IMD Annual Report 2021

13 Special features

“You enter naive, and you exit with your eyes wide open to the world.” KAREN HUEBSCHER (MBA 2000) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SOLVIAS AG

A pioneer in practice-based executive education.

To the present day and beyond Since 1990, IMD has diversified and fine-tuned its portfolio through world-leading expertise to anticipate and respond to the needs of a rapidly-changing globalized economy, and built an influential library of rigorous, relevant, insightful and actionable research and thought leadership content. Always focused on pushing boundaries, this has included creating the world’s first executive education center dedicated to family business, the Global Family Business Center, and the elea Center for Social Innovation, which explores how private capital can be harnessed for positive impact. In the spirt of innovation, IMD’s diverse and award- winning faculty has also introduced a wealth of business critical themes to the curriculum of its MBA, EMBA, open and custom programs, such as digital transformation, sustainability, and diversity and inclusion. New partner initiatives such as E4S and Business Schools for Climate Leadership have been formed to contribute to the search for solutions to today’s complex challenges, and IMD’s footprint has grown to include a campus in Singapore and sustained growth as a trusted brand all over the world. And, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, new ways of delivering real learning and real impact have been prototyped and introduced, from programs that blend in- person classes, online modules and virtual liVe sessions to the use of virtual reality to create highly-effective experiential learning scenarios. Today, IMD’s purpose is to challenge what is and inspire what could be, developing leaders who transform organizations and contribute to society; a mantra that would have, no doubt, resonated deeply with the pioneers of its post-war beginnings.

It also introduced a different lens to the discipline that, over time, has enabled IMD to build clear differentiation in the market and a global reputation as an expert partner that understands real business and leadership challenges and delivers real learning and impact. Indeed, these two pioneering institutes placed an emphasis on practical, field-based research and executive education that created value for executives and their organizations. In 1990, in response to a highly competitive global market, the two institutes merged to form the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), an independent academic institute located in Lausanne at its present day campus, just meters away from the stunning Lac Léman.

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Celebrating 75 years