MBA Class of 2026 begins life changing experience

London Business School (LBS) has welcomed 431 students to its London campus for the latest iteration of its flagship two-year MBA programme. The cohort, 45% of whom are women, has an average age of 29 and boasts 2345 collective years of professional work experience.

LBS prides itself on the diversity of its class intake and this year is no exception, with students hailing from Africa (4%), Australia and New Zealand (4%), Central and South America (17%), Europe excluding the UK (14%), the Middle East (8%), South Asia (12%), Southeast Asia/Asia (13%), the UK (10%) and USA/Canada (18%). In all, 65 different nationalities are represented in the latest class.

Professional background is equally diverse, with students coming from careers in consulting, finance, and numerous other industries, including the energy sector, Not-for-Profit, IT and technology, property/real estate, transportation and logistics, to name but a few.

MBA Programme Director Helen Foley said:

“We are delighted to welcome an inspirational and highly diverse class to our MBA programme. Making the decision to study for an MBA degree is significant and often challenging, but undertaking a Masters in Business Administration has the potential to be life changing. It offers students a rigorous, inspiring journey which will challenge them to open their eyes and minds.

“We encourage our students to be flexible, creative and curious. As future business leaders they have the opportunity to play a unique role in addressing challenges linked to climate change, geopolitics, technology and more. They will need to find pragmatic solutions to complex, and often global, business problems. If they seek to inspire those around them and take inspiration from others, we know they will leave LBS more equipped to confront the global challenges which await them.

“The journey will be a challenging one, but they won’t be making this journey alone. They have joined a global community of some 54,000 LBS alumni, spread across 160 countries, all of whom similarly sought to advance their careers, switch industry, start their own business or grow in terms of emotional intelligence. The current cohort has joined at a particularly exciting moment in LBS’ history since this year marks 60 years since LBS was founded. We look forward to The Second Sixty and the profound impact these students will have on the world of business as the next 60 years unfolds.”