Executive MBA

Before the start of your programme, you will be expected to complete online pre-study modules, delivered via The Hub, our bespoke virtual learning environment. These include primers in key areas including data analysis, finance, accounting, maths, corporate sustainability, social innovation and ethics. 

Your Executive MBA induction will be spent at our South Kensington Campus in London, where you will meet with the rest of your cohort, faculty and programme staff. 

This two-day induction will lay the foundations of your Executive MBA experience. As well as a programme introduction, you will partake in several lectures and activities to give you a taste for the programme, as well as attending a special welcome dinner. 

Critical skills for business leaders include understanding the language of accounting and mastering financial analysis in day-to-day and strategic decision-making. This module will focus on the use of accounting for financial management and reporting, explaining the techniques of financial and management accounting, and examining their relevance to the broader issues of decision-making and management control in organisations. The module will give you insights into the way that business performance is measured, and how business decisions can be structured and analysed.

This module will provide you with a foundation in the theoretical tools to analyse modern financial markets and the decisions of corporate firms. The module covers a variety of topics in corporate finance, with a focus on how firms and individuals (investors) make financial decisions. We first want to understand the role that financial markets play in the economy; the role of financial intermediation. Then, the module is divided in two parts: valuation and capital structure.

The first part, valuation, focuses on how to create value of the left-hand side of the balance sheet (assets), i.e. explains how companies should select the assets they want to invest in. In more detail, we will cover an introduction to present value techniques; the basics of financial statements and cash flow calculation; investment rules and project evaluation. We will also cover the valuation of the main securities: bonds and stocks, including portfolio theory and CAPM.

The second part is about financing and risk management and investigates how companies finance their activities best. The aim is to understand what factors determine the “optimal” capital structure and how the interplay of those factors can affect financing decisions in a way that creates value on the right-hand side of the balance sheet.

The corporate innovation & intrapreneurship module offers you a unique opportunity to build your knowledge, skills and experience in understanding innovation at industry and company level and in setting up processes and procedures to foster corporate innovation. You will be guided through different strategies that are implemented by new ventures and in the live sessions we will discuss how corporates adopt ideas from the entrepreneurship community such as acceleration, incubation and venture capital as tools for corporate renewal. In addition, you will embark on a live experience through negotiating a term sheet, typically used in corporate entrepreneurship and venture capital environments.

The aim of this module is to enable you to recognise and work with the tools and concepts that economists use to explain how market conditions are determined and how the economic environment influences business performance. The objective is to develop an understanding of economic forces and the ability to apply economic analysis to problems related to business strategy and managerial decision-making.

This module comprises two parts. The first enables you to understand enough about selected Game-Changing Technologies to be able to productively engage in the identification of business applications. The first part also sensitises you to important ethical and societal issues raised by some of these new technologies. The second part allows you to explore how a number of businesses have sought to make an impact in the context of a 'grand challenge'. You will discover some of the levers that can be used to drive real impact and change.

Please note, this module runs over both terms 1 and 2.

Among business disciplines, marketing is the primary contact point between a business and its customers. Appreciating customer needs and how to marshal the resources of an organisation to meet those needs are crucial skills in today’s business world. This module develops a general management approach to making, planning and evaluating marketing decisions, from both strategic and tactical perspectives.

You will learn how marketing decisions contribute to overall business performance and how they are affected by organisational and environmental influences. We will define and explore fundamental marketing terms, concepts, principles, ideas and theories. We will discuss the role of marketing in an organisation, explore the link between marketing and customer value creation. You will learn how to think critically about marketing, how to use the marketing toolkit to gain competitive advantage, learn about the product life cycle and how to build customer relationships, as well as retain their loyalty. We will talk about branding, channels and promotions, and explore the opportunities presented by traditional and digital marketing communications.

This module covers the major factors that shape organisational behaviour and effectiveness. We will analyse organisational behaviour at three levels - the micro (individual), the meso (team), and the macro (organisational) - and examine how activities at each of these three levels enable organisational performance and effectiveness.

You will learn key concepts to improve organisational performance and acquire necessary tools to design organisations that function effectively in unpredictable environments. You will develop analytical, problem-solving and leaderships skills, and come to understand the dynamics that affect individuals in organisations, including culture, decision-making, group conflict, power structures, and wider social dynamics.

The module will focus on a number of themes and will involve a blend of activities. We start the module studying individual aspects of leadership and as the module progresses, we will pay more attention to organisation-based aspects, finishing off with sessions for personal action planning. All through the module we will keep coming back to the question of ethical responsibilities and spend time thinking through the challenge of responsible leadership.

By the end of our time together, you will not only have a more thorough awareness of the personal and social characteristics that shape you as a leader, but you will have a firm contract for moving forward with your personal leadership action plan. Thus, this module should be thought of as an initial assessment of your position at the beginning of what is going to be a stimulating personal, group and academic journey.

This module primarily focuses on ‘business strategy’: where and how a single business company or a business unit of a larger corporation competes in its business. The module will also, however, provide an introduction to ‘corporate strategy’ which is about how multi-business corporations should make decisions around the scope of the businesses in their portfolio and how they should manage them.

The prime focus is on firms participating in competitive markets, though some of the ideas can also be applied to other kinds of organisations, for example in the not-for-profit sector. While the primary focus of the module is on developing the ability to assess if a strategy is likely to be successful, it will also devote some time to exploring how managers can come up with ideas for new or improved strategies. In addition it will look briefly at the organisational process of strategy development and strategy implementation.

