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Governance

2024 was a year of transition for IMD’s leadership. After eight years President Jean-François Manzoni stepped down to continue his distinguished career as a member of IMD’s faculty.  As President, he steered IMD securely through the COVID-19 pandemic, pivoted its strategic focus, and delivered a successful transformation of its programs and research portfolio to deliver record performance, doubling the size of the institution.

Following a smooth handover during the summer, David Bach officially took the helm as IMD President on 1 September 2024, four months after being unanimously appointed by the IMD Supervisory Board.

On taking up the role, he appointed a smaller, more integrated Leadership Team to drive forward IMD’s vision to become, and be recognized as, the world’s most impactful business school.

Oversight, guidance and integrity

IMD’s governance structure is composed of three layers: the Leadership Team, the Supervisory Board, and the Foundation Board. Our President is appointed by the Supervisory Board. Under his leadership, the Leadership Team sets IMD’s business goals, financial targets, and annual budgets, all in alignment with the strategic guidelines set by the Supervisory Board. 

The President is responsible for proposing the structure and composition of his Leadership Team. He ensures the Supervisory Board is regularly informed about developments, actions, and results, and he delivers an annual activity report to the Foundation Board.

Our quality assurance strategy is designed to foster a culture of excellence and innovation in learning and impact.

The Foundation Board, IMD’s highest governing body, in conjunction with the Supervisory Board, ensures that IMD remains relevant to the evolving needs of the global corporate community.

These boards are composed of key stakeholders, including CEOs from companies with deep learning collaborations, leaders of academic institutions, alumni, and a faculty representative.

Please read our full report for information on financial governance

The IMD Leadership Team 

 - IMD Business School
David Bach
President of IMD, Nestlé Professor of Strategy and Political Economy
 - IMD Business School
Louis Leclézio
Chief Operations Officer
 - IMD Business School
Peggy Le Roux
Chief Financial Officer
 - IMD Business School
Misiek Piskorski
Professor of Digital Strategy, Analytics and Innovation and Dean of Executive Education
 - IMD Business School
Stefan Michel
Professor of Management, Dean of Faculty and Research
 - IMD Business School
Sarah Toms
Chief Innovation Officer

In 2024, the IMD Supervisory Board consisted of nine members:

 - IMD Business School
Michel Demaré
Chairman of the Foundation and Supervisory Boards, Chair, AstraZeneca Plc
 - IMD Business School
Hanne de Mora
Vice Chairperson of Foundation and Supervisory Boards, Co-founder, a-connect Group AG
 - IMD Business School
Gilbert Achermann
Designated Chair of Sonova, Chair of Unilabs and Chair of Ypsomed, IMD EMBA 2000
 - IMD Business School
Hana Al Rostamani
Group Chief Executive Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank
 - IMD Business School
Liselott Kilaas
Chair, Coala Life, IMD MBA 1987
 - IMD Business School
Jørgen Vig Knudstorp
Deputy chair of the LEGO Foundation, board member of LEGO Group and of Starbucks
 - IMD Business School
Damien O’Brien
Non-Executive Director, Ardagh Group and Redrock Leisure Group
 - IMD Business School
Woods Staton
Executive Chair, Arcos Dorados, IMD MBA 1976
Su-Mei Thomson - IMD Business School
Su-Mei Thompson
Chief Executive Officer, Media Trust, IMD MBA 2001

In 2024 the Foundation Board consisted of 51 members:

