- IMD Business School
Alumni Stories · Digital

IMD digital program hits landmark for growth and impact

IMD’s Leading Digital Business Transformation Program celebrates 1000th participant milestone
June 2019

Brigitte Urban, Head of Service Engineering at Siemens Mobility GmbH, has become the 1000th executive to choose IMD’s Leading Digital Business Transformation (LDBT) program – a significant landmark for the growth and impact of our digital programs as we develop leaders to embrace the transformative power of technology in business.

For Brigitte, the LDBT program was the ideal pathway to understand how to take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the challenges of digital innovation in today’s rapidly changing world.  

BrigitteUrban_web.jpg

Staying ahead of disruption
Brigitte said the program brought home the need for urgent change and a broad view: “One of my key learnings is that we need to take the time to fully understand the disruptions occurring in our industries, and not get too hung up on the disruptors. To do this it is important to understand the whole picture instead of only looking at the individual puzzle pieces.

The Leading Digital Business Transformation program was launched in 2015 at the same time as the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, an IMD and Cisco initiative. The Center has been responsible for award-winning and influential research in the area of digital, such as the books ‘The Digital Vortex’ and ‘Orchestrating Transformation’.

The goal of LDBT is to help executives assess how their companies should evolve to embrace the potential of digital technologies and business models. Graduates leave with a digital strategy roadmap, ready to transformation their organizations.

As a mark of the program’s success, LDBT has grown from two to seven editions per year. Its impact and popularity have also led to a suite of learning programs focusing on digital – in person, blended and online – which culminate with a Digital Excellence Diploma.

When looking for a digital transformation program, Brigitte said she wanted a holistic view of digital technologies and business strategy that would help her inspire change in the culture and mindset of her organization.

Impact and success
Michael Wade, co-Director of the LDBT program and IMD’s Center for Digital Business Transformation says the program’s success and its impact have soared well beyond expectations. “We knew that organizations needed to change their approach to digital, but we couldn’t have predicted the exponential growth in the number of participants and deep level of impact LDBT is having on executives and their businesses. We strive to draw upon our ongoing research to keep the program at the cutting edge,” said Wade.

Apart from LDBT, Brigitte is no stranger to IMD. She has participated in Driving Strategic Innovation (in partnership with MIT) and an IMD custom program in recent years.

What keeps her coming back to IMD? Brigitte says the business school does not just do old fashion teaching with a lecturer at the front of a room. “It’s interactive, uses the most up to date real world examples, and is very applicable. The professors’ passion really shows through. I also appreciate that you’re exposed to executives from such diverse industries, backgrounds and nationalities”.

Congratulations to the LDBT team. Here’s to the next 1000 participants!

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