IMD is delighted to have once again earned a Gold Award in the 2025 EFMD Excellence in Practice Awards, which celebrates outstanding and impactful learning and development partnerships in the field of executive education.
Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior Martin Fellenz, Professor of Strategy and Marketing and dentsu Group Chair in Sustainable Strategy and Marketing Goutam Challagalla, and LEGO Professor of Management and Innovation Howard Yu were recognized in the Leadership Development category for their work with NatWest Group.
“We are, as a partner of NatWest and as the IMD community, very happy that our collaboration is recognized as impactful and pioneering. As the Dean of Faculty and Research, I am proud that it’s not just a few individuals who make this happen, but a team of faculty, researchers, learning managers, executive coaches, software developers, and other crew members who make this happen,” said Professor of Management, Dean of Faculty and Research Stefan Michel.
IMD supported NatWest Group’s strategic shift toward growth and its ambition to become a faster, more innovative, agile, and collaborative organization.
“Our leadership team plays a vital role in setting the strategy and culture across NatWest Group, allowing us to succeed with our customers, shareholders and the UK. I’m delighted that our work with IMD has been recognized for its tangible impact in helping us build the right capabilities for our future strategic growth,” shared Jen Tippin, NatWest Group Chief Operating Officer.
To enable this transformation, NatWest engaged IMD to design the One Bank Leadership Team (OBLT) program—a multi-cohort, three-phase blended learning journey launched in 2023. The program incorporated micro-experimentation to build essential skills and capabilities, and, most importantly, to foster the mindset needed to drive change.
“Our partnership with NatWest Group demonstrates how, by working together, we can develop leaders how transform organizations to grow, and stay competitive in today’s rapidly evolving business world. The recognition of this partnership highlights our commitment to creating transformative development experiences, and it’s a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in executive education,” shared Professor of Digital Strategy, Analytics and Innovation and Dean of Executive Education Misiek Piskorski.
This is the fourth consecutive EFMD Excellence in Practice Gold Award, following recognition in 2024 for collaborations with German conglomerate Bayer and safety and security leader Securitas AB, in 2023 for work with the LEGO Group, the world’s largest toymaker, and in 2022 for its engagement with Morocco’s OCP, a leading fertilizer manufacturer.
The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) is Europe’s largest network association in the field of management development, with more than 890 member organizations from academia, business, public service, and consultancy. Its annual Excellence in Practice Awards are widely regarded as among the most influential and prestigious distinctions in executive education and are designed to assess and recognize impactful learning initiatives in leadership, talent, and organizational development.
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