Instituto de Empresa Business School

IE Business School opened its doors in the heart of Madrid's financial district in 1973. These early years saw the creation of the MBA and Executive MBA programmes, the Advisory Boards and the Alumni Association. It was the decade that Spain began to look beyond its borders, and IE served as a platform for debate on the challenges that faced the business community on an international scale.

In 1983 the International MBA came into being, the result of the school´s progressive, unfaltering internationalisation process. This second decade also saw the creation of new departments like that of Entrepreneurship, oriented to providing support for potential entrepreneurs among students and alumni. And IE Business School introduced awards like the Juan Lladó Award for Corporate Patronage. The campus, in constant expansion, now covered the more than 7,000 m2 needed for over 1,000 masters students.

During this period IE Business School created the IE Business School Foundation and the New York-based IE Fund, aimed at promoting research, and granting scholarships to exceptional students. The Business Leadership Forum was set up, a meeting point where key figures from the world of politics, finance, economy and business shared experiences with top executives from large business organisations. Moreover, in response to the continuously advancing globalisation process, IE Business School joined forces with seven leading Latin American business schools to form the Sumaq Alliance.

In 2003, IE Business School celebrated thirty years of activity. 30,000 graduates that occupy management positions in 85 countries are the best indication of just how far the school has come. The same year, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, received the Honoris Causa MBA from IE Business School.