There are many different ways to approach an understanding of business (and corporate) strategy. This module is based on a framework which sees the role of a strategy in terms of (1) creating value and (2) capturing value. We will discuss how this core framework relates to other well-known frameworks such as Porter’s five forces and Blue/Red Oceans. We will also discuss why having an explicit strategy can be both a blessing and a curse – which explains why successful firms often subsequently fail.

Big Data, AI & Machine Learning (On-campus) 

Business Analytics (On-campus) 

Project Management (On-campus) 

Data Analytics and Visualisation for Business 

Operations Management (Online) 

AI Ventures (On-campus) 

Digital Business Model Design (On-campus) 

Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital (On-campus) 

The Entrepreneurial Journey 

Leading Social Innovation (On-campus) 

Venture Capital Finance (Online) 

Entrepreneurial SMARTCamp 

Advanced Corporate Finance 

Asset Management (On-campus) 

Advanced Financial and Management Accounting

The Fintech Revolution: New Markets, Models and Opportunities (On-campus) 

Clean Technology Investment (On-campus) 

Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital (On-campus) 

Mergers and Acquisitions (On-campus and online) 

Pricing Strategy (On-campus) 

Private Equity (On-campus) 

Venture Capital Finance (Online) 

Digital Transformation: Leading Real-World Change (On-campus) 

Family Business (On-campus) 

Leadership (On-campus) 

Leading and Executing Strategic Change (On-campus) 

Leading Social Innovation (On-campus) 

Leading YourSelf (On-campus) 

Managing Negotiations (On-campus) 

Strategy and Leadership in a Digital World (On-campus) 

Brand Management (On-campus) 

Consumer Behaviour (On-campus) 

Emerging Technologies in Marketing (On-campus) 

Marketing Analytics (On-campus) 

Pricing Strategy (On-campus) 

Breakout Strategy (On-campus) 

Business Problem Solving 

Climate Change and Business Strategy (On-campus) 

Design for Business Transformation (On-campus) 

Economics of Information and Intellectual Property (On-campus) 

Energy Business (On-campus) 

International Business (On-campus) 

Strategic Networking (On-campus) 

Strategy and Leadership in a Digital World (On-campus) 

Sustainability and Competitive Advantage (On-campus) 

Advanced Strategy in a Stakeholder Economy (Online) 

Digital Business (Online) 

The year-long Executive Leadership Journey will enhance your awareness of your own and other’s strengths. Working closely with a careers consultant throughout the programme, you will develop a plan for your future career trajectory, learning about yourself and developing key leadership skills.

Whether you hope to accelerate your career within your current organisation, or create opportunities for a change in direction, the Executive Leadership Journey offers an invaluable opportunity to maximise your potential. 

The Final Project is a formal report consisting of up to 15,000 words, completed in year two of the programme. It is your opportunity to solve a real business problem facing either your existing employer or an industry of interest.

One of the most important elements of leadership is the ability to create, propose and defend ideas that add value, solve problems or leverage untapped opportunities. During the Final Project, you will demonstrate your analytical skills, offering a strategy and implementation plan, adding real value to your employer at the highest level. This is an excellent way to show your decision-making and leadership skills, illustrating your potential as a senior business leader.  

You will complete two international residencies as part of your elective modules, visiting top business schools and organisations and gaining first-hand experience of international business contexts in other countries. Our international residency locations include: 

Doing business with China  

This is a one-week residency at a top business school in China. Its purpose is to enable students to appreciate what it takes to do business there, to work with Chinese companies and to develop supply chains. 

The module also provides a perspective on the modern-day role of China in the world and highlights the ways that the country has become an innovator, especially in consumer digital business. The module involves lectures, company visits and group project work. 

Technology and innovation in the US  

The US continues to lead in technology-based entrepreneurship and this provides the focus of the trip, though we will also cover the US economy and 'doing business in the US'.

Future destinations for the Executive MBA residencies are subject to change. Imperial College Business School reserves the right to alter the locations when required. 

Please note that the cost of an overseas elective is not included in your tuition fees. 

Taking place over the summer term, Global Experience Week is an unforgettable opportunity that MBA students look forward to each year. You’ll learn about the challenges faced by local organisations, and how a country’s business environment affects the way they operate.  

In previous years, students have visited Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Zambia, while our 2022-23 cohort chose from the following destinations: 

Brazil – How business can unlock potential to boost productivity 

Kenya – How business can scale while addressing the SDGs 

Nordics (exact destination TBC) – How businesses can be transformed to tackle climate action 

For the Nordics, past destinations have included Reykjavik, Tallinn, Helsinki and Copenhagen. 

The cost of this trip is not included in your tuition fees. 

Optional four-day international experiences giving you the opportunity to explore contemporary global business problems with a local perspective. Gain valuable insights into international issues in a particular geography and benefit from the in-market exposure and teaching the trips provide. These trips are shared across the MBA portfolio giving you the opportunity to build new connections. Previous locations have included Houston, Milan, Singapore and Tel Aviv. 

Digital Opportunities: Insights from a Startup Nation

Sustainable Transformation Made in Italy 

The Future of Cities

Sales Management and Leadership

The cost of this trip is not included in your tuition fees.  

The optional Global Exchanges programme allows you to increase your international exposure and build your network by taking advantage of specialised electives at one of our partner schools such as HEC, ESADE, ESMT and IE.