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Saudi participation in LBS Executive Education open programmes increased by 82% over the last three years (2022-2025)
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Saudi custom Executive Education clients increased by 88% (2022-25)
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Demand at the top-ranked business school is driven by the Kingdom’s evolving leadership needs and Vision 2030 investment in human capability
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – May 2026: Demand from Saudi executives for leadership education at London Business School (LBS) which was ranked first in the world by the Financial Times for its Open Executive Education programmes and second for its Custom Executive Education programmes, continues to rise.
Participation data from the School’s last three academic years (2022-25) shows 9,000 participants from 254 countries worldwide have participated in one of the School’s top ranked Executive Education open programmes. In the same period, Saudi executive participation in LBS’s open programmes increased by 82%, while Custom Clients grew by 88%.
“Saudi Arabia’s transformation is creating new demands on leadership across both public and private sectors,” said Tim Landucci, Head of Office (Saudi Arabia), Director of Corporate Community, LBS. “We are seeing more Saudi executives seek formal leadership education to equip themselves for increasingly complex organisational challenges as organisations scale under Vision 2030.”
Saudi nationals now account for 67% of all Gulf-based participation in the School’s Executive Education, and Saudi professionals represent the largest nationality group in the School’s Executive MBA cohort at its Dubai campus. The significant increase in enrolment of Saudi executives reflects accelerated demand for advanced leadership capability as organisations across government, sovereign funds and the private sector, scale transformation efforts under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Executive Education participation spans both open programmes, where professionals from across organisations and industries enrol individually, and custom programmes, which are deeply tailored and designed in partnership with organisations to address specific leadership and business needs. Participants come from a broad range of public and private-sector organisations that drive the Kingdom’s economic transformation, including organisations.
Rehab Alkhater, an LBS Executive Education past participant said: “Studying at London Business School in Saudi Arabia provided me with a broader strategic perspective and the practical skillset I needed to lead more effectively in a rapidly evolving environment.”
LBS has recently strengthened its long-term commitment to Saudi Arabia with the opening of a dedicated Executive Education office in Riyadh. Through partnerships with leading public and private-sector organisations LBS is contributing to the sustainable, knowledge-driven growth that is advancing the Kingdom’s economic and social transformation.
Over the past five years, LBS is proud to have supported the transformation and growth of almost a thousand Saudi women leaders, through Executive Education programmes. In the last academic year, the School saw a 52% year-on-year increase in the participation of Saudi women executives.
About London Business School:
London Business School’s purpose is to have a profound impact on the way the world does business and the way business impacts the world. The School is consistently ranked among the world’s top business schools and is widely acknowledged as a centre for outstanding research and thought leadership. In addition to its highly ranked degree programmes, the School offers award-winning Executive Education for business leaders from around the world, frequently placing at the top of global rankings for open and custom executive learning.
Alongside its main campus in London, London Business School has a long-standing campus in Dubai and, in late 2025, officially opened an Executive Education office in Riyadh’s historic Diriyah district, marking a deepened commitment to developing leadership and human capability in the Kingdom. This new presence reflects LBS’s expanding footprint in the Middle East and its partnerships with leading organisations across the region.
The School equips its diverse student body with the tools needed to tackle today’s business challenges and connects them with many of the world’s leading thinkers. Its global community includes more than 58,000 alumni working in over 160 countries, united by a wealth of knowledge, experience and worldwide networking opportunities. London Business School’s faculty members come from more than 30 countries and cover seven core subject areas, including accounting, economics, finance, management science and operations, marketing, organisational behaviour, and strategy and entrepreneurship.
