By Matt Golosinski

In just 30 years, the Kellogg School's Executive MBA Program has transformed itself from a local enterprise in Evanston to a globe-spanning network that offers top-ranked leadership education on several continents.

This integrated global portfolio gives Kellogg students an unprecedented opportunity to gain managerial advantages in an international context. Over the past decade, Kellogg has forged joint-degree EMBA programs with schools in the Middle East, Europe, North America and Asia. Alliances with schools in Thailand, Japan, China and India further expand this global reach.

By strategically developing its footprint, Kellogg and its programs now flourish in Tel Aviv, Israel, at the Leon Recanati Graduate School of Management; in Vallendar, Germany, at the WHU-Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management (WHU); in Hong Kong, China, at the Business School of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST); and in Toronto, Canada, at the Schulich School of Business at York University. In addition, Kellogg has opened a campus in Miami to serve professionals from throughout Latin America and the southeast U.S.

Non-degree alliances also play a part in the Kellogg portfolio and include relationships with the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Building on the success of this initiative, begun in 1982, Kellogg is now creating a campus in Phuket, Thailand, that will focus on executive education. Alliances with the India School of Business in Hyderabad, as well as the Guanghua School of Management in Beijing and the Graduate School of Business Administration at Keio University in Tokyo, ensure that students enjoy truly global perspectives.

These relationships also provide Kellogg faculty with opportunities to refine academic frameworks by teaching and researching in some of the world's most vibrant commercial environments. "Learning details of institutional arrangements in different countries, such as the regulatory environment and taxation rules, allows you to engage in comparative research," says Artur Raviv, the Alan E. Peterson Distinguished Professor of Finance, who teaches in the Kellogg-Recanati Program.

Kellogg World asked program directors from Kellogg partner schools to share their views about the joint-degree curriculum.

Kellogg World: Given global business today, having these partnerships seems strategically excellent. But what are a few specific reasons why this model makes sense?

Steve DeKrey '84, associate dean and director, HKUST: This partnership describes the unique relationship we all have with Kellogg, a school that has created a network of partners who all hold the Kellogg values and aspire to the Kellogg culture. Yet partners have the freedom to adapt to cultures away from the "mother school," providing the best of two worlds. The model works because of partners' knowledge and loyalty to Kellogg.  Our freedom to adapt our curriculums and administrative approaches to our regional markets is key, as is the inspiration and benchmark of high standards set by Kellogg faculty and administration.

Stefan Kayser, academic director, Kellogg-WHU: The value for students consists of the teaching and research excellence, as well as the global exposure the Kellogg School and its network provides. They benefit from the Kellogg faculty and its partners, and from international Live-In Weeks at Kellogg and partner schools. Students learn to look at management from different angles. They experience in the core program the synthesis of European and American management knowledge, and they can enrich these insights by region-specific electives in other partner locations. The network also enriches the programs themselves, in ways that any single school would have been unable to achieve alone. It achieves this by enhancing teaching quality and capacity by bundling faculty resources within an integrated curriculum that offers outstanding global perspectives and management tools. 

Israel Zang, academic director, Kellogg-Recanati: This partnership model makes sense from the curricular and cultural perspectives, as well as from the strategic/operational and networking viewpoints.  It allows mixing Kellogg expertise, experience and culture with those of the partners.  Hence, a very special and improved brand of the EMBA experience is obtained. By teaming up with leading schools worldwide, Kellogg can better leverage its resources and influence more people, enhancing an international network of executive alumni. Thus, Kellogg efficiently fulfills its dream of a global EMBA network while the partner schools and local business communities enjoy the benefits of Kellogg knowledge, culture and experience in the EMBA education arena. This is a win–win for all.

André deCarufel, executive director, Kellogg-Schulich: The key advantage for students is the opportunity to learn how business is done in different parts of the world. This is achieved through the courses they take, through the interaction with EMBA students across the partnership in class and in study teams, and also during company visits abroad. Having Kellogg faculty teach in our program brings a U.S. perspective to our students. For Kellogg, it gives faculty a chance to learn about business beyond the U.S. and for the school to extend its brand worldwide. Most EMBA programs have an international study trip, but the partnership means that there is a common bond among the students who have shared many of the same faculty and gone through a similar core curriculum.

Kellogg World: Your schools are part of the Kellogg family and brand, but they also have their own local identity. What are some ways you each are "Kellogg" and in what ways are you unique and local? 

Stefan Kayser: There are core courses, jointly designed and taught, common to all partner programs. By going through the program, each student knows that the knowledge provided is the same a fellow student receives in another partner program. When these students meet during residential sessions, they are able to refer immediately to the same courses, the same knowledge and sometimes the same professors they have experienced in their home program. They can work in teams much more easily than they otherwise would because they speak the same management language. They share the same Kellogg culture and spirit. But the curriculum also varies according to regional context and the special expertise each school offers.

Steve DeKrey: The Kellogg culture supporting diversity and teamwork is part of all partner schools. In Hong Kong, we have the unique ability to attract candidates from around the globe as we have positioned ourselves as a regional program. Half of our students fly into Hong Kong for weekend classes. One of our attractions is this diversity as well as a regionally focused faculty and curriculum.  HKUST faculty members are researching in Asia and are attuned to business issues our students face every day.  Couple this with the international quality of the Kellogg faculty and you have a combination that neither school could achieve alone.  

Israel Zang: The Kellogg-Recanati curriculum offers significant local flavor. We have a class in which almost 50 percent of the participants are from the technology sector.  Our offerings contain a significant portion of high-tech-related courses and topics.  With respect to general business, our local instructors bring, among other things, local examples and cases into class.  Our macroeconomics course has special sections on Middle Eastern economies. More than anything else, our participants — Israelis, Palestinians, new immigrants — blend into the class to create a unique context.

Kellogg World: These academic relationships have flourished throughout the past decade. Looking forward, what does the future hold for the Kellogg partnerships?

Steve DeKrey: For Asia, EMBA education is the largest MBA market by far. Tapping into the experienced executives who had not had the chance to study business education includes a wide range of candidates. Add to that the growing living standard and appreciation for education and we are well positioned in the market as an elite program.  Despite a restricted market due to cost and the strict admissions criteria, we have set a standard in Asia that has branded us the best.  The future should only get better

Stefan Kayser: Executive MBA programs will assume strength within Europe. With the increasing diffusion of these programs this degree will also be more demanded and recognized in European companies. Human resources departments and corporate decision makers will perceive EMBA as an additional strategic component Š and they will increasingly support the participation of their managers in these programs. In Germany there is already development of corporate contribution to EMBA participants' tuition. Due to the enhanced reputation of the MBA degree on the one hand, the demand for this education might increase. On the other hand, the competition will be more fierce. However, well-established programs, such as Kellogg-WHU, enjoy a first-mover advantage that is difficult for new competitors to beat.

Read the deans' essays:

"Kellogg and Recanati: a decade of leadership"

"EMBA innovation spurs academic partnership stretching from Asia to Evanston"

"Germany home to a strong international alliance"

"Kellogg-Schulich EMBA Program bringing business leadership to Canada"

"Kellogg-Miami program latest in school's integrated global EMBA portfolio"