Spain is home to 2 of the best business schools for executive education in the world. IESE Business School and ESADE Business School are once again among the top 10 business schools in the world for executive education and once again occupy second and fourth place, respectively in 2023.
This is according to the 'Executive Education 2023' ranking of the Financial Times (FT), which has placed IESE Business School in second place in the ranking and ESADE Business School as the fourth best business school in the world in executive education.
As in the previous edition, the first place in the Financial Times ranking goes to HEC Paris, followed by IESE Business School, which also ranked second in 2022; Insead, in Fontainebleau (France) in third position; and ESADE Business School in fourth place, the same position in the ranking as in the previous year.
Completing the ranking of the world's top 10 business schools for executive education are London Business School, International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Fundaçao Dom Cabral, University of Michigan: Ross, Essec Business School, SDA Bocconi School of Management and SMT Berlin.
After learning the results of the ranking, the Director of ESADE Executive Education, Josep Franch, said that the consolidation of the academic institution as the fourth best school in the world in executive education highlights "the excellence and quality" of its programmes which, in his words, "are designed for the acquisition, updating and development of the skills that managers need to function in the current context, marked by complexity and diversity, and where technology is the protagonist".
In order to respond to the needs of both executives and companies, ESADE has developed a "highly personalised, flexible and specialised" training programme based on the latest immersive technologies.
The 'Financial Times' Executive Education ranking is based on the opinions of participants, and is broken down into two sections: Open training (Open) and customised training for companies (Custom). In 'Open', ESADE Executive Education has moved up one place this year to become the third best in the world.
"The 'Open' programmes have been recognised as the third best in the world, standing out for the 360º orientation of their educational experience," explains Josep Franch. In the section on 'Custom' programmes, the British publication has placed ESADE Executive Education in 12th place in the world.
"These results reinforce our aspiration to become the benchmark partner in Lifelong Learning for individuals and organisations, recognised for teaching innovation, cutting-edge content and training in values," concludes Franch.
In the 'Open' programmes, IESE topped the world ranking in this category, while in 'Custom' programmes, it reached fourth place. According to IESE, this result "further consolidates" IESE's position as one of the "leading" executive education schools worldwide. Since 2015, the institution stresses, IESE's management education programmes have been ranked number 1 or 2 worldwide in this ranking.
"This year, the FT has highlighted the satisfaction of IESE's participants, the relevance of its programmes, its internationality and the quality of its faculty and participants," said the business school.