IMD is delighted to have received a Gold Award in the 2026 EFMD Excellence in Practice (EiP) Awards, which honors outstanding collaboration in executive education learning and development.
IMD Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior Martin Fellenz, Professor of Strategy and Marketing and dentsu Group Chair in Sustainable Strategy and Marketing Goutam Challagalla, Professor of Management Innovation Mark Greeven, LEGO Professor of Management and Innovation Howard Yu, and Senior Researcher & Writer Nancy Lane were recognized in the ‘Professional development’ category for their leadership development program co-created with leading healthcare company Novo Nordisk.
This marks IMD’s sixth EFMD Excellence in Practice Gold Award over the past five consecutive years. Overall, IMD has received nine EFMD Gold Awards for collaborations with NatWest Group, Bayer, Securitas AB, the LEGO Group, OCP, Siam Commercial Bank, Valmet and Stora Enso since 2007.
“The best custom programs are built by the school and the client together. With Novo Nordisk we co-designed a program that helped senior leaders lead across the enterprise to drive organizational transformation, and created a community of practice that has outlasted it. Our faculty were proud to be part of it,” shared Dean of Executive Education Misiek Piskorski.
In 2022, Novo Nordisk was undergoing a transformation, expanding beyond its traditional focus into new therapeutic areas while navigating growth, increasing complexity, and evolving market environment.
To address these challenges, Novo Nordisk and IMD partnered in 2023 to co-create a leadership development program focused on boosting collaboration, fostering an enterprise mindset, and establishing a lasting Community of Practice (COP) for the Global Project Leaders chairing the Global Project Teams.
“EFMD’s Gold Award is a powerful recognition of what Novo Nordisk and IMD achieved together. The Global Project Team Chair program strengthened enterprise leadership across our portfolio and value chain, building a trusted Community of Practice where shared insights and learnings translate into better decisions for Novo Nordisk and patients,” said Senior Vice President of Novo Nordisk Robin Evers.
The post-program results demonstrated tangible impact, with 100% of participants agreeing that the program represented a valuable investment for both themselves, and their organization.
The annual Excellence in Practice Awards, by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), are considered among the most influential and prestigious distinctions in executive education.
Find out more about IMD’s Custom Programs.
