Vlerick Business School is proud to be number 25 in the world for executive education – and confirms its #1 position in Belgium
Results of the Financial Times Executive Education Ranking 2025
The Financial Times has positioned Vlerick Business School as the number 25 provider for open executive education in the world, improving our position by two places. On a European level, we remain at number 20. And for the 13th year in a row, Vlerick is the number 1 in Belgium and Benelux. Our customised programmes have also risen both on a European and global level, demonstrating we are a top choice for impactful learning experiences for executives.
- Ranked 1 in Belgium for both open and customised programmes
- Ranked 20 in Europe for open programmes – and 27 for customised programmes
- Ranked 25 worldwide for open programmes – and 36 for customised programmes
The Financial Times Executive Education ranking consists of a top 85 for open programmes (for executives and entrepreneurs) and a top 95 for customised programmes (bespoke learning programmes designed to deliver strategic outcomes for organisations).
Operating in the heart of Europe, Vlerick Business School offers both types of executive education. The ranking results are based on a survey completed by corporate partners and individual participants in programmes offered by the world’s leading business schools. The survey invites participants to rate their learning experience against a number of criteria.
Open programmes – we're number 25 worldwide
Vlerick Business School maintains its 20th place in Europe for open programmes. At a global level, we’re ranked at number 25, rising two places compared to last year. The open ranking lists the top 85 open-enrolment programme providers in the world.
When looking at the individual criteria that the ranking is composed of, we score exceptionally well for:
- Aims achieved: ranked 25 – up 5 places
- Course design: ranked 26 – up 6 places
- New skills and learning: ranked 33 – up 5 places
Professor Carine Peeters, Head of Open Executive Education at Vlerick Business School, says: “We are extremely happy, proud, and thankful for these results. Happy because we design and deliver our programmes to prepare participants to confidently take the leap into the next stage of their careers.
“We equip them with the knowledge, tools and mindset to make a positive change in their organisations. Therefore, we’re very pleased to see our efforts reflected in the ranking results, especially for the ‘aims achieved’ and ‘new skills and learning’ criteria.
“These results are proof that we deliver on our ‘Take your next Leap’ proposition and that our participants feel they’ve grown, both in terms of learning impact as well as confidence to apply learnings.
“We’re also proud of our overall participant satisfaction score. On a 10-point scale, our participants give Vlerick’s open enrolment executive programmes an average rating of 9.58. Finally, we are thankful to participants and their organisations for trusting us to help them grow through learning. In the challenging eco-geopolitical climate we live in, this trust gives us a deep sense of purpose and motivation to give the best of ourselves.”
Ranking for customised programmes
As for our customised programmes, we’ve risen from 35 to 27 in Europe, and we’ve also improved our global position, going from 49 to 36 worldwide. The ranking lists the top 95 custom programme providers in the world.
When looking at the individual criteria that the ranking is composed of, we’ve made enormous progress on value for money, aims achieved and various criteria related to the impact of our learning journeys for our clients.
- Value for money: ranked 35 – up 21 places
- Teaching methods and materials: ranked 31 – up 15 places
- Follow-up: ranked 32 – up 28 places
- Aims achieved: ranked 32 – up 12 places
- Programme design: ranked 44 – up 8 places
Patrick De Greve, General Director of Vlerick Business School, says: “It makes us extremely proud and happy to see that the efforts we’ve made are being reflected in a significant rise in our position for customised programmes.
“In unprecedentedly challenging geopolitical and economic times, our clients are continuing to invest in their talent pools – and entrust our learning designers and faculty. They partner with us to create an impactful, hands-on learning experience that’s tailored exactly to their needs. This ranking proves they appreciate the value we deliver – and the return they get from their investment in the customised programmes we design for them.
“We want to thank our clients for their ongoing commitment and for this feedback and endorsement.”