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International Institute for Management Development

Coordinates: 46°31′N 6°37′E / 46.51°N 6.62°E / 46.51; 6.62
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
IMD
IMD campus in Lausanne
Motto in English
Real Learning Real Impact
TypeAcademic Institute
Established1990; 35 years ago (1990)
ChairmanMichel Demaré
PresidentDavid Bach [1]
Academic staff
60
Administrative staff
450
Students250 degree students
Other students
23,000 executive education participants
Location
Lausanne
,
Vaud
,
Switzerland

46°31′N 6°37′E / 46.51°N 6.62°E / 46.51; 6.62
Websitewww.imd.org
Map

International Institute for Management Development (IMD) is an independent academic institute[2] with campuses in Lausanne, Switzerland and Singapore. IMD is known for its executive education and its proximity to business.[3] In 2024, it named David Bach as its new president.[4]

History and mission

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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]

Executive Education

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Custom Programs

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IMD is a global leader 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.[11] Some partnerships include:

- Securitas: A five-year transformation journey recognized with a gold EFMD award.[12]

- Bayer: A Sprint program that reached over 12,000 leaders also recognized with a gold EFMD award.[13]

IMD was recognized #1 globally for custom programs by the Financial Times in 2025.[14]

Open and Online programs

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IMD offers over 75 open enrollment programs and 23 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.[15]

IMD was recognized #9 globally for custom programs in the 2025 Financial Times Executive Education Rankings.[16]  

Degree Programs  

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IMD offers a range of degree programs designed for experienced professionals and promising leaders:

  • MBA: A one-year, AI-rich program ranked #1 in Europe by Bloomberg Businessweek and named 2024 MBA Program of the Year by Poets&Quants.[17]
  • Executive MBA (EMBA): A flexible, modular program with global immersions in China, Japan, and Singapore. In 2024, IMD announced a revamp of their EMBA offering to address the evolving needs of executives.[18]
  • Master of Science in Sustainable Management and Technology: Delivered in partnership with EPFL and UNIL, this program prepares future leaders in sustainability, innovation, and technology.

In April 2025, IMD launched its first new degrees in 25 years[19]:  

  • Executive Master in AI & Digital Business Transformation
  • Executive Master in Sustainable Business Transformation

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

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IMD's full-time MBA has been ranked by Bloomberg[20] and Forbes[21] 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.[22] 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.[23]

Notable alumni

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See also: Category:International Institute for Management Development alumni

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

Faculty

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Partnerships

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IMD has partnerships with[25]

References

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  1. ^ [1]
  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. ^ a b "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. ^ "Homepage - IMD Annual Report 2024". www.imd.org. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  12. ^ "EFMD Excellence in Practice Award (EiP) Winners - EFMD Global". www.efmdglobal.org. 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  13. ^ "EFMD Excellence in Practice Award (EiP) Winners - EFMD Global". www.efmdglobal.org. 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  14. ^ "Executive Education Custom 2025 - Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  15. ^ "Homepage - IMD Annual Report 2024". www.imd.org. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  16. ^ "Executive Education Open 2025 - Business school rankings from the Financial Times - FT.com". rankings.ft.com. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Byrne, John A. (2024-12-19). "Inside IMD's New & Highly Innovative Executive MBA Program". Poets&Quants. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "Bloomberg best business in Europe". Bloomberg News.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "Executive Education Rankings - Open Programs - 2017". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  23. ^ Ortmans, Laurent (May 14, 2017). "FT Executive Education Rankings 2017". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  24. ^ Tutorials, Script. "Varroc Group - Varroc Group Site". www.varrocgroup.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  25. ^ "IMD Partnerships - IMD Business School". www.imd.org. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  26. ^ "IMD joins forces with the IDGs Foundation - IMD News". www.imd.org. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
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