Design Thinking in Business Executive Program
The Power of Design Thinking to Solve Complex Challenges
Harness the power of design thinking to boost your ability to tackle complex, customer-centric business challenges and address impending threats. Explore creativity, design thinking, and innovation for businesses.
Benefits of studying IESE’s Design Thinking in Business Program

- Customer centricity. Learn how cross-functional teams can coalesce around customer needs to build a shared understanding of purpose and clear user-centered focus.
- Novel solutions. Explore new approaches and design thinking strategies to solve customer-centered problems in a wide range of business contexts.
- How to use design thinking impact to turn risk into opportunity. Learn how to turn obstacles into new business opportunities by engaging your team and leveraging their unique talents and perspectives. Explore succesful design problem solving examples..
- Better results at lower risk. Create and implement customer-centric solutions with business impact, faster and more effectively.
The first block of the design thinking executive program focuses on the need for novel approaches like design thinking to catalyze strategic transformation and bridge the gap between dramatic change and positive corporate outcomes.
In the second block, participants will explore the power of design thinking as a problem-solving approach and its ability to simultaneously serve both customer and corporate interests. By combining concrete tools and techniques, design thinking offers organizations an in-depth understanding of end-user needs, while enhancing managerial competencies to solve human-centered challenges.
Theory comes to life in the final block, which features numerous examples of real-world design-thinking applications in a range of corporate contexts.
- Corporate Transformation: Navigating Complexity
Explore to develop a design thinking in business strategy: Strategies to integrate design thinking into corporate decision-making frameworks and guidelines to address threats head-on. - Hands-On Exercise: Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation
An engaging simulation to acquire an up-close understanding of distinct phases in the design-thinking methodology. - Uncovering Needs and Generating Opportunities
Insights to develop a deeper understanding of customer interests by discovering latent needs and focusing on the original challenge. - Concept Validation
Prototyping and experimentation to test ideas and learn from them quickly. - Design-Thinking Applications
Apply key learnings to dissolve crisis situations, design and develop new customer-centric initiatives, redefine business models and apply strategic problem-solving.
You can view the program’s format and learning map here.

Professor of Strategic Management
PhD in Strategic Management, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Master’s in Organization and Strategy, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Certified Design Thinking, IDEO and Experience Point
IAP-Harvard Business School on Design Thinking

Growth and Digital Transformation Consultant
Executive Master’s in Business Innovation, Deusto Business School
Executive MBA, EADA and University of Stellenbosch Business Schools

Founder partner, Inteligencia Creativa & Binnakle Innovation Games
MBA in Business Administration, Solvay Business School

Professor and Head of Production, Technology and Operations Management
Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, University of California at Berkeley
Master’s in Engineering, University of California at Berkeley

Global Services Concept Lead, Roche Diabetes Care
Professor Design Manager, Istituto Europeo di Design
Master’s in Design Thinking-Integrative Thinking, Illinois Institute of Technology

CEO and Founder, Adventuring Ventures
Senior Lecturer, California College of the Arts
Master’s in Advanced Architectural Design, Columbia University

Professor of Complex Systems Leadership, Thomas Jefferson University
Founder and Principal Consultant, Systems Wisdom
Former Associate Director, Ackoff Collaboratory for Advancement of the Systems Approach, University of Pennsylvania
PhD in System Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
This program comprises two online modules and a three-day on-site module on IESE’s campus in Barcelona. All modules deliver an engaging, high-impact learning experience by interweaving a strategic blend of academic methodologies, including the case method, lectures, expert-panel session, exercises, best practices and a design-thinking simulation.
The program is modular in structure, offering participants the option of participating in (1) the full blended program or (2) online Modules 1 and 3.
Kick-off | Online
May 18, 2022
(3:00 – 4:30 p.m. CET)
Module 1 | Online
May 24, 26, 31 & June 2, 2022
(3:00 – 4:15 p.m. CET)
Module 2 | Barcelona
June 8-10, 2022
(9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. CET)
Module 3 | Online
- June 14, 2022 (3:00 – 4:15 p.m. CET)
- June 16, 2022 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m. CET)
- June 20, 2022 (3:00 – 5:45 p.m. CET)
- June 22, 2022 (3:00 – 5:30 p.m. CET)
You can view the program’s format and learning map here.
- Complete and submit the online application.
- The Executive Education Department will email you to acknowledge receipt and provide further details on program dates, pre-program academic materials and bank details to submit payment.
- Proceed with the payment of the program’s fee. This is an essential requisite to access the pre-readings and participate in the program. Two weeks before the start date, participants receive an email with a user name to access the IESE Virtual Campus and pre-readings.
Fees
Full Blended Program:
- General fee: € 5,250
- Alumni fee: € 4,725
- IESE Alumni Assn. members: € 4,462.50
Executive Education Certificate fee: An additional 5% discount on the general or IESE Alumni Association member fee.
Online Modules 1 and 3:
- General fee: € 1,100
- IESE members fee: € 990
- IESE Alumni Assn. members: € 935
Executive Education Certificate fee: An additional 5% discount on the general or IESE Alumni Association member fee.
The program fee is tax-exempt and includes academic materials and most meals during the on-campus module. Travel and accommodation expenses are not included. Please contact us about discounts for IESE graduates, Alumni Association members, corporate agreements and multiple registrations from the same company.
The program includes preparatory coursework, which participants will receive with sufficient lead time. Payment is required in order to access this material.
Please consult our cancellation policy. Places are limited and filled in strict order of registration.
Participants in the on-campus Barcelona edition can benefit from special rates at the following hotels: AC Victoria Suites (Marriot) 4*, Sansi Pedralbes 4*, Abba Garden 4*, Meliá Sarriá Barcelona 5*, Upper Diagonal 4*.
Payment Details
We accept payments by credit card or wire transfer.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations received within 20 days before the program start are subject to a fee equivalent to 25% of tuition. IESE reserves the right to cancel this edition or modify dates up to 20 days prior to its start. IESE is under no circumstances responsible for travel expenses incurred. Participants should consider travel cancellation coverage in the exceptional event that the program is cancelled or if they are unable to attend for personal or professional reasons.
UPCOMING EDITION
Blended: Online & Barcelona
Kick-off: May 18, 2022
Module 1: Online | May 24, 26, 31 & June 2, 2022
Module 2: Barcelona | June 8-10, 2022
Module 3: Online | June 14, 16, 20 & 22, 2022