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EMBA Courses & Curriculum

A global business focus. Customizable to your agenda. Delivered by the best. Our world-renowned Executive MBA curriculum is purpose-built to give you what it takes. Whatever that might be.
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Designed for international executives

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2 years of part-time modular study

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60 workdays out of the office (approx.)

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On-campus classes held on extended weekends

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Faculty from WHU, Kellogg and global partner universities

A leader-defining curriculum

Prior to mid-September
Online Preparatory Module
 
Quantitative Methods:
Gain insights into quantitative methods for business and management applications and familiarize yourself with basic mathematical tools. This course must be completed online prior to program start.
September, Vallendar
Module 1 | Leading the Organization
 
Sustainable Business

Leadership in Organizations:
Begin developing, refining, and reflecting on leadership skills during this introductory course on leadership.
November, Vallendar/Düsseldorf
Module 2 | Market Impact
 
Marketing Management:
Gain insights into marketing planning and segmentation, targeting, and positioning.

Managerial Economics:
Examine the economic foundations relevant for the strategic management of business organizations.
January, Düsseldorf/ Vallendar
Module 3 | Creative Destruction
 
Generative AI for Business Application:
In this course, participants will learn how to leverage ChatGPT and other Generative AI tools to improve ideation, facilitate customer interactions, optimize data-driven decisions, and automate business tasks.

Strategic Innovation & Corporate Renewal:
Communicate the most critical and strategic aspects of managing innovation and corporate renewal.
February, Vallendar/Düsseldorf
Module 4 | Financial Performance
 
International Financial Reporting & Analysis:
An introduction to financial reporting, the “language of business”, from a global perspective.

Managerial Finance:
Introduce the concepts and techniques necessary to analyze and implement optimal investment decisions by firms.
April, Vallendar/Düsseldorf
Module 5 | Developing Strategic Foresight
 
Business Strategies:
Build an understanding of how competitive strategy may lead to the creation and persistence of profits.

Making Sense of Data:
Gain a basic understanding of confidence intervals and hypothesis tests to interpret data.
May, International Module
Module 6 | Global Markets
 
Macroeconomics

Doing Business in Developing Countries
June, Düsseldorf
Module 7 | Business Functions
 
Corporate Finance
Introduction to the basic principles of corporate finance and development of the necessary practical tools for financial decisions and corporate valuation.

Operations Management
An introduction to Operations Management, approaching the discipline from the perspective of a general manager rather than the operations specialist.
August, Chicago
Module 8 & 9 | Kellogg Global Network Weeks
 
Negotiation Strategies:
Develop negotiation skills in a series of negotiations and debriefings.

Strategic Crisis Management:
Focus on crisis management from the point of view of managers and consultants.

Marketing Analytics:
Address analytics as a leadership problem and improve organizational performance with the right data.

Strategic Decisions in Operations:
Gain insights into strategic decision making in operations and their impact on a firm's financial performance.

*Please note: Courses and dates are subject to change, courses listed are example courses from previous years
October, Vallendar/Düsseldorf
Module 10a* | Local Electives
 
Sprint: Agile Business Model Development:
Run a business idea “sprint” over multiple days to kick-start a new business model, startup, or company project.

*Choose either Module 10a or 10b
January, Vallendar/Düsseldorf
Module 10b* | Local Electives
 
Marketing Strategy:
Gain the tools to appreciate strategic thinking about marketing and brands.

Ethics & Executive Leadership:
Shift from being an excellent leader to being an excellent CEO by exploring issues that top corporate leaders must keep in mind.

*Choose either Module 10a or 10b
September - March
Module 11 | Field trips: Exploring New Business Horizons
 
Sample destinations: Europe, Asia

*Please note that one field trip is compulsory
March/April, Vallendar/Düsseldorf
Module 12 | Capstone Week
 
Capstone- Business Simulation:
In Executive Teams, run competing firms in simulated product markets and debrief on concepts and tools of corporate and competitive strategy.

Management Accounting:
Focus on the behavioral issues of management accounting to illustrate real-world problems of management accounting in large corporations.
November – June
Module 13 | Global Electives (one required)
 
Locations: Chicago, Hong Kong, Lisbon, Miami, Shanghai / Beijing, Toronto, London, Washington D.C., Boston

A selection of the modules available:

Digital Strategy: Individual and Organizational Transformation for a Digital Age
Mergers and Acquisitions Strategy
Visualization for Persuasion
Leading High Impact Teams
Global Corporate Restructuring
International Finance
World Economy
Strategies for Growth

*Please note: Courses and dates are subject to change
May, Vallendar
Module 14 | European Elective
 
Leveraging collaboration for innovation: alliances, ecosystems and platforms:
Acquire a rich set of concepts, frameworks, and tools to improve the ability to build, manage, and profit from different modes of inter-organizational collaboration.

Entrepreneurial Finance:
Focus on financial economic foundations of a new venture, from idea to exit.

Business Tax Strategy:
Understand how taxes affect business decisions, gaining necessary concepts for international application.

Managing People for Competitive Advantage:
Focus on the people side of business from a general management perspective.

