Henley Business School


Henley Business School is the business school of the University of Reading. It was formed by merging the previously independent Henley Management College, formerly the Administrative Staff College, with the existing business school of the University of Reading. As a result of the merger it now occupies two sites: Greenlands Campus, near the town of Henley-on-Thames, the original site of the Henley Management College, and Whiteknights Campus in Reading.
It is among only 73 institutions worldwide to be granted triple accreditation by the three largest and most influential business school accreditation associations: EQUIS, AMBA and the AACSB. It is ranked among the world's top 50 business schools by the Financial Times and The Economist.
The current dean is

History

1945-1981

The Administrative Staff College was set up in 1945 at Henley-on-Thames as the civilian equivalent of the Military Staff Colleges. It offered short courses in problems of advanced management. The College was offered the use of Greenlands by the 3rd Viscount Hambledon in 1946, and was bought outright from the family in 1952. In its formative years, the College was influenced by the management consultant and writer Lyndall Urwick, the academic Hector Hetherington, the civil servant Sir Donald Banks and the businessman Sir Geoffrey Heyworth ; its curriculum was designed by its first Principal, Noel Hall. From the beginning, its intention was to bring together executives from Her Majesty's Civil Service, private business and nationalised industries to help develop their skills for promotion to senior management.
Thomson Reuters Trading Rooms

1981-2008

In 1981, the College changed its name from its original title to Henley - The Management College. This was changed again to the Henley Management College when it was awarded a Royal charter in 1991. By 2002, the College achieved triple accreditation status from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the Association of MBAs and the European Quality Improvement System. The Greenlands campus of the College is located on the banks of the river Thames near Henley-on-Thames, on a country estate and former home of the WH Smith family.

2008-present

In 2008, the Henley Management College merged with the University of Reading to form the Henley Business School. It consists of the School of International Business and Strategy; the School of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour; the School of Marketing and Reputation; the School of Business Informatics, Systems and Accountancy ; the School of Real Estate & Planning; the ICMA Centre; and Executive Education Programmes.
While the MBA and corporate learning activities are offered from the Greenlands campus, all undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses are offered from the Whiteknights campus of the University of Reading.
A former country estate of the Marquis of Blandford, the 130 hectare Whiteknights campus holds conservation meadows, a rare tree collection and a large lake. In 2009 the School moved into a new building in Whiteknights, with facilities for lectures, conferences and visitors.

Academics

At its Greenlands campus, the Henley Business School offers an MBA for executive managers, in addition to corporate and executive education programmes with students from more than 100 countries. The Henley MBA is designed for experienced, practicing managers, and aims to enhance their leadership skills or prepare for a senior management position; the average age of programme members is 38 years. It is offered in executive, distance learning modes and flexible executive, a programme that allows participants to continue to work full-time and to study The Henley MBA part-time.
The Henley Business School offers its undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes from its Whiteknights campus. 30 different programmes for undergraduates and postgraduates are offered in finance and investment, management, marketing, and real estate and planning. It also offers PhD and DBA programmes in all these areas.
Spread across both sites are 24 specialist research and knowledge centres.
Henley has 150 faculty members that come from 18 countries.

Reputation and Awards

Henley Business School is one of the largest providers of business education in the world with over 68,000 alumni members in 154 countries, and the third largest provider of MBA education. The Henley MBA programme has been ranked at 34 globally, number one regionally and first worldwide for potential to network and breadth of alumni. The executive MBA programme has been ranked at 36 worldwide by The Economist, Which MBA? 2014 rankings
The School's Centre for Coaching won a 2019 Global Coaching Award from the European Mentoring & Coaching Council in January 2020.
The Research Excellence Framework 2014 ranked Henley in the top 10% for internationally excellent and world-leading research.

Alumni and affiliates

At any given time, Henley has around 7,000 students and programme members from more than 140 countries, ranging from the UK and Europe to Asia and Africa, from North and South America to Australasia. As one of the oldest business school in the UK, it has over 68,000 alumni members in 154 countries.
Notable alumni include Cdr. Dr Mike Young, Head of Leadership & Management at the Royal Navy; , former Vice President at Virgin Galactic ; , Executive Director of the Eden Project; and , former Chief Executive Officer at Wagamama.
Henley has several affiliate campuses abroad and The Henley Flexible Executive is delivered in 9 of these locations worldwide:
Denmark and Sweden, Finland & Estonia, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Malta, South Africa, India, Ireland, Dubai, Singapore.
Each local campus and subsidiary could vary in what is offered, with each having some local customisation. A number of countries have a full local campus, with local teaching staff and local accreditation. A number of others, which Henley lists as countries they serve, have an office without local instructors. Students in those countries must either travel abroad or use the distance learning mode to complete their degrees.