Moving from a public sector focused role in an international organisation to become a Vice President at Citi, a global financial services corporation, is no small career shift. And Sasaenia Paul Oluwabunmi also moved countries – Austria to the US. Although there were many rejections along the way, he knew he could achieve more with the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA in hand.
“The Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA is a tool you can use to your advantage,” he says.
Four MBA formats designed for the entire career journey
Oluwabunmi is one graduate out of many in the school’s international community of global leaders-in-waiting. He’s originally from Nigeria. Others in his cohort represented at least 20 different nationalities. Backgrounds are just as diverse.
But that’s the point with WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management’s MBAs. They are unique to your needs. What do you want to achieve next in your career? For some, it’s about reinvention. Another wants to accelerate their career. Someone else wants to expand their network and ignite their inspiration.
What they all have in common is a drive to actualise their potential. And if that’s a goal you share, then where you choose to study can be just as important as what you study. Established in 1984, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management has built a reputation for “Excellence in Management Education” and is recognised both nationally and internationally. It ranks #3 in Germany and #20 in Europe in the Financial Times European Business School Ranking 2025. Its Full-Time MBA is also ranked #2 in Germany and #69 worldwide in the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2026.
While the school’s reputation is global, its MBA programmes are personalised. WHU offers four MBA options: the Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Global Online MBA and the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA. Each programme suits a different stage of your career and life. In other words, it depends on your goals and how you want to fit your studies around your current commitments.
For Oluwabunmi, the goal was “a more global focus” in his career. The programme’s mix of US and European approaches – the programme is joint offering with Kellogg School of Management — sounded like just what he needed. Just as importantly, its flexible format meant he could keep working while studying. The two-year, part-time modular programme combines extended weekends every six to eight weeks with international modules in the second year. “With travel only needed every six weeks, it was much more practical when fitting it into my work schedule,” he says.
The Full-Time MBA, spanning 12 months, offers an immersive experience for candidates ready to make a major change in their career or location. For those seeking a new start in a new country, the Full-Time MBA can be a stepping stone to building a career in Germany and across Europe. Meanwhile, the 24-months Part-Time MBA is designed for professionals who want to continue working while developing their business knowledge and preparing for their next career step. It has a weekend format, with classes on Saturdays and Sundays, twice monthly.
The Global Online MBA offers another way to balance professional and personal commitments with postgraduate study. While much of the learning takes place online, you also have opportunities to meet face-to-face. During the Residential Week in Düsseldorf, you can exchange ideas with professors and peers, take part in workshops and strategic discussions, and build connections with people who share their ambition to grow.
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is a leading business school in Germany and Europe, where students, academics and entrepreneurs can learn and work together. Source: WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
When an MBA’s format fits around your experience, your lifestyle, and your career goals, instead of the other way around, taking the next step feels intuitive. Things just take off.
Stephan Kramer, a Full-Time MBA graduate from the Class of 2016, experienced this firsthand. “I discovered more about my values and what I needed in life,” he says. “I realised that I was capable of much more; the MBA Programme gave me confidence in myself.”
For Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA graduate Miriam Mertens, the programme changed what she believed was possible. “The Executive MBA really enabled me to feel that I could change job role, function, or industries,” she says. It also “really helped to change my perception of myself and realise that there is nothing I cannot do.”
Learn more about the Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Global Online MBA and the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management.
