The Campaign for Sustained Leadership

MBA students may soon take courses in Fontainebleau France and Singapore, and corporations will be able to sign up for new, custom executive education programs offered in the U.S. and abroad, thanks to a recently announced alliance between Wharton and INSEAD.

Wharton and INSEAD recently joined forces to provide global management education to postgraduate candidates and executives at four campuses: Wharton's U.S. campuses in Philadelphia and San Francisco, and those of INSEAD in Fontainebleau France and Singapore. INSEAD is widely regarded as the top non-U.S. business school.

The deans of Wharton and INSEAD cited the demands of fast-paced, multi-national companies for superior global education as the driver behind their decision to partner. "We are creating a model for delivering business education in a global environment that is changing profoundly, with technology-enabled learning as a critical component," says Wharton dean Patrick T. Harker. "It is an opportunity for our respective faculty and students to have greater access to the world, and in turn, the world will have greater access to the offerings of the two schools."

"Tomorrow's market leaders in management education must have global reach and be part of a global and life-long business education and knowledge network," says Gabriel Hawawini, dean of INSEAD. "INSEAD and Wharton share a common vision of the opportunities available in business education."

The INSEAD/Wharton alliance will offer global customized executive education and open enrollment programs at its four dedicated campuses in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Initially, a modular general management program for high-potential managers will be offered at all four sites. The two schools also will develop several new courses based on the combined strength of their faculty and will co-brand some existing courses. MBA students from both schools can enroll in courses at any of the four campus locations.

Wharton professor John Kimberly will manage the partnership as executive director. Kimberly is the Henry Bower Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Wharton and holds the Novartis Chair in Healthcare Management at INSEAD. He also holds appointments as professor in Wharton's Management and Health Care Systems Departments and has spent the last two years at INSEAD as a visiting professor.

Hubert Gatignon will serve as research director for the Center for Global Research and Development. Gatignon is the Claude Janssen Chaired Professor of Management at INSEAD and is also INSEAD's dean of faculty. Prior to joining INSEAD, Gatignon was a professor of marketing at Wharton. As part of the alliance, the dean of each school will join the governance board for the partner school.