A History of Innovation

Our school’s history is woven of two stories. One began in 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts, and the other in 1959 in Hertfordshire, UK, just outside London. In 2015, Hult International Business School and Ashridge Business School operationally merged to form one of the world’s most unique business schools.

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making of hult

2020s

2022

Hult welcomes Dr. Matt Lilley as its new president.

2022

Hult brings its unique brand of learning by doing to the digital space with the launch of its Global Online MBA and refines its undergraduate program to be entirely centered around challenge learning.

2022

The Forage names Hult as the Top University for Experiential Learning in 2022, which honors "the top US institutions that are innovating to help set their students up for success in the workforce."

2022

Hult EF Corporate Education is included in Financial Times Executive Education 2022 Ranking as a Top 20 Executive Education Provider in the world.

2022

Hult & EY introduce a new program–the EY Master's in Sustainability by Hult, dedicated exclusively to all 312,000 EY employees.

2021

Hult EF Corporate Education is launched, leveraging the resources of Hult Ashridge Executive Education, and one of the world’s leading private education companies, EF Education First.

2020

Hult partners with Ernst & Young to deliver the EY Tech MBA by Hult, a corporate MBA to EY’s 300,000 employees in over 150 countries.

2020

Hult launches Limitless Learning, equipping classrooms across its global campuses with cutting-edge technology that enables students to join live classes happening on campus, from their home.

2020

Hult wins the Best Business School Careers Strategy Award 2020 from the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and BGA.

2010s

2018

Hult International Business School is awarded EQUIS accreditation, officially achieving the coveted “triple crown” accreditation status; the first business school in the US to achieve triple accreditation.

2017

Hult earns global accreditation from AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

2017

The Economist ranks Hult #13 best in the world for its Master's in International Business program.

2015

Hult and Ashridge operationally merge to form one of the most unique business schools in the world.

2014

Hult is ranked in the Bloomberg Businessweek MBA rankings, debuting at #21 in the International category and #10 for Employer Satisfaction.

2014

Hult beats 100 other schools to win the Association of MBAs’ (AMBA) 2014 MBA Innovation Award for the redesigned MBA curriculum. The curriculum is the first in the world to be designed in collaboration with business leaders and employers.

2014

Hult forms an alliance with Ashridge Business School to create the world’s most relevant business school for employers, combining Ashridge’s expertise in executive and organization development and research with Hult’s global reach and scale.

2013

Ashridge is ranked as one of the top 20 global schools by Bloomberg Businessweek—one of only two UK schools to be included.

2013

The Hult Prize final is held at the Clinton Global Initiative 2013 Annual Meeting in New York after finalists are trained through the Hult Prize Accelerator Program. Hult Labs releases ground-breaking research on the future of the MBA program.

2012

Hult opens new campuses in London and Dubai and a rotation center in New York. The Hult Global Case Challenge is renamed the Hult Prize.

2012

Ashridge launches a revised MBA curriculum, combining both full-time and executive classes.

2011

Hult’s opens a campus in Shanghai, China. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton awards a USD 1 million prize to Water.org at the Hult Global Case Challenge Final.

2011

Ashridge House is rated the Number One venue and conference centre by BDRC’s VenueVerdict.

2010

Hult opens a second U.S. campus in San Francisco. The first Hult Global Case Challenge (now named the Hult Prize) is launched, pioneering a crowd-sourcing platform benefiting One Laptop per Child.

2010

Ashridge wins the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) award for organizational development for its work with the UK National Trust.

2000s

2009

Hult's first London campus opens, welcoming both undergraduate and graduate students.

2009

Ashridge celebrates 50 years as a leading business school. Now working with 6,000 managers from 850 organizations in 60 countries.

2008

As the first US academic institution to be licensed in the UAE, Hult's first MBA class in Dubai begins the program.

2008

Ashridge obtains its own degree-awarding powers, enabling it to develop its degree program portfolio.

2007

Ashridge helps to develop and became one of the first signatories of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education.

2005

Hult becomes first US school to have its MBA accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

2003

Arthur D. Little School of Management renamed Hult International Business School, honoring benefactor Bertil Hult’s vision and commitment to educating international business leaders.

2002

The Economist ranks the Arthur D. Little School third in Massachusetts behind Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

20th Century

1999

Ashridge Centre for Business and Ashridge’s Virtual Learning Resource Centre (VLRC) is launched, providing online learning to individuals and organizations.

1998

Forbes ranks the Arthur D. Little School of Management's MBA in the top five programs in the US.

1993

Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability is established as one of the earliest authorities on sustainability issues.

1989

Ashridge MBA is accredited by Association of MBAs (AMBA).

1988

Ashridge full-time MBA runs for the first time.

1987

Ashridge Strategic Management Centre is established to research and work on strategic management issues within large organizations.

1986

Ashridge Consulting is set up to provide business consulting services to organizations.

1976

The Arthur D. Little School of Management is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

1973

Ashridge's first international program is held in Venezuela, and custom programs are introduced.

1969

After only 10 years, Ashridge is running 100 programs with over 2,000 participants.

1964

The Management Education Institute in Boston is formed by Arthur D. Little Inc, the world’s oldest management consulting firm, and develops a one-year master's degree program to train business leaders.

1959

Ashridge Management College is established, with the support of leading companies including Guinness, Shell, and Unilever, to provide general management courses to business leaders.