focuses on training and developing general management and leadership skills.[10]
IMD also publishes a quarterly management magazine, entitled I by IMD (www.imd.org/ibyimd/), as well as online content via a dedicated I by IMD knowledge hub.[11] I by IMD was launched in 2021 and publishes articles, audio podcasts, and video interviews, focussing on issues relating to business leaders.[12] The publication offers first-person business and leadership intelligence from thinkers in academia, industry, the third sector, and society.[13] In 2024, the magazine's print run was 6,000 copies per quarter, and increased distribution channels to include airline journals and global publishing platforms, such as Zinio and Lufthansa's e-journals.[14][15] The number of active users on the I by IMD hub reached 785k by the end of 2024.[16] The publication's advisory board includes Michael Skapinker from the Financial Times, among others, while IMD's dean of research Anand Narasimhan is the chair of the editorial advisory board.[17][18] In 2023, I by IMD digitised its archive of print issues, to provide fully-searchable access to the publication's archive.
Executive Education
Custom Programs
IMD 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.[19] Some partnerships include:
- Securitas: A five-year transformation journey recognized with a gold EFMD award.[20]
- Bayer: A Sprint program also recognized with a gold EFMD award.[20]
IMD was recognized #1 globally for custom programs by the Financial Times in 2025.[21]
Open and Online programs
IMD 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.[22]
IMD was recognized #9 globally for open executive programs in the 2025 Financial Times Executive Education Rankings.[23] IMD was also recognized #1 globally in the Financial Times Executive Education Custom 2025.[24]
Degree Programs
IMD offers a range of degree programs designed for experienced professionals and promising leaders:
MBA: A one-year, AI-rich program ranked #1 in Europe by Bloomberg Businessweek and named 2024 MBA Program of the Year by Poets&Quants.[25]
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.[26]
Master of Science in Sustainable Management and Technology: Delivered in partnership with EPFL and UNIL.
In April 2025, IMD launched its first new degrees in 25 years:[27]
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.
Ranking
IMD's full-time MBA has been ranked by Bloomberg[28] and Forbes[29] as one of the best one-year programs in Europe and internationally.
In 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 IMD was ranked first in open programs worldwide by the Financial Times.[30] The FT also places IMD at second in Custom Programs, with the school jumping up two places from fourth in 2016. IMD remained in second place in the combined custom and open program rankings, maintaining its spot from last year.[31]
^Jeannet, Jean-Pierre and Hein Schreuder. 2015. "From Coal to Biotech: The transformation of DSM with business school support". Springer. ISBN978-3662462980
