The Global Executive MBA Turns 25: The Evolution of the MBA

A great deal has happened in the past 25 years: the human genome was decoded (2003); the invention of the iPhone kicked off the smartphone revolution (2007); Austria, in a spectacular feat, qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament; the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed public and private life in many parts of the world from 2020; Russia started a war of aggression against Ukraine by invading its neighboring country (2022); and an African-American lawyer (2008/2012) and a pugnacious hotel magnate (2016/2024) were both twice elected President of the USA. But what was the origin of the Global Executive MBA at WU Executive Academy?

The Beginnings of the Global Executive MBA: How It All Started...

Bodo B. Schlegelmilch, today again Dean of the WU Executive Academy, taught at the Thunderbird School of Global Management and the University of California, Berkeley, before coming to WU Vienna in 1997. There he was surprised to discover that there was no Executive MBA program. At his request, Rector Heinrich Otruba encouraged him to establish an MBA at WU.

In 1999, Schlegelmilch launched Austria's first university Executive MBA program. “At the time, prospective students in this country were surprised that they had to pay a participation fee - the regular programs were free of charge,” says Bodo Schlegelmilch. However, the 14 participants in the first year received an innovative program with international stays in Russia, the US and Poland. 

Thanks to the cooperation with the Carlson School of Management in Minnesota, they were also awarded a double degree from an Austrian and a US university - now as then.

From Fax Machines to Digital Processes: MBA in the Course of Time

Among the original staff members was Regine Eitelbös, who continues to support the Community Engagement Services team for students and alumni of the WU Executive Academy. She remembers having to send the lists of applicants to the Minnesota-based partner university. “We had to fax the lists over, so we needed someone on the phone two hours in advance to wait by the fax machine for the lists to go through. Easier said than done, considering the time difference,” she recounts.

Today, it only takes a mouse click to automatically save an application to the partner university’s system in the US.

From Hotel Seminar Rooms to State-of-the-Art European Learning Environments

Equipment-wise, today’s modern lecture halls at the WU Executive Academy with their interactive smart boards and 360° cameras are a world away from their early precursors. Back then, students were taught in the seminar rooms of the Mercure Hotel and, later, the Hilton. The beechwood tables were arranged in a U-shape, and there was a jumble of cables on the floor. An overhead projector was used to project slides onto the wall.

As the years went by, the Global Executive MBA relocated to the elegant Palais Liechtenstein and later the Museum of Young Art (MOYA). In fall 2013, MBA students were given their own university building: a black cube located at the Campus WU, designed by Spanish star architect NO.MAD. This building unites high-tech with futuristic architecture: a restaurant café on the first floor, a sky lounge, light-filled lecture halls featuring interactive whiteboards, and self-study rooms with state-of-the-art equipment.

Global Executive MBA: Virtual, Global and Diverse

International immersions have always been a key part of the MBA, though destinations have evolved. The first-year students visited Bucharest, St. Petersburg, and Warsaw. Today, the Global Executive MBA spans four continents, with regular modules in Vienna and study trips to Asia, Europe, South America, and the US.

In 2006, digitalization transformed classrooms at MOYA in Vienna: students gained access to Learn@WU, one of Europe’s largest e-learning platforms with over 100,000 digital content items. Interactive clickers allowed students to answer questions in class, similar to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” In 2011, WU Vienna established a telepresence room for video conferences, enabling students to collaborate with peers in China and the US. In 2012, the Academy, in collaboration with Samsung, provided students with tablet computers. Although virtual learning has become an essential part of the Global Executive MBA, on-site sessions continue to be important.

Global Team Project: A True Gamechanger

The culmination of the MBA program is the Global Team Project, in which participants from three of the leading universities in Europe, Asia and the USA work together in over 20 teams on complex business challenges. The students from three continents with different time zones work together on a project within their Global Team and only get to meet each other in person towards the end, when they jointly present their results to a jury at the Carlson School of Management.

“Especially with MBAs, sustainable success depends on the right ingredients; they need to offer students a balanced mix of learning opportunities,” says Bodo B. Schlegelmilch. “And our Global Executive MBA does exactly that!”

Career Mindset: Excellent Connections and a Strong Community

In 2008, the WU Executive Academy laid the foundations for a comprehensive portfolio of alumni services and career events with the establishment of the WU Executive Club. Today, it offers a customized career accelerator program, providing students with career support from day one until after graduation through coaching, lifelong-learning formats, and networking events.

WU EA Connect, a social network launched in 2017, and the Female Leaders Network, founded by female MBA students the following year to enable effective networking, information exchange, and career support among female leaders, also connect MBA program participants across time zones and oceans and beyond their studies.

There’s been a great deal of change at the WU Executive Academy’s Global Executive MBA in the past years, and that’s going to remain true also in the future. There’s one thing, however, that’s unlikely to ever change, according to Bodo B. Schlegelmilch: “The lively discussions about the culinary offerings during the courses,” he laughs.

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