London Business School has announced a strategic new partnership with Ivey Business School, marking a significant expansion of its global network and academic reach. The collaboration, unveiled this week, is set to deepen cross-border ties between two of the world’s leading institutions in business education, with a focus on enhancing research, teaching, and experiential learning opportunities. As competition intensifies in the international business education landscape, the alliance positions both schools to leverage their strengths, broaden their impact, and offer students and faculty greater access to global perspectives and resources.
Strategic vision behind the London Business School and Ivey Business School partnership
The collaboration aligns two institutions that share a bold ambition: to shape the next generation of globally minded leaders by integrating complementary strengths across continents. London Business School brings deep expertise in finance, strategy and the dynamics of global markets, while Ivey contributes its renowned case-method pedagogy and leadership advancement focus rooted in North American and emerging market realities. Together, they are building an academic bridge that will allow faculty, students and corporate partners to move seamlessly between London and Canada, experimenting with new formats for teaching, research and real-world impact. At its core, the alliance is designed to anticipate how leadership, technology and sustainability will redefine management education over the next decade.
This vision is underpinned by a series of coordinated initiatives that translate strategy into tangible opportunities for participants at every level:
- Integrated learning journeys connecting London, Toronto and global hubs through modular programmes.
- Jointly developed curricula that blend analytical rigour with immersive, case-based learning.
- Shared corporate networks opening access to European, North American and global employers.
- Cross-school research clusters focused on innovation, sustainability and digital change.
| Strategic Pillar | Primary Focus | Key Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Global Reach | Dual-campus experiences | Expanded alumni footprint |
| Innovation | Co-created programmes | New executive offerings |
| Thought Leadership | Joint research projects | Influential policy insights |
| Talent Pipeline | Shared corporate access | Enhanced career mobility |
How the collaboration will reshape global leadership development and executive education
The alliance combines London Business School’s global reach with Ivey’s deep expertise in case-based learning to create a richer, more agile ecosystem for senior talent development. Faculty teams will co-design programmes that blend immersive simulations, live case labs and boardroom-style debates, enabling executives to experiment with strategic decisions in real time. This joint platform will also prioritise cross-border cohort diversity, bringing together leaders from mature and emerging markets to interrogate complex issues such as digital disruption, climate risk and geopolitical uncertainty from multiple perspectives.
- Co-created curricula aligned with real-time boardroom challenges
- Rotating campuses between London and Canada for global immersion
- Hybrid delivery combining on-campus intensives with high-impact online modules
- Shared executive networks for post-program peer learning and deal flow
| Pillar | Focus | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Global Mindset | Multi-region cohorts | Borderless leadership |
| Data & Insight | Analytics-rich cases | Faster decisions |
| Impact | Action-learning projects | Measurable ROI |
Over time, the partnership is expected to influence how boards and C-suites source and evaluate leadership talent. Joint credentials, co-branded programmes and stackable learning pathways will allow executives to build specialised capabilities-such as sustainability strategy or digital transformation-without stepping away from their roles. As organisations demand leaders who can navigate volatility while delivering responsible growth,this collaboration aims to set a new benchmark for evidence-based,globally informed executive education that is closely tethered to performance and governance standards.
New cross campus programs and research initiatives students and faculty can expect
Students and faculty will soon find their learning and research agendas stretching across two continents, with joint project studios, co-taught electives and shared labs linking London and London, Ontario. Early plans include integrated case-development workshops, cross-registered MBA and Masters modules, and co-supervised dissertations on themes such as digital platforms, sustainable finance and family enterprise governance. Both institutions are also piloting virtual “tandem classrooms”, where cohorts in the UK and Canada will debate live cases with faculty teams drawn from each campus, supported by shared data rooms and real-time analytics tools.
- Co-branded executive education sprints focused on board-level strategy
- Short-term research residencies allowing faculty to embed on the partner campus
- Student consulting labs serving companies operating in both Europe and North America
- Impact grants for projects with measurable social or environmental outcomes
| Initiative | Focus Area | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| Transatlantic Innovation Lab | Fintech & AI in markets | Autumn 2025 |
| Global Sustainability Cluster | Climate risk & green capital | Spring 2026 |
| Family Enterprise Observatory | Succession & governance | Ongoing |
Behind these high-profile launches is a structured research agenda designed to produce jointly authored papers,policy briefs and practitioner playbooks. New cross-appointed research chairs will coordinate thematic clusters, bringing together economists, strategists, behavioral scientists and data scientists from both schools. A shared seed-funding pool will back early-stage projects that test emerging ideas in live corporate settings, while open data agreements aim to make anonymised project results accessible to wider academic and business communities, turning the partnership into a visible engine of evidence-based management insight.
Recommendations for business leaders seeking to leverage the London Ivey alliance for competitive advantage
Executives ready to turn this alliance into measurable advantage should move fast to identify where combined London-Ivey strengths intersect with their strategic priorities. Start by mapping internal capability gaps against the partnership’s offerings in leadership, digital transformation, and global markets, then co-design bespoke programs that align to 12-24 month business objectives. Embed cross-campus advisory boards into major change initiatives, drawing on faculty, alumni, and practitioner fellows from both schools to stress-test assumptions and challenge local market bias. In parallel, use London and Ivey as neutral ground for difficult conversations-strategy resets, succession planning, or post-merger integration-where evidence-based facilitation and global case material can keep debate rigorous and depersonalised.
To sustain momentum beyond one-off engagements,integrate the alliance into your talent and innovation architecture. Consider the following levers:
- Leadership pipelines: rotate emerging leaders through joint London-Ivey programs tied to concrete stretch assignments.
- Insight acceleration: co-sponsor applied research sprints on your most contested decisions, from pricing to market entry.
- Deal flow and partnerships: tap both alumni networks for venture scouting, board talent, and strategic partners across continents.
- Signal to the market: visibly connect your transformation agenda to this collaboration to strengthen employer brand and investor confidence.
| Strategic Goal | Alliance Action | Time Horizon |
|---|---|---|
| Global expansion | Joint market labs and field projects | 6-18 months |
| Leadership renewal | Co-designed executive pathways | 12-24 months |
| Innovation speed | Faculty-startup-corporate sprints | 3-9 months |
To Wrap It Up
As this partnership between London Business School and Ivey Business School takes shape, its impact will be measured not only in joint programmes and shared research, but in the careers and decisions of the leaders it helps to develop. By combining two globally recognised institutions with complementary strengths, the collaboration aims to set a new benchmark for management education across continents.
What begins as a formal agreement today is intended to evolve into a long-term platform for innovation, insight and influence in business. Both schools will now be judged on how effectively they turn this strategic alliance into tangible value for students, faculty, and the wider global business community.
