International MBA employers are targeting a broader selection of strong regional business schools from which to hire MBA graduates. This trend may be accelerated by the recessionary environment, even as overall MBA hiring numbers fall.

 

The two schools securing the most employer votes by region are: 

• North America: Harvard and Wharton 

• Europe: INSEAD and London Business School

• Asia-Pacific: INSEAD Singapore and Melbourne Business School 

• Latin America: EGADE and IPADE

• Africa and Middle East: American University in Cairo and Bar-Ilan University.

 

Traditional MBA employers remain committed to hiring from between 30 to 70 top-tier business schools located in North America, Western Europe and Asia. However, there are a growing number of regional MBA employers who lack the budget to pay the salaries demanded by MBAs from elite schools. As a result, MBAs proactive in their search and flexible in salary expectations are expanding their range of opportunities, even in recession.

 

The Global Top 200 consists of 72 schools in North America, 70 schools in Europe, 40 schools in Asia-Pacific, 12 schools in Latin America and 6 schools in Africa and the Middle East. In 1999, only 15 schools outside of North America and Europe featured in the research, compared to 13 schools from India and China alone, this year.

 

The table below provides a summary of the number of business schools in each region In the Global Top 200. Schools which achieved an Index of Employer Votes of over 2% are included in the definitive list of 200 schools. Schools are presented in alphabetical order in clusters, which provide some meaningful distinction in terms of recognition amongst employers. The relative position within clusters is not considered significant by the authors of this report.

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