London Business School

Foundation

The London Business School was founded in 1964 under the name of the London Graduate School of Business Studies with Dr. Arthur Earle as a Dean. In 1965, the school was registered as a company and was designated by the University of London as an institution having recognised teachers. In 1966, the first Executive Development Programme was launched, followed by the Senior Executive Programme. The same year, a full-time MSc degree was also launched, with Shiela Cross enrolling as the School's first female student. In 1968, the School inaugurated the Sloan Fellowship MSc programme, which was the first one outside of the US. 17 students were enrolled and the programme was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan's foundation. The first doctoral programme was established in 1969 and in 1970 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II opened the School's Regent's Park campus. The first PhD was awarded in 1974 and, that year, the females made up over 15% of the student body for the first time. In 1983, the first part-time MBA programme was held under the direction of Sir Andrew Likierman, the current Dean of the School. In 1986, the school officially became the London Business School and was incorporated by Royal Charter, which gave LBS the right to confer and grant degrees. In 1992, the School was given the Queen's Award for Export in recognition of providing educational services to managers and companies worldwide. During the same year, the Executive MBA programme was launched, and the following year, the school started its first Masters in Finance. In 2001, LBS launched the first EMBA-Global degree programme in partnership with the Columbia Business School.

The London Business School hold the inaugural Global Leadership Summit in 2003 and opened in 2007 a new campus in Dubai to offer both Executive MBA and Executive Education Programmes. In 2009, the school started two new programmes: The EMBA-Global Asia, in partnership with the Hong Kong University and the Columbia Business School, and the Masters in Management (MiM). In 2015, the school acquired the Marylebone Town Hall and spent £60 million to restaure it with the objective to expand its teaching facilities by 70 per cent. The building was renamed "The Sammy Ofer Centre" in honour of a generous donator, the Ofer Family, who made a gift of £25 million for the development of the building. In 2016, LBS launched a new programme the Masters in Financial Analysis, aimed at recent graduates who wish to pursue a career in finance.

With the objective to increasing its size, the school organised a £100 million funding campaign. At the beginning of 2016, £98 million were collected. £40 million should be used to renovate the Marylebone Town Hall, £28 million for the research, £18 million in scholarships for students, £10 million to increase the school's endowment, and £4 million that should be used to improve the technology of the school. By June 2016, the school had raised £125 million, the vast majority of which came from Jim Ratcliffe and Idan Ofer.

Campus

The campus is located in Marylebone, on the perimeter of Regent's Park. The main building, projected by John Nash along with the entire area of Regents Park, was originally built as 26 terraced houses in 1822–23. There are ten pointed cupolas along the roofline. The façade is adorned with Corinthian columns.

LBS maintains a number of facilities, including a sports centre, a restaurant, three cafes and library, that are dedicated for the exclusive use of its community. A privately run pub, The Windsor Castle, is also attached to campus. Most classrooms for the MBA are located in the Sainsbury Wing, the centre of the terrace, most of which are 100-student amphitheatre rooms.

There is no accommodation on campus for students in full-time programmes, although there are rooms on-campus for visiting faculty and executive education participants. Most students choose to live in nearby private residential buildings or in students halls of residence such as the International Students House, London.

LBS is planning on expanding its campus in central London. The business school is in the process of redeveloping the Old Marylebone Town Hall into classrooms and offices.

List of the London Business School Deans

List of the Deans from 1965 to today:

Admission

The recruitment process is extremely competitive. Students from all over the world apply, making the competition international. All candidates have to take international exams related to their English abilities (TOEFL) and mathematic/logic skills (GMAT or GRE). Only scores that are among the world top 10% are considered. Candidates are also asked to write several essays (topics are related to the envisaged programmes). The recruitment process has two steps. The first one consist of sending an application with the following information:

Once the application has been accepted, an examination is made by the selection committee. If the candidate meets the criteria of the school, he will be invited for an interview on campus in London. If this latest step is a success, the candidate receives an offer from LBS

Master in Business Administration (MBA)

The school's main programme is its flexible 15–21 month Master of Business Administration degree. MBA students take a prescribed set of core courses then choose from roughly 70 different electives. Class size has been around 400 students in every annual cohort. These are broken into 5 streams of around 80 students who take all core courses together.

Beyond academics, the school puts an emphasis on personal and professional development including leadership, global awareness, and business skill building. These developments are facilitated via specialized workshops led by external consultants, students, and faculty. In addition to a range of elective courses at the London Business School, the school has partnerships with around 32 exchange schools around the world. Each academic year around 100 students spend a term at another leading business school.

The MBA program at LBS is widely considered to be part of the top 10 in the world. In Financial Times' 2015 Global MBA Rankings, LBS ranked 2nd in the world just behind Harvard Business School. In CNN Expansion's 2014 Global MBA Rankings, LBS ranked 5th in the world. In Business Insider's 2014 Global MBA Rankings, LBS ranked 9th in the world. In 2016, the school's MBA program was ranked #21 worldwide for social and environmental impact by Corporate Knights magazine.

Within Europe, LBS consistently ranks as one of the top 2 programs. In the 2014/2015 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report, the London Business School MBA Program ranked 1st among all one-year and two-year European MBA programs.

Among non-U.S. two-year MBA programmes, LBS was ranked 1st by Bloomberg BusinessWeek in 2012, 3rd by The Economist in 2012, 1st by Financial Times in 2014 and 2012, and 1st by Forbes in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

The MBA Programme has one of the world's largest international exchange programmes. Each year approximately 35 per cent of second-year MBAs spend a term abroad at one of over 30 partner schools, including NYU Stern School of Business, IESE Business School, Booth School of Business of The University of Chicago, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA Anderson School of Management, the MIT Sloan School of Management, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, Columbia Business School, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, Indian School of Business among others.

