International Institute for Management Development

Last updated
IMD
Architecture Campus 2024.jpg
IMD campus in Lausanne
Motto in English
Real Learning Real Impact
TypeAcademic Institute
Established1990;35 years ago (1990)
Chairman Michel Demaré
President David Bach [1]
Academic staff
60
Administrative staff
450
Students250 degree students
Other students
23,000 executive education participants
Location
Lausanne
,
Vaud
,
Switzerland

46°31′N6°37′E / 46.51°N 6.62°E / 46.51; 6.62
Website www.imd.org
IMD logo.jpg
International Institute for Management Development

International Institute for Management Development (IMD) is an independent academic institute [2] with campuses in Lausanne, Switzerland, Singapore and Shenzhen, China.

Contents

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:

In April 2025, IMD launched its first new degrees in 25 years: [27]  

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]

Notable alumni[ citation needed ]

IMD counts 125’000+ alumnis across 140 countries and 80+ industries.

Faculty

Partnerships

IMD has partnerships with [33]

References

  1. ↑ IMD appoints David Bach as its next President, imd.org, April 2024
  2. ↑ "About us - IMD Business School". www.imd.org. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  3. ↑ "The Best One-Year International Business Schools List". Forbes .
  4. ↑ "IMD appoints David Bach as its next President - IMD News". www.imd.org. 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  5. ↑ "IMD – International Institute for Management Development". The Economist. Archived from the original on 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  6. ↑ Jeannet, Jean-Pierre and Hein Schreuder. 2015. "From Coal to Biotech: The transformation of DSM with business school support". Springer. ISBN   978-3662462980
  7. 1 2 "The Economist: Which MBA". Archived from the original on 2008-05-29. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  8. ↑ mathieu (2023-04-17). "IMD enhances its academic stature with accreditation as a Swiss university institute". Greater Geneva Bern area. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  9. ↑ "IMD accredited as a Swiss university institute". IMD. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  10. ↑ "IMD 1-year MBA Degree - Master Of Business Administration". www.imd.org. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  11. ↑ https://www.imd.org/ibyimd/
  12. ↑ https://www.imd.org/annual-reports/annual-report-2021/faculty-and-research/ibyimd.html#:~:text=IMD%20launched%20a%20new%20knowledge,external%20experts%20and%20business%20leaders.
  13. ↑ https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/i-by-imd-launches-digital-archive-22143
  14. ↑ https://www.zinio.com/ch/publications/i-by-imd/40560
  15. ↑ https://box.media-carrier.de/magazines?b=77745&l=en
  16. ↑ https://www.imd.org/reports/annual-report/2024/research-and-thought-leadership/
  17. ↑ https://www.ft.com/content/4d278895-0dd4-4638-834d-c988fc22c01e
  18. ↑ https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/i-by-imd-launches-digital-archive-22143
  19. ↑ "Homepage - IMD Annual Report 2024". www.imd.org. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  20. 1 2 "EFMD Excellence in Practice Award (EiP) Winners - EFMD Global". www.efmdglobal.org. 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  21. ↑ "Executive Education Custom 2025 - Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  22. ↑ "Homepage - IMD Annual Report 2024". www.imd.org. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  23. ↑ "Executive Education Open 2025 - Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  24. ↑ "Executive Education Custom 2025 - Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  25. ↑ Byrne, John A. (2024-10-30). "Poets&Quants' MBA Program Of The Year: IMD's Reimagining Of The MBA". Poets&Quants. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  26. ↑ Byrne, John A. (2024-12-19). "Inside IMD's New & Highly Innovative Executive MBA Program". Poets&Quants. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  27. ↑ Byrne, John A. (2025-04-03). "IMD Launches First New Degrees In 25 Years: Stackable Executive Masters In AI & Sustainability". Poets&Quants. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  28. ↑ "Bloomberg best business in Europe". Bloomberg News .
  29. ↑ Settimi, Christina (Sep 18, 2019). "IMD And London Business School Top Ranking Of The Best International MBA Programs". Forbes. Archived from the original on Aug 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  30. ↑ "Executive Education Rankings - Open Programs - 2017". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  31. ↑ Ortmans, Laurent (May 14, 2017). "FT Executive Education Rankings 2017". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  32. ↑ Tutorials, Script. "Varroc Group - Varroc Group Site". www.varrocgroup.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  33. ↑ "IMD Partnerships - IMD Business School". www.imd.org. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  34. ↑ "IMD joins forces with the IDGs Foundation - IMD News". www.imd.org. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.