Six Portuguese business schools are ranked, with one of them reaching the top ten.

The first Portuguese school on the list, Nova SBE Executive Education, holds 9th place in the Customised Programs category. Climbing from 15th place last year, it now positions itself alongside prestigious institutions such as London Business School and IMD Business School.

Pedro Brito, CEO of Executive Education at Nova SBE, says this result reflects a collective effort built over many years: “It is the fruit of an extraordinary team that, daily, challenges the traditional way of doing executive training; of professors and specialists who link academic rigor to real impact on organizations; of clients who constantly force us to think differently and design transformative solutions for complex challenges; and of national and international partners who trust in our vision and walk with us in this global ambition.”

Director of Nova SBE, Professor Pedro Oliveira, says the school chooses to maintain a focus on what truly defines the school: academic rigour, international ambition, and concrete impact on organisations and society.

Strengthening international presence

The second Portuguese school on the list, Iscte Executive Education, has achieved its best result ever. In the category of Customised Programs for Companies, it has jumped thirteen places from last year, rising to 31st position worldwide and achieving one of the largest rises in the global ranking.

Furthermore, in the Open-enrollment Executive Education category, the school has made the largest recorded surge, climbing 16 positions since last year’s ranking and now placing 51st worldwide.

According to a representative, José Crespo de Carvalho, these results confirm the international recognition of the work carried out by the school, “and reflect a consistent strategy of proximity to companies, innovation in training offerings, and strengthening of international presence.”

Creating transformative solutions

The third Portuguese school on the list is ISEG Lisbon School of Economics and Management, which maintains the position achieved last year, continuing to occupy 48th place worldwide in the Custom Programs category.

For Joana Santos Silva, CEO of ISEG Executive Education, this recognition confirms the role they have been building: “a school deeply connected to businesses, capable of co-creating relevant, innovative and transformative solutions.”

João Duque, President of ISEG, highlights that rankings are not the means to an end in themselves, but serve as a valuable indicator of how a school is recognised internationally: “In the case of ISEG, these results show once again the consistency, ambition and ability to compete in a very demanding global environment.”

Gender balance

Achieving its best ranking ever, Porto Business School (PBS) has climbed eight places in the Open Programs category, now reaching 35th place worldwide. As a distinctive quality, PBS also stands out for its gender balance in the “Female Participants” indicator, with a 50/50 distribution, reflecting the school’s ongoing commitment to diversity and representative leadership.

According to José Esteves, Dean of Porto Business School, “this result confirms Porto Business School’s international trajectory and the recognition of the work we have been developing in preparing leaders for increasingly complex contexts. The rise to 35th place worldwide in Open Programs, with a progression of 40 positions since 2020, shows that PBS is growing with consistency, ambition, and impact.”

Porto Business School aims to be the partner school for organisations that seek to drive change. “In a world transformed by artificial intelligence, geopolitics, sustainability, and the evolution of talent, we want to be the partner school for organisations that don’t just respond to change; they want to lead it.”

Leaders of tomorrow

The fifth Portuguese school on the list is Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, which has been recognised for the 19th consecutive year. The school ranks 26th worldwide and 19th in Europe, climbing 11 positions compared to last year and achieving its best ranking in nearly twenty years.

According to the Dean of Católica-Lisbon, Filipe Santos, “this recognition underscores, in particular, the quality of our faculty and the innovation of our programs, essential pillars in training leaders prepared to anticipate trends, make strategic decisions, and lead with vision, responsibility, and impact.”

Finally, the sixth Portuguese school on the list is Católica Porto Business School, marking its first appearance in the Financial Times Executive Education Ranking. In the ranking of open programs, Católica Porto Business School ranks 85th worldwide.