Executive MBA

The school offers four part-time Executive MBA degrees, which are completed in between 16 and 20 months. At an academic level, the school offers the same degree to both Executive and Full-time MBA students. The programmes involve very similar core courses to the full-time MBA, international field work and a wide range of elective courses. The course ends with a capstone together with company project or management report.

Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy

The Sloan Fellowship was established in 1968 and is a master's degree programme designed for senior executives, accomplished professionals and entrepreneurs with significant experience of decision-making at strategic levels. The admission process is highly competitive and selective. On average, Sloan Fellows already have 15 years of management experience when being admitted to the programme. A typical class is highly diverse and includes attendees from 13–23 different countries.

This 12-month, full-time master's degree programme focuses on strategy, leadership and change, and globalisation.The Sloan programme runs at Stanford Graduate School of Business and the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Masters in Finance

The school offers a "Master's in Finance" ("MiF") programme on both a part- and full-time basis. Around 120 students attend the full-time programme, while 60 attend the part-time degree. In 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 it was ranked in 1st place amongst Masters in Finance (post-experience) programmes in the world by the Financial Times.

Masters in Financial Analysis (MFA)

The Masters in Financial Analysis is the most recent programme offered by the London Business School. The first class will start in September 2016 and will consist of 12 months of courses. The programme targets recent graduates with less than a year of work experience who plan to start a career in finance.

The curriculum consists of 10 core courses based on 5 pillars (Accounting, Corporate Finance, Asset Management, Market Finance, and Financial Econometrics). The 10 courses are:

Students must also follow 3 electives of which minimum 2 must be related to finance. The programme includes a business immersion week within a company (Google, Deloitte, CNN, Accenture, Blackrock etc.) to work on case studies. Finally, students have to participate in a Field Trip (study trip) that lasts a week. This travel experience consists of many networking dinners, company visits, and company presentations. The following destinations are available: Silicon Valley, Paris, Milan and Munich, Mumbai and Bangalore, or Shanghai.

The MFA targets students who wish to start a career as an analyst in an investment bank or who wish to work in consulting.

Masters in Management (MiM)

The Masters in Management (MiM) is a one-year masters degree in management aimed at recent graduates who have less than one year of full-time postgraduate corporate work experience or less than two years of experience in a non-traditional business role.

The programme is structured in 3 terms, composed of the following core courses:

First term:

Second term:

Third term:

Students must also follow 2 electives and can choose among 30 different courses. The programme includes a business immersion week within a company (Google, Deloitte, CNN, Accenture, Blackrock etc.) to work on case studies. Finally, students have to participate in a Field Trip (study trip) that lasts a week. This travel experience consists of many networking dinners, company visits, and company presentations. The following destinations are available: Silicon Valley, Paris, Milan and Munich, Mumbai and Bangalore, or Shanghai.

In 2016 the programme was ranked 6th in the world by the Financial Times, having been in the global top 10 since it became eligible for the ranking. The programme has a very good market placement. 96% of the 2015 graduates accepted an offer within three months of graduation. 40% work in consulting, 35% in finance and the rest in different industries. The most prestigious companies recruit on campus. The top 3 recruiters are the Boston Consulting Group (11 students hired in 2015), Goldman Sachs (8 students hired in 2015), and McKinsey&Company (7 students hired in 2015). Among the other companies that recruited 2 MiM students or more in 2015 are, for example, Oliver Wyman, Arthur D. Little, Deloitte, A.T. Kearney, and Bain&Company.

Global Masters in Management

The Global Masters in Management (Global MiM) is a two-year, full-time course starting in September 2015, where students attain two internationally recognized degrees: a Masters in Management (MiM) and a Masters in Science (MSc) in International Business. Year one takes place in London. Year two takes place in Shanghai.

Delivered jointly by London Business School and the renowned Fudan School of Management in Shanghai, the Global MiM gives an unparalleled grounding in international business challenges preparing for the opportunities of tomorrow.

Executive Education

About 10,000 executives attend the school's non-degree programmes each year. The school offers a portfolio of 31 Executive Education programmes in general management, strategy, leadership, marketing, human resources and finance. These programmes are split into two main areas, open and custom. About 45 companies per year commission London Business School to design and deliver customised corporate programmes for them, 60% delivered outside the UK.

World Business School Ranking

In the 2015 QS ranking of world business schools (all academic programs), LBS came in 1st place, ahead of Harvard and INSEAD. In the 2014 Eduniversal Business School Ranking, LBS was ranked 2nd in the world.

Financial Times Rankings

LBS and its programmes are often ranked among the best in the world and in Europe.

Research

The school's 150 faculty work through 16 research centres or institutes. According to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the school had the joint highest percentage of world-leading research of any British higher education institution (along with the Courtauld Institute of Art) with 56% of research rated in the 4* category.

PhD programme

The school offers a 5-year full-time PhD programme. It supports 60 fully funded PhD candidates in seven doctoral programmes: Accounting, Economics, Finance, Management Science & Operations, Marketing, Organisational Behaviour, and Strategic & International Management.

Clubs

There are over 70 student clubs at the school. These range from professional clubs such as consulting, entrepreneurship and energy clubs, to regional clubs including the Latin American and China club. There are also general interest and sporting clubs such as football, wine and cheese and the salsa club.

Faculty and Staff

Alumni association

The London Business School has 39'000 alumni in more than 150 countries. Many local clubs (Paris, New-York, Zurich etc.) organise recurrent events in their city.

Notable alumni