For big spenders, a global program: through a Barcelona school, companies send executives to get an education on the road

Chief Executive, The, July, 2004 by Rebecca Fannin

The IESE Business School in Barcelona couldn't be in a more picturesque setting, in the foothills of the Pyrenees overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Its academic stripes are also becoming known, thanks to an innovative, global executive MBA program.

Each summer, the school starts 40 new students off on a 16-month, whirlwind tour of the world's tech capitals while they earn an MBA. Following a two-week initiation at the Barcelona campus, the students hear more lectures at the main campus in Madrid, home to Spain's University of Navarra. Then the real fun begins--two weeks in Silicon Valley, taking classes at Stanford and visiting high-tech leaders, followed by another two-week stint in Shanghai, where they witness China's economic boom unfolding and meet with local entrepreneurs. In between, students take classes over the Web. Then, in October, they wind up back in Barcelona for graduation ceremonies.

This curriculum is a solid choice for CEOs who want to provide their executives with a broader perspective and insight into an entrepreneurial boom that is happening outside the United States and Europe. Students have the opportunity to meet with professionals and government officials who are encouraging the growth of new businesses such as semiconductors and wireless in China and IT in the Valley.

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At $79,000, this program doesn't come cheap. The cost includes tuition, meals and hotels, and employers typically pick up the tab, says Wendy Erikson, an executive director at IESE.

Sony, Ericsson, Philips and Volkswagen have sent execs to IESE, often customizing the classwork to suit their needs. The school ranks fourth worldwide in a Financial Times survey of customized execution education programs for senior managers. London-based venture capital firm 3i enrolls managers of its portfolio companies in the program for leadership training and reports positive results, according to executive director Paul Waller. Companies recruiting at the campus include a who's who of multinationals as well.

The IESE keeps its faculty Asia savvy, in part by participating in a faculty exchange program with the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. CEIBS is the first school in China to offer a full-time MBA and executive MBA program, says Pedro Nueno, an IESE professor and president of the Chinese school's academic council. For more information, visit the IESE Web site at www.iese.edu.