Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA – Sponsor your employees

Your organization benefits by retaining top talent and developing stronger leadership capabilities. Sponsoring employees means participants directly apply new insights to their roles, creating measurable real-time impact. It's access to cutting-edge knowledge and global perspectives from a high-powered network while signaling your long-term investment in growth, innovation, and retention.

Ideal candidates are mid-to-senior level professionals with at least eight to ten years of experience and a proven and extensive managerial track record. They are driven to power strategic impact within your organization.

Internally, your organization identifies and nominates high-potential leaders. You can run an internal application or selection process, where we are happy to support you in this step, drawing on our experience in executive education.

Once nominated, candidates submit their application to the program. Our admissions team reviews their academic background, career progression, and personal motivation. As a final step, candidates are invited to an interview with one of our alums, which can be conducted online or in person. The process is collaborative and selective, with a holistic view of the candidate's potential, goals, and fit with the program.

The EMBA is designed for full-time professionals with busy lives. All participants continue working full-time in their roles throughout the program — reducing working hours is neither required nor intended as part of the program design. Its modular format allows participants to attend intensive in-person modules while continuing to perform in their jobs with minimal disruption. The program requires around 60 working days over two years, which are typically supported by employers as part of educational leave or professional development time.

Participants require approximately 60 days out of the office over two years, usually across extended weekends every six to eight weeks. The total cost typically includes the tuition fee, travel, and accommodation expenses. The tuition fee is tax-free, and companies may benefit from additional tax advantages and early bird discounts offered by the program. For a detailed overview of costs and financing options, please visit our Fees & Financing page.

The cost required by your company depends on the level of sponsorship. Not all sponsorships are financial, and you could also offer a flexible work environment or ways to help your employees pursue the EMBA without worrying about the workload back in the office.

Participants apply learnings directly in their roles—visibly impacting performance, decision-making, and strategic execution. ROI is seen through more decisive leadership, stronger business results, and enhanced company capabilities.

Participants work on real-world projects that can be immediately linked to your business challenges, delivering tangible outcomes. In addition, sponsoring an employee strengthens engagement and loyalty, reduces turnover costs, and secures a stronger internal leadership pipeline for the future.

While we cannot guarantee long-term retention after graduation, experience shows that many sponsoring companies retain their EMBA graduates over the long term due to increased engagement, loyalty, and a renewed commitment to the organization's success.

Many companies strengthen retention by implementing structured post-EMBA career paths, offering leadership opportunities, or introducing retention agreements to secure a return on investment.

There is no limit to the industries sponsoring participants. Our classroom is highly diverse, with students from sectors such as consulting, finance, IT, telecommunication, healthcare, logistics, consumer goods, and many more. This diversity creates strong cross-industry learning and fresh perspectives. Sponsors range from global corporations to high-growth SMEs committed to developing leadership excellence and driving business success.

We offer flexible and individual partnership models to support your organization's development goals. Sponsorship is not limited to financial contributions — it can also include offering flexible working hours, covering travel or accommodation costs, or simply ensuring that employees have the capacity to fully engage while away from the office. We are happy to work with you to develop personalized partnership options that align with your company's needs and talent development strategy, leveraging our expertise in executive education.