The Financial Times (FT) has positioned IMD among the world’s best business schools in its Executive Education rankings — recognition grounded in direct feedback from the organizations and leaders who work with us.
Our custom programs achieved the #1 global ranking, advancing from the third position among 95 schools. For open programs, we sustained our top 10 standing for the 21st consecutive year, ranking 9th among 85 institutions.
“At IMD, we forge deep relationships with organizations to co-create powerful programs that develop leaders who transform their organizations and create deep impact worldwide. Achieving the number one ranking reflects our relentless commitment to our collaborative approach — working hand in hand with organizations to push the boundaries of executive education and deliver results that matter,” said Misiek Piskorski, Dean of Executive Education at IMD and Professor of Digital Strategy.
IMD was ranked first in program preparation, in the top two for program design and follow-up, and in the top three for value for money and overseas programs. We also came in the top four for new skills and learning, and in the top five for aims achieved, future use, and international clients.
Program preparation is defined as the level of interaction between client and school, the extent to which clients’ ideas are integrated into the program, and the effectiveness of the school in integrating its latest research. Program preparation denotes the flexibility of the course and the willingness of schools to complement their faculty with external experts.
New skills and learning refers to the perceived relevance of skills gained to the workplace, the ease with which they were implemented, and the extent to which the course encouraged new ways of thinking. Our high scores in these underline our clients’ and participants’ appreciation of our focus on real learning for real impact.
On the open programs side, IMD has maintained its number nine position. Strengths that particularly stood out in making people choose to learn with us included our participants – IMD is in the top four in international participants, and top six in quality of participants, and our faculty quality and diversity. We also scored high for teaching, comprising aims achieved, teaching methods and materials, and new skills and learning.
Read more about why we have ranked first for Custom Programs in the 2025 FT Executive Education ranking.
