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Now more than ever, navigating business challenges requires both experience and a skill set that evolves with the world. That is where executive MBA programmes step in — specifically the kind offered by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Across its campuses in Chicago, Hong Kong, and London, Chicago Booth has set the gold standard for leadership and career evolution through its pioneering MBA Programmes.
In fact, in 1943, it launched the world’s first executive MBA programme, which has since become a trusted partner for professionals aiming to go beyond mere advancement. While historic, it remains progressive by taking “The Chicago Approach” to business education. The Chicago Approach is Booth’s multidisciplinary philosophy of business education. It’s rooted in the fundamental scientific disciplines at the heart of business — economics, accounting, psychology, sociology, and statistics. The approach grounds all Booth students in theoretical frameworks that help them define problems, ask better questions, and develop better solutions.
Taught by world-renowned faculty, Booth’s EMBA is a 21-month graduate degree programme that sees students join a global, collaborative community, allows them to sharpen their analytical skills, and helps to prepare them to lead in today’s complex and evolving world.
Booth’s EMBA Programme transforms working professionals into bold leaders with the support of Booth’s dedicated Global Career and Leadership Development (GCLD) team. The team oversees all courses and programmes designed for executives who strive for more. For example, the required Leadership Exploration and Development (LEAD) course combines workshops, networking, and one-on-one executive coaching to meet students exactly where they are in their professional journeys.
“I set up bi-weekly calls with a coach on the Booth team,” shares EMBA student Atri Sen. “These sessions gave me the confidence to explore opportunities in areas beyond my professional expertise and consider jobs that could be potential ‘career pivots’.”
Booth’s Chicago campus—Gleacher Center—is located in the heart of downtown, near the NBC Tower and the famous Wrigley Building. Source: University of Chicago Booth School of Business
All considerations are solidified through GCLD’s experiential learning opportunities, which support career and leadership aspirations with practical, personalised growth through programmes including the Distinguished Executive-in-Residence mentoring, Career Clinics focused on practical career agility skills, and sessions addressing critical topics like resilience and inclusivity.
This level of support extends far beyond a student’s EMBA experience. All graduates retain access to expert advisors, global career resources, and Booth’s expansive network long after they graduate. The Global Employer Relations team, for instance, opens doors with top employers and fosters long-term relationships that connect alumni with career-advancing opportunities they won’t find elsewhere.
A strong network is especially crucial for students with unique aspirations — all of whom Chicago Booth happily accommodates. Booth’s EMBA Programme empowers executives to shape their journey with a depth and focus that goes beyond the foundational courses. As students gain a grounding in business fundamentals, they can take courses focused on applying those principles. These courses provide the tools students need to be come better leader, influence people, and make better decisions.
Once essential skills and frameworks are developed in Year 1, students kick off the second half of their programme with two intensive weeks of elective courses. These options include timely and in-depth subjects, such as Accounting for Entrepreneurship, New Product Development, AI, Innovation Strategy, and Leadership Capital, among others.
The final stretch of the EMBA is the Capstone Experience, where students apply what they’ve learned through an experiential, team-based course that is aligned with their career goals and interests. In Integrated Strategic Management, they’ll compete to grow a startup, navigating real-world decisions from finance to marketing to supply chain management. Alternatively, the Global New Venture Challenge (GNVC) gives students the chance to pitch a business to peers, faculty, and investors — a tangible test of vision and execution.
An EMBA turned Anh Nguyen from a director of global private equity and infrastructure to a co-founder and CEO. Source: University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Since its inception in 2008, the GNVC has offered crucial support for students with limited time and resources, hosting semi-final competitions at Booth’s global campuses in Chicago, London, and Hong Kong and awarding more than US$100,000 each year in startup funding to top competitors. The University of Chicago Polsky Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation amplifies this support by offering extensive resources across venture capital, tech innovation, and private equity.
For graduates like Anh Nguyen, these launchpads proved transformative. She joined Booth’s London EMBA Programme with the intention of continuing her private equity career. Through the GNVC, however, she reignited her passion for art and founded Nimi Collectibles — a startup that connects museums with a new generation of patrons, creating innovative revenue streams and democratising art philanthropy.
“The Booth experience allowed me the mind space to look into my inspirations,” she says. “My personal ROI of the Executive MBA experience is really the network, the people, the community that I built that will be with me for the rest of my life.”
With peers from 30+ industries and 46 countries, Booth’s EMBA classes have become a hub of diverse insights, unexpected connections, and future opportunities. Here, about 200 students bring expertise from tech and energy to finance and healthcare. When they graduate armed with a top-ranked MBA, they join a network of more than 58,000 Booth alumni creating impact throughout the world.
Grow faster, think better, and lead boldly at Booth.
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