London Business School Tops 2026 Financial Times Open-Enrollment Exec Ed Ranking, SDA Bocconi Best For Custom Programs

London Business School continues its winning streak in the The Financial Times Executive Education Rankings for 2026, released today (May 18). The UK school secured the top spot in the Open Enrollment category while finishing second for Custom Programs.

Those are the same placements LBS achieved in the 2025 ranking when it was the only institution to secure top three placements on both lists.

The placements mean LBS was able to maintain its upward momentum from 2024’s ranking when it placed second globally in Open Enrollments and Seventh in Custom Programs.

SDA Bocconi School of Management in Italy, meanwhile, rose two spots on the Custom Programs ranking to No. 1. The Milan-based business school also placed first for overall participant satisfaction in Open Enrollment (scoring 9.95 out 10), but that metric is not used in the FT’s calculations.

A GLOBAL LIST WITHOUT HARVARD, WHARTON, KELLOGG?

Each year, FT releases two separate rankings focused on executive education. The first evaluates open-enrollment programs, which are short, non-degree courses available to professionals from a variety of organizations. These programs are generally geared toward managers and executives looking to strengthen leadership skills or gain new expertise.

The second ranking covers custom programs developed specifically for corporate clients. These offerings are built around a company’s particular objectives, industry context, and business challenges.

The rankings measure schools across multiple factors, including program design, teaching quality, value, and how effectively courses deliver on the goals of participants and client organizations. When taken together, they provide a broad view of the global executive education landscape.

There is one gorilla-sized caveat to these lists. Or, make that seven gorillas – at least – that are nowhere to be found.

Several U.S. behemoths of U.S. executive education do not participate in the FT rankings, so you end up with a “global” list that doesn’t include Harvard Business School, Wharton, or Northwestern Kellogg. Also missing are MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School, Chicago Booth and Stanford GBS. That means none of the so-called MBA M7s make the FT lists despite having robust and sought-after exec ed programs.

In fact, out of 90 ranked global business schools ranked for Open Enrollment, just five are located soley in the United States. Michigan Ross is the highest ranked U.S. school at No. 16, followed by University of Utah Eccles (No. 27), and Case Western Weatherhead (tied for No. 31). Florida Atlantic University and University of Arizona (Eller) ranked 53rd and 77th respectively.

It’s a similar story for Custom Programs with just six U.S. schools out of 100 that were ranked: Michigan Ross (No. 23), Miami Herbert (No. 34), ASU Thunderbird (No. 39), Tennessee Haslam (No. 62), Utah Eccles (No. 62), Florida International University (No. 72).

The result is a global list that is pretty Eurocentric.

FT’s OPEN ENROLLMENT RANKING 2026

To win the Open category, LBS dominated the participant survey sent to executives who actually went through a program. Participants gave the school the highest marks in every metric on the survey including preparation, course design, teaching methods, faculty, cohort quality, aims achieved, and others. It also ranked second in international participants and faculty diversity.

HEC Paris finished second in the Open category with top five finishes in all of the participation survey categories. It also ranked eight for international participants and sixth for partner schools.

IESE Business School finished third.

FT groups schools into four tiers based on school performance in the ranking. There are six schools in the top Tier, shown in the table below. * Overall satisfaction is not factored into the final calculations. 

SDA BOCCONI JUMPS FIVE SPOTS SINCE 2024 

In Custom Programs, SDA Bocconi ranked highest in ever metric from the corporate survey, administered to companies that went through schools’ tailor-made Custom programs. That includes metrics like teaching methods, faculty, value for money, and aims achieved. 

The school rose three spots last year from No. 6 to No. 3, and two spots in 2026 to nab the Customs crown.  

“Our role is not simply to deliver programmes,” said Stefano Caselli, Dean of SDA Bocconi School of Management. “We work alongside organisations to understand their challenges, co-design learning journeys and help leaders continuously adapt in a rapidly changing world. Today, executive education is becoming one of the most important tools organisations have to strengthen human capital, leadership capability and long-term competitiveness.” 

In recent years, SDA Bocconi has expanded its emphasis on long-term collaborations with organizations, blending academic insight with leadership training and applied business change initiatives. The school partners with corporations, financial institutions, and public-sector entities throughout Europe, the Middle East, and other global markets. 

London Business School followed Bocconi in Customs, finishing at No. 2 out of 100 ranked programs. Participants ranked it the second highest in eight of nine categories. 

LBS was followed by IMD Business School in Switzerland which fell two spots to No. 3 from last year. 

Again, six schools are rated in the top tier for Custom Programs, shown in the table below.

NEXT PAGE: Open Enrollment methodology and full ranking