I begin this article with two data points that provide context.
- According to the World Economic Forum, 44% of workers’ core skills will change by 2030, which means that for executives the message is simple and harsh: what worked yesterday does not guarantee relevance tomorrow. We are living in an era in which the shelf life of leadership skills has shrunk dramatically.
- According to another recent study by McKinsey, organizations that consistently invest in the development of their leaders report 21% higher profitability and 17% greater productivity.
In other words, executive education has ceased to be a nice to have benefit and has become a strategic asset, which leads me to outline what I see as the major global trends in Executive Education.
First, I believe we will increasingly see modular, hybrid, and continuous learning, where long and rigid programs are losing traction. Executives are seeking shorter programs with immediate application, combining in person and digital formats. The hybrid model already represents more than 60% of executive offerings at leading business schools.
Second, artificial intelligence and new technologies have ceased to be mere topics and have become foundational skills. More than 70% of CEOs state that AI will radically transform their business model over the next three years, yet only one in four feels that their organization is prepared. Executive education is responding with AI programs applied to decision making, operations, marketing, finance, and leadership, designed not for technicians but for managers.
Third, it can be stated that human leadership as a differentiating and value creating factor is becoming increasingly central. Companies whose leaders are strong in human skills such as empathy, communication, and change management report talent retention rates up to 30% higher. In a world of automation, human leadership has become a measurable competitive advantage.
Learning applied to real problems is emerging as another unavoidable trend. Executives no longer accept education without immediate impact. Programs based on action learning and real projects show business application rates above 70%, compared with less than 30% in traditional classroom-based models.
In this context, business schools face a clear choice: to lead or to become irrelevant. I firmly believe that their role is no longer merely to transmit knowledge, but to orchestrate transformation, and I acknowledge that they are evolving along three critical dimensions.
a) From course providers to strategic partners of organizations
Companies demand customized solutions aligned with their strategic challenges, which means that effective executive education begins with diagnosis and ends with impact measurement. The best business schools already link learning to business KPIs such as growth, efficiency, innovation, and culture. Education without metrics is no longer acceptable.
b) From isolated programs to continuous learning ecosystems
Alumni networks, communities of practice, follow up sessions, and digital platforms have become essential to sustaining ongoing learning efforts. The time when everything happened inside the classroom is long past.
c) From local focus to global networks
International exposure, partnerships between schools, and contact with different business realities broaden strategic perspective. Today, more than 50% of executives value programs with integrated international experience.
In conclusion, in a world of permanent volatility, the true competitive advantage is not technology. It is the ability of leadership to learn faster than change itself. The executive education of the future is transformational, applied, technological, and deeply human. Business schools that understand this will not merely train better managers. They will help build organizations that are more resilient, responsible, and competitive.
Nuno Moreira da Cruz, Dean for Executive Education at CATÓLICA-LISBON