 - IMD Business School
Michel Demaré
Chair, AstraZeneca Plc
 - IMD Business School
Hanne de Mora
Co-founder, a-connect Group AG
 - IMD Business School
Gilbert Achermann
Designated Chair of Sonova, Chair of Unilabs and Chair of Ypsomed, IMD EMBA 2000
 - IMD Business School
Christoph Aeschlimann
Chief Executive Officer, Swisscom AG
 - IMD Business School
Hana Al Rostamani
Group Chief Executive Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank
 - IMD Business School
Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko
President & Chief Executive Officer, Marimekko Corporation
 - IMD Business School
Abdulrahman Al Jadhai
Former Chief Executive Officer, Elm
 - IMD Business School
Vinita Bali
Non-Executive Director and board member, Syngene International Ltd
 - IMD Business School
Joan Beets
Managing Partner, KennedyFitch GmbH, IMD MBA 2012
 - IMD Business School
Martijn Brenninkmeijer
Chair, COFRA Holding AG, IMD MBA 1999
 - IMD Business School
Richard Carey
Managing Member, Redwood Technology Ventures LP, IMD MBA 1996
 - IMD Business School
Boris Collardi
Member of the Board, EFG International AG
 - IMD Business School
Jo Deblaere
Owner, Blaarweyde
 - IMD Business School
Alain Dehaze
Chairman and Member of Boards, GGE and Eiffel
 - IMD Business School
Jahangir (Jan) Doongaji
Chief Executive Officer, Hilti Corporation
Barbara Frei - IMD Business School
Barbara Frei
Executive Vice President, Industrial Automation Schneider Electric, IMD EMBA 2007
 - IMD Business School
Harsh Goenka
Chair, RPG Enterprises, IMD MBA 1979
 - IMD Business School
Michael Hengartner
President ETH Board, IMD EMBA 2008
 - IMD Business School
Frédéric Herman
Rector, UNIL
 - IMD Business School
Karen Huebscher
Non-Executive Director and Chairwoman of the Audit Committee, Sandoz Group AG, IMD EMBA 2000
 - IMD Business School
Ilham Kadri
CEO, Syensqo
 - IMD Business School
Jouko Karvinen
Chairman of the Board, Finnair OYJ & Solidium
 - IMD Business School
Liselott Kilaas
Chairperson Coala Life, IMD MBA 1987
 - IMD Business School
Jørgen Vig Knudstorp
Deputy chair of the LEGO Foundation, board member of LEGO Group and of Starbucks
 - IMD Business School
Michel Liès
Chairman, Zurich Insurance Group
 - IMD Business School
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus
Chairperson of the Board LDC Board Louis-Dreyfus Commodities
 - IMD Business School
Jean-François Manzoni
President and Nestlé Chaired Professor IMD (until August 2024)
 - IMD Business School
Geraldine Matchett
Board Member, ABB
 - IMD Business School
Loïc Moutault
President, Mars Petcare
 - IMD Business School
Martin Naville
Chief Executive Officer, Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce
 - IMD Business School
Bernhard Nuesser
Chief Executive Officer, Héron Optique et Audition, IMD MBA 1998
 - IMD Business School
Damien O’Brien
Non-Executive Director, Ardagh Group and Redrock Leisure Group
 - IMD Business School
Adolfo Orive
President and Chief Executive Officer, Tetra Pak
 - IMD Business School
Sami Rahal
Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte DCE
 - IMD Business School
Philipp Rickenbacher
Chief Executive Officer Julius BäR (until February 2024)
 - IMD Business School
Thomas Schineker
Chief Executive Officer, Roche Group
 - IMD Business School
Thomas Schmidheiny
Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors, Holcim, IMD MBA 1972
 - IMD Business School
Mark Schneider
Chief Executive Officer Nestlé SA (until August 2024)
 - IMD Business School
Ulrike Schwarz-Runer
Managing Director, Senior Partner & Global General Counsel, BCG
 - IMD Business School
Stefan Seiler
CHRO UBS
 - IMD Business School
Feike Sijbesma
Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Philips and Co-Chair at Global Center on Adaptation
 - IMD Business School
Woods Staton
Executive Chairman of the Board, Arcos Dorados, IMD MBA 1976
 - IMD Business School
Jakob Stausholm
Chief Executive Officer Rio Tinto
 - IMD Business School
Mostafa Terrab
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer OCP Group
Su-Mei Thomson - IMD Business School
Su-Mei Thompson
Chief Executive Officer, Media Trust, IMD MBA 2001
 - IMD Business School
Marie-France Tschudin
Board Member, AXA, IMD MBA 2000
 - IMD Business School
Robert Uggla
CEO, A.P. Møller Holding A/S
 - IMD Business School
Dolf van Den Brink
Chief Executive Officer Heineken
 - IMD Business School
Martin Vetterli
President, EPFL
 - IMD Business School
Penelope Warne
Founder LawEverything
 - IMD Business School
John Weeks
Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior, IMD
 - IMD Business School
Peter Wuffli
Since 1 January 2020, former Foundation Board member and Chairman Peter Wuffli has attended Foundation Board meetings as Honorary Chairman.