Ten years ago, the leaders of two of Canada’s most prestigious business schools, McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management and HEC Montréal took up the ambitious challenge of joining forces to launch the McGill-HEC Montreal EMBA program.

Professors Alain Pinsonneault (McGill) and Louis Hébert (HEC Montréal), pedagogical co-directors of this bilingual program designed specifically for experienced leaders, were the courageous instigators of this collaborative project, which has proven to be a great success. Today, ten years later, with a network of over 400 participants and graduates who are leaders or experts in their respective industries, the McGill-HEC Montréal EMBA continues to pursue its original goal: to develop the next generation of leaders – humane, reflective, confident, open, action-oriented and future-oriented.

The program has had an innovative approach since day 1, and some of those key elements continue today: : its schedule adapted to managers’ reality (from Thursday to Sunday, once a month for fifteen months), the importance of each person developing as an individual, rather than pushing everyone to conform to a mythic ideal,  its teaching method focused on the reflection and experience sharing between participants, its modules based on the Managerial Mindsets of famous thinker and McGill University professor Henry Mintzberg, its bilingualism, etc.

Over the years, the program has evolved to meet the changing needs of leaders. The curriculum has been adjusted to keep a great synergy between the ever-changing business world and the educational content of the program. Five years ago, a comprehensive module on ethics and sustainable development was added to the curriculum. This module, like others in the program, allows participants to make a real impact in their organizations and in society in general. On the eve of the McGill-HEC Montréal EMBA 10th anniversary, discussions with participants, graduates and the program’s advisory committee led EMBA directors to launch a new module entitled “The Future-Ready Organization”. This module will cover various topics such as digitalization, artificial intelligence, industry 4.0, mega-trends, leadership agility, etc.

Over the past ten years, the McGill-HEC Montréal EMBA has been able to lead by example and do what it expects of its participants and graduates: reflect and take a step back, stand out in a competitive market, build on collaboration and respect, and above all, show humility and openness.

The EMBA codirectors, 10 years ago

The codirectors with the 10th cohort

The EMBA McGill-HEC Montreal 10th cohort