IE Business School

History

IE Business School was established in 1973 in Madrid, Spain and was founded by entrepreneurs with a focus on entrepreneurship in business education. The school has especially emphasized on diversity.

In 2001, it launched its first blended program and in 2002 its e-learning unit. Over the years, the school has earned the “triple crown” accreditation in 2002, a distinction held by only 1% of business schools worldwide.

In 2010, IE opened Area 31, a dedicated co-working space for its entrepreneurship center and incubator for numerous startups. In 2011, the school has launched its IE-Brown Executive MBA together with Brown University, an Ivy League university. The program has been ranked highly on a regular basis.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, IE introduced its “Liquid Learning” model, combining online learning sessions with onsite residentials. In 2021, the business school opened a new campus called IE Tower in Madrid’s financial district.

The same year, former American McKinsey consultant, Lee Newman was appointed as dean of the business school replacing Martin Böhm who moved on to EBS University as a new in September 2021.

Degrees

IE Business School offers a variety of bachelor, master and doctorate degrees. It was one of the first institutions in Spain and Europe to offer the MBA degree in 1974.

Campus

Madrid Campus

IE Business School has multiple campuses globally, with one of its main campuses centrally situated in Madrid’s district of Salamanca. The campus currently occupies a total area of 28,000 m2, it is distributed among 17 buildings along the Calle Maria de Molina street, and is primarily used for undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Segovia Campus

Additionally, IE Business School maintains a campus in Segovia, housed in the historic Convent of Santa Cruz la Real, an ancient monastery from the 12th century and characterized as a UNESCO World Heritage, which provides a traditional setting for undergraduate programs as well. The convent, founded in 1218 and closely linked to the Dominican Order, is characterized by its Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Legends connect its origins to the penance of Saint Dominic of Guzmán in a nearby cave, while 15th‑century patronage by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella led to extensive reconstruction under architect Juan Guas and sculptor Sebastián de Almonacid. This renovation produced a monumental church with an off-center portal rich in religious and political symbolism. After the dissolution of the Dominican community in 1836, the building was repurposed as a hospice and nursing home before being restored for educational use.

IENYC Campus

In 2024, IE has opened an institution with a new campus in New York City called IENYC offering US-accredited master programs focusing on business and sustainability. File:IE Business School (Madrid) 01.jpg|Madrid Calle Maria de Molina 11 Campus File:IE Business School MM31.jpg|Madrid Calle Maria de Molina 31 Campus File:IE Business School Segovia Campus.jpg|Segovia Campus

Student Life

Student Organizations

With over 6,000 students and 130 nationalities represented in the student body, there are numerous student-led clubs with different themes such as a Model United Nations club, the Private Equity and Venture Capital club, the 180 Degrees Consulting club, the TEDx club as well as several country specific societies. [[File:IE Business School Class.jpg|thumb|Typical Class Room at IE Tower]]

Student publications

The university hosts student-run publications:

• The Stork: a campus magazine run by the student society.
• IE International Policy Review: a student-led academic journal founded in 2018 with occasional collaborations with the academic journals of Sciences Po and Princeton University.

Campus Life

Campus Life is a dedicated department at IE Business School and its overall university which organizes several recurring events per year.

Furthermore, the department facilitates the founding of student clubs. In 2025, the business school has more than 170 student clubs across undergraduate, graduate and doctorate studies.

Traditions

There are several annual traditions at IE business school and the overall IE University.

IE Day

Each year the overall IE University hosts the IE Day, a festival day that unites students, faculty, staff, and alumni in a display of its school spirit. Since its inception in the late 2010s, it includes live performances, scavenger hunts, dance acts, exhibitions and community events.

Hay Festival Segovia

Hay Festival Segovia, is an offshoot of the original Hay Festival in Wales, which began in 2006. Hosted partly on IE University’s historic Segovia campus, the festival has grown into one of Spain’s main cultural events, attracting authors, artists, and thinkers for a series of talks, workshops, and performances that promote dialogue and cultural exchange.

Global Village

Global Village is an annual, student-organized event that celebrates the cultural diversity of IE University. Held each spring, it transforms campus spaces into an international fair where country-specific booths, performances, and culinary displays highlight the heritage of its global community.

South Summit

South Summit is an annual conference held in Madrid since 2012 that focuses on entrepreneurship. Founded by María Benjumea in collaboration with IE Business School during a period of economic uncertainty, the event was initially designed to revitalize Spain’s startup ecosystem. Over time, it has expanded its international scope with satellite editions in Latin America and Asia, attracting early-stage startups, investors, and corporate representatives. The conference includes pitch competitions, panel discussions, and networking sessions, and is regarded as a forum for discussing trends in venture capital, public policy, and collaborative innovation across Europe. IE contributes to South Summit by integrating academic research and mentorship programs, with faculty and students actively participating to bridge theoretical insights with practical experience.

International rankings

IE Business School is considered the 10th best business school in Europe in 2024 according to the Financial Times.

Notable people

Notable faculty

• Enrico Letta – Former Prime Minister of Italy
• Paolo Gentiloni – Former Prime Minister of Italy
• Iván Duque – Former President of Colombia
• Felipe Calderón – Former President of Mexico

Notable Alumni

• Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange - Princess of the Netherlands
• Maya Gnyp - Oscar and Emmy nominated film producer
• Isabel Yordi Aguirre - former CEO of Tabacalera
• Meinrad Spenger - Co-Founder of MásMóvil
• Bernard Niesner - Co-Founder of Busuu

Partner universities

There are several partnerships with universities and business schools worldwide for exchange and double degree opportunities. Some of them include:

Europe

• University of St. Gallen - Switzerland
• WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management - Germany
• Frankfurt School of Finance and Management - Germany
• University of Mannheim - Germany
• Bucerius Law School - Germany
• Sciences Po - France
• EDHEC Business School - France
• ESSEC Business School - France
• Imperial College London - UK
• London Business School - UK
• University of Oxford - UK
• Bocconi University - Italy
• Aalto University School of Business, Aalto University - Finland
• BI Norwegian Business School - Norway
• Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University - Netherlands

America

• Brown University - USA
• Cornell University - USA
• University of Chicago Booth School of Business - USA
• University of California, Berkeley - USA
• Dartmouth College, USA
• NYU Stern School of Business, New York University - USA
• Fletcher School of Law and Dilpomacy - USA
• Babson College - USA
• USC Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California - USA
• University of Michigan - USA
• Smith School of Business, Queen’s University - Canada
• Schulich School of Business, York University - Canada
• University of Toronto - Canada

Asia

• National University of Singapore - Singapore
• Nanyang Technological University - Singapore
• Singapore Management University - Singapore
• Indian School of Business - India
• Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta - India
• Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad - India
• Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - Hong Kong
• Tsinghua University - China
• Fudan University - China

Oceania

• University of Queensland - Australia

• Melbourne Business School - Australia

References

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