IESE Business School


IESE Business School is the graduate business school of the University of Navarra. Founded in 1958 in Barcelona where its main campus is located, IESE in 1963 formed an alliance with Harvard Business School and launched the first two-year MBA program in Europe. IESE is today one of the world’s leading business schools, with campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, New York and São Paulo.
IESE offers Master of Business Administration, Executive MBA and Executive Education programs that have regularly ranked among the top 10 in the world. IESE is an initiative of the Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church.

COVID-19: IESE Online

Faced with the spread of the COVID19 pandemic that reached Europe in February 2020, IESE organized an academic crisis committee on February 28 to find solutions through online teaching. On March 12 the business school announced a partial closure of its facilities in Madrid and Barcelona, when in Spain there were already 2950 infected. Four crisis scenarios were considered and finally, with the state of emergency decreed by the Spanish government and the confinement, the toughest scenario had to be applied, the fourth, with the complete closure of the campus, which required an urgent transformation and an immediate response.  To this end, they had the digital resources and previous experience with the WebEx platform, in addition to the Zoom platform to cover all the courses of the MBA, the Master in Management and the Doctoral Program. The digital transformation process involved continuous interaction with the participants of the different programmes, an open mind, teamwork and the strictness and flexibility to move forward and consolidate phases. By 15 March, 370 digital sessions and 1,150 hours of classes had been arranged, with the participation of 32,700 people.    
Among the resources created to face the COVID-19 crisis, a digital space of open content online was provided with reports, conferences, interviews and monographs on macroeconomics and politics, business strategies, leadership and people for the world after, that will require a great transformation towards economic and social recovery.   All sessions are broadcast openly through IESE's Linkedin profile and through IESE's Youtube channel. In these sessions, professors analyze the several practical aspects of the crisis, people management, public health systems administration or operations management.

International Rankings

For the sixth consecutive year, the Financial Times considers IESE to be the world leader in executive education. In the 2020 combined ranking that gathers information on open programs and executive programs, IESE is again in first place. According to the evaluation criteria and the survey among students, they stand out for international clients and the diversity of the teaching staff.

Chronology

Internationalization has formed part of IESE’s strategy from its earliest days.
Beginning in the late 1950s, IESE has sent members of its faculty to doctoratal programs in the U.S. and Europe, equipping its professors with an international mindset. IESE has worked with Harvard Business School for nearly six decades, and in 1964, with the launch of the MBA program, it welcomed the first international students to its Barcelona campus.
IESE has helped to develop a network of 15 associated schools internationally, many of them in the developing world. It has formed long-term academic alliances with schools such as Stanford, MIT and CEIBS, and opened campuses in São Paulo, Munich and New York. Its programs feature work and study opportunities around the globe, and its faculty, staff and students are of more than 100 nationalities.

Campuses

Barcelona

IESE’s main campus is located in the Pedralbes neighborhood of Barcelona, at the foot of the Collserola mountain range. The 52,000 m2 campus features more than a dozen buildings, the newest of which was inaugurated in 2018 to house its research division and doctoral programs. The MBA programs and a wide range of Executive Education programs are offered on the Barcelona campus.

Madrid

Since its founding in 1974, IESE’s Madrid campus has focused on Executive Education programs. The Executive MBA is also offered on the Madrid campus, along with a special program for public sector management. The campus, spread over 19,000m2, is located in a northeastern suburb of the Spanish capital.The campus is being expanded by the city's growing appeal to foreign students. A new program has also been introduced since August 2019, the Master in Management.

New York

IESE opened a campus in Manhattan in 2007. Housed in a neo-Renaissance building constructed in 1916 as a dance school, IESE’s New York campus delivers customized programs for companies and general management programs for executives, with a particular focus on the media and entertainment sectors.

Munich

IESE’s Munich campus, established in 2005, has focused on Executive Education programs for companies and professionals working in Germany and Central Europe. It also offers an Executive MBA program, and courses included in the MBA and Global Executive MBA programs.

São Paulo

Since 2000, IESE has delivered its Brazil-based activities and programs at ISE Business School, in the Bela Vista neighborhood of São Paulo, home to a number of educational and financial institutions. In addition to general management programs for executives, IESE’s São Paulo campus offers an Executive MBA degree.

Associated Business Schools

IESE's global reach goes well beyond the school's five campuses. IESE has helped establish 15 high-quality business schools, mainly in the developing world, beginning in 1967 with Mexico’s IPADE. These associated schools are fully autonomous, developed alongside strong and dedicated educators in each of the countries. In addition to IPADE, IESE has played a key role in creating: IAE in Argentina, 1978; PAD in Peru, 1979; AESE in Portugal, 1980; INALDE in Colombia, 1985; IEEM in Uruguay, 1986; LBS in Nigeria, 1991; IDE in Ecuador, 1992; CEIBS in China, 1994; UA&P School of Business Administration in the Philippines, 1995; ISE in Brazil, 1996; ESE in Chile, 1999; MDE Business School in the Ivory Coast, 2003; and SBS in Kenya, 2005.

Programs

Chairs

IESE's Executive Committee is responsible for the school’s long-term strategic development, faculty hiring, investments and program portfolio, as well as the School's operations. The dean of the School presides over the Executive Committee and reports to the president of the University of Navarra.
The School's International Advisory Board and the Executive Committee of the IESE Alumni Association provide strategic orientation on IESE's initiatives and governance, as well as offering their advice on educational programs, expansion, investment and corporate involvement.
The US Advisory Council provides the School with support for the long-term development of activities in the United States, particularly the New York campus, and how these activities can be of benefit to IESE in other parts of the world.
IESE and Harvard Business School have had a close relationship for almost 50 years. In 1963, Harvard Business School approved the formation of the Harvard-IESE Committee, a committee established to offer IESE ongoing guidance as it continued to develop its programs and evolve as a business school. The Harvard-IESE Committee helped guide the launch of IESE's full-time MBA program in 1964, the first of its kind in Europe. The committee has met annually ever since in either the U.S. or Europe. The Harvard-IESE Committee has also played a key role in developing IESE-Harvard joint international executive education programs, first launched in 1994.

IESE Business School Deans

International Advisory Board

Created in 1989, the International Advisory Board was established to help IESE assess the evolving socioeconomic context in which businesses functions and the latest needs, tendencies and advancements in the field of management and leadership education. The IAB is composed of prominent business and civic leaders from Europe, the United Kingdom, the Americas and Asia who are recognized for their contributions to the development of management and business. The IAB is appointed by the dean and meets periodically to review global developments in humanistic and management issues and discuss challenges and opportunities.
Notable IAB members include Michel Camdessus of the Banque de France, Victor K. Fung of the Li & Fung Group, N.R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies, Rafael del Pino of Ferrovial, Franck Riboud of Groupe Danone, Martin Sorrell of WPP Group, Peter Sutherland of BP, Roberto Servitje of Bimbo; Paul Polman of Unilever; Marc Puig of Puig; Denise Kingsmill of IAG; George Yeo of Kerry Group and Kees J. Storm of Aegon.

Alumni

The first alumni chapter was that of Catalonia, created in 1961. Regional groups for Valencia, Mallorca and Madrid were established soon after, followed by Aragón, Andalucia, and Galicia, La Rioja, Basque Country and Navarra. The Argentina-Uruguay chapter became the first foreign chapter in 1986; the U.S. alumni chapter was set up in 1987.
IESE’s first Global Alumni Reunion was held in Amsterdam in 2000. Since then, the Global Alumni Reunion has been held in cities around the world, including London, Munich, New York and São Paulo.

Notable alumni