business leadership, the advanced management concepts, and the mastery stage. Altogether the program takes over one year. It has a strong focus on leadership skills, integrated business themes, and on the immediate practical application of the subject matter. The 55 selected students have an average age of 40. In 2014 IMD joined forces with China's most prominent private business school, the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB), to jointly teach a dual degree Executive MBA programme – an MBA for working managers. The new programme will be taught partly in Switzerland, in Lausanne, and partly in Beijing in China, with half the professors involved coming from each school. The 20-month programme will begin in February 2015 and will be in addition to the individual EMBA programmes already taught by the two business schools. The two schools are hoping to attract 60 participants to the programme, from which the participants will receive two degrees. The difference between IMD's established EMBA and the new programme will be that the former concentrates on global management while the latter focuses on China and Europe, says president Dominique Turpin. The partnership is a way for the school, based in Switzerland, to extend its reach, he says. “We are still very dependent on the European market.” Executive education Executive education is a fundamental part of the school activities. Ranking IMD's full-time MBA has been ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as one of the best one-year programs in Europe and internationally. In 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 IMD was ranked first in open programs worldwide by the Financial Times. The FT also places IMD at second in Custom Programs, with the school jumping up two places from fourth in 2016. IMD remained in second place in the combined custom and open program rankings, maintaining its spot from last year. IMD alumni (including executive education participants) Bappaditya Basu: Chief Business Officer, ANAROCK, INDIA Svein Aaser: Former CEO, DnB NOR Matti Alahuhta: CEO, Kone Corporation Ole Andersen: Chairman, Bang & Olufsen Bjarni Ármannsson: CEO, Glitnir Bank, Iceland Jon Fredrik Baksaas: President and CEO, Telenor Paul Bulcke: Former CEO, Nestlé Harsh Goenka: Indian billionaire and Chairman, RPG Enterprises Oswald Grübel: Former CEO, UBS Carla De Geyseleer, CFO, Volvo Cars Philipp Humm: Former CEO, T-Mobile USA Tarang Jain, Indian billionaire Susanne Klatten: Member of the Board, BMW Gerard Kleisterlee: Chairman Vodafone; Former CEO, Royal Philips