Please note: Courses and dates are examples from previous years and are subject to change
June – August
Module 15 | Master Thesis
 
Demonstrate the ability to apply scientific methods to actual management solutions.
Integrated throughout program
Leadership and Career Development
 
Group and individual Executive Leadership Coaching:
Crisis simulations and your own real-world leadership challenges are the background for group coaching and are springboards to individual coaching with a certified Executive Coach who will focus on your individual goals and growth toward becoming an exceptional leader.  

Workshops and presentations tailored to the needs of each cohort
Sample topics:

• Stage Rules, Self-Presentation and the Perfect Pitch
• Managing Challenging Negotiations
• Resilience in Disruptive Times
• Leading Through Diversity and Inclusion
• Powerful CV Evaluation and Career Development tools and short courses
• Polish your CV to take the next step in your career

Please note: Courses and dates are examples from previous years and are subject to change.
Prior to mid-September
Year 1
Year 2
Throughout program

Qualification goals Executive MBA

You can find an overview of all the learning objectives and competences you will achieve with an EMBA here:

Qualification goals Kellogg WHU EMBA

Prepare to become next-level ready

Global Network Weeks

Learn from the best

Steps ahead. Always. Our Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA Program faculty are respected as thought-leaders worldwide. And they are more than academics. Each one is a vastly experienced practitioner in their field. 

But above all, they are approachable teachers. Ones who share, support, expand knowledge, fuel discussion, build character, and inspire unlimited success.

Selection of pioneering professors

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Karl Schmedders
Visiting Professor of Executive MBA Education
IMD Business School, Visiting Professor at Kellogg School of Management
Decision Making under Uncertainty
Making Sense of Data
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Sarit Markovich
Clinical Professor of Strategy
Kellogg School of Management
Business Strategies
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Tim Calkins
Associate Chair of the Marketing Department
Kellogg School of Management
Marketing Strategy
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Holger Ernst
Chair of Technology and Innovation
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Strategic Innovation & Corporate Renewal
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Leigh Thompson
Professor of Management & Organizations
Kellogg School of Management
Leading High Impact Teams
Negotiation Strategies
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Christoph Hienerth
Chair of Entrepreneurship and Creativity
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Agile Business Model Development
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Jürgen Weigand
Institute for Industrial Organization
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Managerial Economics
Capstone - Business Simulation
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Christian Andres
Dean of WHU, Chair of Empirical Corporate Finance
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Corporate Finance
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Alex Chernev
Professor of Marketing
Kellogg School of Management
Strategic Brand Management
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Florian Zettelmeyer
Professor of Marketing
Kellogg School of Management
Marketing Analytics
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Serden Ozcan
Chair of Innovation and Corporate Transformation
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Entrepreneurial Finance
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Sergio Rebelo
Professor of Finance
Kellogg School of Management
International Finance
World Economy
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Nadine Kammerlander
Institute of Family Business and Mittelstand, Chair of Family Business
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Sustainable Business
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Yuval Kalish
Chair of Leadership, Networks and Organizations
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Leadership in Organizations
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Kevin McTigue
Clinical Professor of Marketing
Kellogg School of Management
Marketing Management
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Martin Prause
Institute for Industrial Organization
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Quantitative Methods
Capstone - Business Simulation
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Thorsten Sellhorn
Institute for Accounting, Auditing and Analysis
LMU Munich
International Financial Reporting & Analysis
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Dries Faems
Chair of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technological Transformation
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Generative AI for Business Applications
Leveraging Collaboration for Innovation
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Konstantin Milbradt
Associate Professor of Finance
Kellogg School of Management
Managerial Finance
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Jan A. Van Mieghem
Professor of Operations
Kellogg School of Management
Operations Management
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Maximilian Eckel
Managing Director WHU Entrepreneurship Center
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Agile Business Model Development
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Adam Waytz
Chair of Management & Organizations Department
Kellogg School of Management
Ethics & Executive Leadership
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Thorsten Truijens
Accounting & Controlling
University of St. Gallen
Management Accounting
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Martin Hoegl
Institute for Leadership and Organization
LMU Munich
Managing People for Competitive Advantage
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Victoria Medvec
Professor of Management & Organizations
Kellogg School of Management
Negotiation Strategies
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Timothy Fedderson
Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences
Kellogg School of Management
Strategic Crisis Management
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Nour Kteily
Professor of Management & Organizations
Kellogg School of Management
Negotiation Strategies
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Achal Bassamboo
Professor of Operations
Kellogg School of Management
Strategic Decisions in Operations
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Jose Liberti
Clinical Professor of Finance
Kellogg School of Management
Mergers, Acquisitions and Other Reorganization Methods
Global Corporate Restructuring
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Suzanne Muchin
Clinical Associate Professor in Leadership Development and Communications
Kellogg School of Management
Selling Yourself and Your Ideas
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Stefan Spinler
Kühne Foundation Endowed Chair for Logistics Management
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Sustainable Business
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Utz Schäffer
Institute of Management Accounting and Control
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Sustainable Business
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Many teachers. Many ways to learn

We ingrain theory through practical application. Promote collaboration through group challenges. And encourage cross-cultural understanding by sharing, comparing, and uniting.

Guided by a world-leading expert, you and your peers will tackle real-life case studies, experience overseas field trips, and gain everything you need to reach the highest levels.