“We were the first”: re­flec­tions from the CBS EMBA’s pi­on­eer­ing co­hort

First steps

When Jørgen Leif Stilling joined the very first Executive MBA cohort at Copenhagen Business School (CBS), the programme represented something entirely new for Denmark. Executive MBA education was still emerging across Europe, and CBS had just launched its own programme for experienced managers looking to deepen their leadership and strategic expertise.

Stilling, who was CEO of a French food company operating in Denmark at the time, was among the first to enrol. “We were the first ones in Denmark,” he recalls. The programme quickly attracted attention. Business publications and management magazines were curious about this new form of executive education, and the participants found they had become something of a talking point in the Danish business community.

“Everybody wanted to write about us,” Stilling says. “We were hot stuff at that time, taking an MBA.” The inaugural class consisted of just 27 participants – all Danish, except one French Danish speaking – bringing together executives from across industries who were willing to commit two years to an ambitious new programme.

Joining the first cohort

For Stilling, the decision to pursue an EMBA was the natural next step in his career. Over the years he had attended several management courses. Those experiences had sparked his interest in a more comprehensive executive education.

He considered applying for an MBA in Oxford, but realised that the required leave of absence would be difficult to balance with his work and family responsibilities. Instead, he wrote to CBS to ask why Denmark did not yet offer a similar programme. Soon afterwards, CBS launched its own Executive MBA – and Stilling applied.

The structure of the programme reflected the realities of executive life back then. Classes were held every Friday evening from five to nine, followed by sessions on Saturdays from nine in the morning until early afternoon. Stilling still remembers the rhythm of those weekends. “Then I came home, pretty exhausted, and had dinner with my wife.”

The routine continued week after week for two years while he continued to lead the company and travel regularly across France and the Nordic region. “It was tough,” he says. “I was CEO at a French group and travelling a lot, so I had to do all the reading when I was travelling.” Despite the demanding schedule, the atmosphere among the cohort was energising. Participants formed strong friendships and often spent time together outside the classroom.

After the group submitted its first major assignment, Stilling – who had become the unofficial class spokesperson – proposed a celebration. “I said, ‘Now we go and get drunk!’” he laughs. The resulting bar visit became something of a tradition and eventually helped spark the formation of the EMBA alumni network.

Learning from peers

From the start, the programme encouraged open discussion and debate between participants and faculty. Many members of the cohort already held senior roles in their industries, and their experience frequently shaped the direction of classroom conversations.

“It was, in a way, an experiment,” Stilling says. “Everything was discussed.”

One lecture on wind energy offered a memorable example. As the professor began presenting insights about the industry, it quickly became clear that several of Denmark’s leading wind sector specialists were sitting among the students. “He had not seen that two or three of the most experienced people in Denmark in the wind sector were sitting in the class,” Stilling recalls.

The discussion quickly shifted as those executives began contributing their own perspectives. Experiences like this shaped Stilling’s understanding of executive education and later influenced his own teaching philosophy. “It felt as though perhaps half of the content was from the participants,” he says. For experienced executives, learning from one another proved just as valuable as learning from textbooks.

A turning point in his career

The EMBA broadened Stilling’s understanding of leadership across disciplines, from strategy and logistics to communication and organisational design. Looking back, he believes the programme gave him a comprehensive framework for understanding management and organisational leadership.

That knowledge proved valuable in the years that followed. After leaving the company where he had served as CEO, Stilling moved into a new role as sales and marketing director and part-owner of another company. When that venture later ended, an unexpected opportunity emerged that would change the direction of his career.

He transitioned into academia – first at another university before returning to CBS – where he would spend more than two decades teaching and supervising students. In time, he also returned to the EMBA programme itself, serving part-time as programme development director and programme director.

“I was headhunted to the CBS MBA programme,” he says. What began as a step towards advancing his executive career ultimately reshaped his professional life entirely. Reflecting on that transition today, he says, “I would never have been in academia without starting the EMBA.”

Reuniting after three decades

Earlier this year, Stilling helped organise a reunion for the first EMBA cohort. “I suddenly realised: now it’s 30 years since we finished,” he says. In the end, nine of the 27 participants were able to attend. Some were travelling, while others had sadly passed away.

Yet when the group met, the atmosphere felt instantly familiar. “After two minutes, we had just as much fun as at that time,” Stilling says. Despite the decades that had passed, the bonds formed during the programme were still intact, and the group quickly rediscovered the same easy camaraderie that had defined their time as students.

“It was so easy to connect again,” he adds.

From Danish programme to global community

Much has changed since those early years. The first EMBA cohort was composed entirely of Danish participants, and parts of the programme were taught in Danish. As the programme evolved, CBS gradually expanded its ambitions and its international reach.

When Stilling later became involved in the programme’s development, he helped introduce a major change by moving the programme fully into English. The shift expanded the programme’s reach beyond Denmark and helped attract participants from across Scandinavia and further afield.

Today, the CBS Executive MBA welcomes professionals from around the world. Looking at the programme now, Stilling sees a clear transformation from the small national initiative he joined three decades ago.

“It’s much more international than at that time,” he says. “It’s a global programme.”

Part of the CBS family

For Stilling, the EMBA remains closely tied to his personal and professional journey. Over the years, his connection with CBS grew far beyond that initial two-year programme, eventually leading to more than two decades of teaching and mentoring students.

“It’s part of my family,” he says.

Looking back over 30 years, he believes the programme’s lasting strength lies not only in the academic frameworks it provides but also in the exchange of ideas between experienced professionals. Executive education, he says, is about learning from the people sitting beside you as much as from the professors at the front of the room.

That collaborative spirit defined the first EMBA cohort – and continues to shape the programme today.