Image credit: London Business School

With names like Michael Ward, Managing Director, Harrods, Jonathan Akeroyd, CEO, Alexander McQueen, and Stephen Alden, CEO, Maybourne Hotel Group on its roster of speakers, a new MBA program in luxury management launched by London Business School (LBS) and Walpole, a non-profit industry group consisting of some of Britain’s finest luxury brands, looks to be an attractive proposition for those of you interested in building management careers within the luxury goods industry. Besides being treated to the school’s rigorous MBA curriculum (which, incidentally, was recently ranked second in the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings), the 13 students in this program will also get to select from a variety of specialized elective workshops, and receive invites to be a part of Walpole’s entrepreneurial program, Brands of Tomorrow, aimed at developing the next generation of British luxury brands. Walpole members who are senior executives in their professions will also act as mentors for the students, which will further encourage specialist learning in this particular field. “Our goal is to encourage specialist learning, facilitate the exchange of exciting new ideas and help to nurture the next generation of leaders in our sector,” explains Walpole CEO Michelle Emmerson. Mark Henderson, LBS program Chairman and Gieves & Hawkes Chairman, adds, “I believe very strongly in our duty to nurture the next generation of talent in the luxury goods industry. It is not just the highly-skilled craftsmen and women of this country that we need to support, but it is the business leaders of tomorrow, who will be responsible for expanding this industry on an international scale.”