UPF Barcelona School of Management consolidates its position for the third consecutive year in the Financial Times 'Executive Education Custom Ranking 2025'

UPF Barcelona School of Management (UPF-BSM) appears once again, for the third consecutive year, in the Financial Times ‘Executive Education Custom Ranking 2025’, a prestigious classification that evaluates customized training for companies delivered by business schools around the world.

This year’s ranking includes 95 top-tier institutions from across the globe, and only five Spanish business schools made the list. Four of them are based in Barcelona: UPF-BSM, IESE, Esade, Deusto Business School, and EADA. The strong presence of Catalan schools reinforces Barcelona’s position as a leading hub for executive education in Spain.

The top five institutions in the 2025 edition are IMD (International Institute for Management Development), London Business School, SDA Bocconi School of Management, ESMT Berlin, and Insead.

“With this recognition, we consolidate our presence among the world’s leading business schools offering customized executive education. It also marks a step forward in our school’s internationalization strategy and reflects our commitment to delivering top-quality training for executives and companies,” stated José M. Martínez-Sierra, General Director of UPF-BSM.

Only business schools that have previously been accredited by AACSB or EQUIS—two of the three most prestigious academic recognitions and quality seals in higher education—are eligible for the Financial Times Executive Education Custom Ranking. This ensures that ranked schools meet the highest standards of quality and academic rigor. UPF-BSM recently renewed its EQUIS accreditation, first obtained in 2022, and also renewed its AMBA accreditation in 2024.

Regarding the ranking’s methodology, among the many evaluated variables, UPF-BSM stands out for the sustained growth of its executive education programs (Top 25 worldwide); the number of international corporate clients (Top 40 worldwide); client engagement with the UPF-BSM learning experience (Top 50 worldwide); and the diversity of its faculty (Top 50 worldwide).

“Executive education has been a fundamental pillar of our school for years, and during this time, we’ve had the privilege of training teams and executives from some of the world’s leading companies. Being included in this highly prestigious ranking for the third year in a row brings us great satisfaction and motivates us to continue offering the best tailor-made training for companies,” said Fátima Piqué, Deputy General Director of UPF-BSM and B2B Business Development Director.

Executive Training

For years, UPF-BSM has been a trusted provider of executive training for companies around the world. As a business school, UPF-BSM has strong ties to the business community, thanks in part to active collaborations with more than 800 companies in a variety of training and employability initiatives.

In its program portfolio, the school offers a full-time MBA in Spanish and another in English, an Executive MBA, and a total of 54 master’s degrees in management across various sectors.