The view of Barcelona from the IESE campus

4) INSEAD & IESE Keep A Steady Course

The headlines always go to the big moves. Changes at the top and the risers-and-fallers – surges that portend a change in the usual order.

Maybe that’s why INSEAD and IESE Business School don’t get enough love in the rankings. You take them for granted. They are the steadies. Every year, you’ll find them in the same band. They don’t move up-or-down much. Instead, they are models for consistency. Their fundamentals are solid and their identities are consistent.  That’s why you won’t often find them in a “surprise” story. Call this dependability a testament to excellence in management – forward thinking and responsive – ever able to attract talent who buy in and allocate resources for the highest return.

Over the past decade, INSEAD has ranked 2nd through 5th, with pit stops at #1 in 2016 and 2021. This year, the school didn’t really stand out in any area. In Faculty Research, a 10% weight, INSEAD cracked the Top 10 (at 10). It also moved up a spot on ESG Programming at 8th. In its biggest move, INSEAD also jumped from 53rd to 13th in Carbon Footprint, an area where the school is devoting increasing resources. As expected from the ‘Business School for the World,’ INSEAD posted a 96% international student population, one of the best in the world.

Beyond that, INSEAD performs well because its data and survey results tend to be middle of the pack or better. The school ranked 20th for Alumni Network and 23rd for Value For Money. In International Course Experience and International Mobility, INSEAD finishes just outside the Top 10 at 11th and 13th respectively. Where it really counts, INSEAD holds its own. In Weighted Salary, carrying a 16% weight, INSEAD ranks 16th at $198,904. In Pre-MBA Pay Increase, INSEAD technically ranks 59th at 110%…but within range of peer programs like Harvard Business School and London Business School. If anything, INSEAD is stable, losing 12 spots on Career Services, while holding relatively steady in Sector Diversity and Career Progress.

IESE is a bit more flashy than INSEAD, rankings-wise. Over the past five years, the school has shuffled from 13th (2020) to 4th (2021) to 10th (2022), to 3rd (2023), and finally to 5th (2024). Even more, IESE has stood out in several metrics. In Alumni Network and Career Services – two survey-driven measures worth a combined 7% weight – IESE ranked 5th and 8th respectively. Add to that, IESE finished 2nd and 7th for ESG and Net Zero Teaching and Carbon Footprint, a combined 7% weight. When alumni were asked if IESE helped them achieve their goal (aims), 91% said ‘Yes’ – third-best among the respondent pool.

That’s the good, but there is plenty of room for improvement. IESE’s Achilles Heel is Weighted Pay. At $186,334, IESE ranks between CEIBS (21st overall) and Georgetown McDonough (36th overall). And its 139% Pay Increase, places IESE 25th in the 2024 FT Ranking. Even more, IESE ranked near the bottom for Value for the Money, while hitting a tepid 36th for Faculty Research.

Of course, the 2024 Financial Times MBA Ranking does represent a return to sanity in some respects. Case in point: London Business School and HEC Paris. Both programs were knocked for a loop during COVID-19, ultimately tumbling out of the Top 10.

This year, they are returning from the wilderness – and taking their rightful place back among the elite international programs. In the case of LBS – which ranked as high as #2 in 2021 – the program jumped from 16th to 8th. At the same time, HEC Paris moved from 17th to 12th. Call it a return to normal. LBS’ recipe involved continuing to score high in Aims Achieved and Career Progress, while making marked improvements in International Course Experience (13th to 5th), ESG and Net Zero Teaching (37th to 12th), and Faculty Research (23rd to 7th). Like LBS, HEC Paris excelled in Career Progress and Aims Achievement, while ranking 2nd and 5th in International Course Experience and International Mobility.

The Financial Times MBA Ranking has been long known for turbulence. This year, it brings to mind a famous curse: “May you live in interesting times.” For programs like INSEAD and IESE – and even the London Business School and HEC Paris – maybe the reply would be this: “May you hold steady and avoid the dips.” After all, greatness isn’t defined by one memorable year. Instead, it is the product of consistent excellence year-after-year. This year, that steadiness is what differentiates INSEAD and IESE the most.

Next Page: The slippery slope of a major MBA ranking.