News

Executive MBA Program Ranked #10 in US

Poets&Quants recently ranked the Gabelli School’s Executive MBA program #10 in its 2022-2023 composite ranking of the best Executive MBA (EMBA) programs in the U.S. , an increase from its #20 ranking the previous year.

The Poets&Quants EMBA ranking is a composite based on a school’s performance of its U.S.-based programs in the three major EMBA rankings: U.S. News & World Report, Financial Times, and The Economist. Each is centered on different methodologies, and Poets&Quants gives equal credit to all.

“We are absolutely thrilled to receive this #10 ranking from Poets&Quants,” said Francis Petit, EdD, associate dean of global initiatives at the Gabelli School of Business, who oversees the EMBA program. “It serves to acknowledge the caliber of the education we provide; the achievements of the program’s faculty, students, and alumni; and the tremendous opportunities it creates for rising executives.”

The Gabelli School’s EMBA delivers executive-level education to a diverse cohort of rising business leaders from New York City, across the nation, and around the world. The 22-month accelerated format, in which cohorts meet for one three-day weekend each month, is designed for working professionals. The curriculum focuses on management development and strategy, immersing students in the topics that are relevant in today’s business environment.

The program incorporates team-based projects, career development workshops, guest speakers, and a global business capstone project. Past cohorts have completed consulting assignments for BMW Financial Services in Johannesburg, South Africa; Ogilvy Public Relations, Asia Pacific in Beijing, China; and Oxxo, in Istanbul, Turkey, Petit said.

According to data reported in alumni surveys through 2021, more than 24% of those who have graduated with a Gabelli School EMBA degree were promoted to senior management roles, 53% reported a salary increase, and one third changed industries.

Djenane Paul, MBA ’22, made a major career move just a few months before she completed the EMBA program when she accepted an offer to serve as Auburn University’s executive associate athletics director/senior woman administrator. Already a senior-level executive in intercollegiate athletics — Paul held previous posts at Virginia Commonwealth University and Fordham University — she said the EMBA program helped to refine her management skills and positioned her to play a pivotal role on the competitive Alabama university’s leadership team.

“I learned that successful organizations need leaders who can synthesize their management training as well as the legal and ethical factors at play in the business landscape,” said Paul, who also holds a doctorate in law. “This program allowed me to do just that. I became a more informed, adaptive, adept communicator and forward thinker.” She added that, as the landscape of intercollegiate athletics continues to evolve, the strategic-thinking skills she honed in the EMBA program are serving her well in “making decisions that provide opportunities for Auburn student-athletes to excel within the Southeastern Conference” and continue to maintain their competitive position.

Asked about the EMBA program’s Poets&Quants ranking, the Gabelli School’s Interim Dean Lerzan Aksoy, PhD, acknowledged the “tremendous effort” it takes to achieve such an accomplishment, and expressed her gratitude to faculty and staff. “The Gabelli School of Business is on the move, and this ranking attests to the fact that its programs are competitive at the very highest levels,” she added.