[4] IMD was formed in January 1990 through the merger of independent management education centers International Management Institute (Geneva) (IMI), established in 1946 by Alcan, and Institut pour l'Etude des Methodes de Direction de l'Entreprise (IMEDE) Lausanne established in 1957 by Nestlé.

The current president is David Bach, who follows Jean-Francois Manzoni, Dominique Turpin, John R. Wells, Peter Lorange, and Juan Rada.

Starting in 2018, the MBA curriculum includes electives dedicated to practical experience in digital marketing, machine learning, and big data.

[16] The Assessment Day is a full-day event held either in IMD's campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, or in Singapore, or in other locations.

[19] The curriculum of the EMBA is different from the MBA because it targets experienced managers with at least 10 years of experience who seek to strengthen their careers without leaving their jobs.

[20] It has a strong focus on leadership skills, integrated business themes, and the immediate practical application of the subject matter.

Supporting their growth as a leader, faculty share their knowledge, resources and contacts in discovery modules around the globe.

IMD remained in second place in the combined custom and open program rankings, maintaining its spot from last year.