NHH among the world’s top 100 Executive MBA programmes
‘Who knew accounting could be so much fun?’ says Naomi Ichihara Røkkum. Now, the Financial Times has ranked her Executive MBA programme among the world’s best.
Caps flew through the air in Oslo one January evening in 2026 as a new class of NHH Executive students celebrated completing their Executive MBA (EMBA).
Now, it is the programme’s turn to celebrate.
NHH is back in the Financial Times’ prestigious ranking of the world’s top 100 Executive MBA programmes, as the only standalone Norwegian programme on the list.
‘NHH is competing with some of the world’s most established business schools. It is inspiring to see us back in the top 100,’ says Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen.
NHH last appeared in the prestigious EMBA ranking in 2023.
‘What matters most to us is that participants experience high academic quality and gain knowledge and skills that are relevant in demanding leadership roles. The fact that this is also reflected in an international ranking is, of course, very positive,’ Thorbjørnsen adds.
Applauses both ways
Naomi Ichihara Røkkum (39) was among those wearing graduation gowns at the ceremony in January. By then, she had already been putting what she had learned into practice at work.
‘That was one of the programme’s great strengths. We were given practical tools that we could use from day one,’ says Røkkum.
She is CEO of Construction City Cluster, one of Norway’s leading business clusters for the construction and real estate industries.
In 2023, she enrolled in the executive education programme at NHH Executive, following recommendations from colleagues and people in her professional network. She says the EMBA lived up to her high expectations.
‘As part-time students, we often arrived at the sessions pretty tired after busy days at work. That makes both the academic quality and the teaching really important, and both were excellent. Who would have thought accounting could be so much fun?’ says Røkkum, with a nod to Professor Trond Bjørnenak, the EMBA programme director.
‘We are fortunate to have participants who really want to achieve more on our programmes,’ Bjørnenak responds.
‘It means that new knowledge is quickly put into practice and that participants bring real value back to their organisations. That is also reflected in the ranking,’ he says.
NHH placed 99th in this year’s Financial Times EMBA ranking. It is the first time since 2023 that NHH has returned to the top 100 in this ranking.
Røkkum highlights another major advantage of the EMBA programme at NHH Executive: her fellow students.
‘The level in my study group was incredibly high, with people from a wide range of industries and backgrounds. We were all dealing with different challenges at work, so it was great to have others who could contribute different perspectives and help each other out.’
Her time at NHH gave her not only new knowledge, but also a larger professional network.
‘We still meet regularly, in larger or smaller groups. Just yesterday, a fellow student invited me to be a guest on a podcast,’ she says.
HIGHEST-RANKED PROGRAMMES
- Kellogg/HKUST Business School (Hong Kong)
- CEIBS (China/Switzerland/Ghana)
- IESE Business School (Spain/USA/Germany/Brazil)
Each year, the Financial Times publishes five individual rankings. At the end of the year, these are combined into an overall ranking. The five rankings are:
- Global MBA
- Open Executive Education
- Custom Executive Education
- Masters in Management
- Executive MBA