New EMBA Munich launches with 61 participants

“A lot of other business schools are taking care of the numbers, the rankings and the senior executive titles,” says Wenzhong Chen, who works in supply chain management at BMW China. “But for me the most important thing is showing respect for people. That is, I think, also very important in leadership and in life.”

Chen is participating in the first edition of the Executive MBA Munich, which began today with 61 participants, helping IESE bring its EMBA to a fourth global location (following Madrid, Barcelona and Sao Paulo). The students, 32% of whom are women, represent 21 nationalities. Participants work for companies including Novartis, BMW, Microsoft, Airbus and Heinz, organizations such as the European Central Bank, and a number of innovative startups.

Participants had the opportunity to meet each other in June during the EMBA Munich Admitted Day, which provided an excellent chance for them to also get to know the program and the Barcelona campus more thoroughly, and introduced them to the case method. Professor Julia Prats, associate dean for MBA programs, presided over the “Welcome to IESE” session.

The Executive MBA is an intense course aimed at ambitious, non-conformist business leaders looking to take their careers, or businesses, to the next level.

Richard Gausch, the global head of planning in Germany for ESCADA, decided to apply to the program after touring IESE Munich.

“I went to the Open Day and saw how everything was working,” he says. “I was super impressed by the facilities, by the people around campus. It’s a nice overall package—and with a base in Munich. What else could I hope for?”

Gausch is eager to “study real-life problems and see real-life solutions that I can start implementing from day one in my company.”