The Global
The Global Leaders Institute equips arts professionals to grow creative enterprises that impact communities. Each year, a select Cohort of creative sector leaders is invited to the MBA in Arts Innovation.
Industry-focused
With modules co-curated by nine top university institutes at Harvard, Georgetown, Stanford, Duke, McGill, Oxford, London School of Economics, and more, the 12-month Global Arts MBA journey is guided by a world-class faculty that includes Nobel laureates, Grammy winners, Polar Prize awardees, TED presenters, and an institutional network of dynamic field partners spanning 40+ nations.
Nancy Usher
Associations
2021 Cohort
President
Fine Arts Deans
Herman Marigny
Museums
2025 Cohort
NMAAHC Director
The Smithsonian
Anna Hiemstra
Competitions
2019 Cohort
Concours Manager
Prinses Christina
Claudia Curiel
Policymakers
2021 Cohort
Minister of Culture
Mexico
Ivan Henares
Heritage
2023 Cohort
Secretary-General
UNESCO Philippines
Elizabeth Helgeson
Presenters
2026 Cohort
Director | Planning
NY Philharmonic
Toufic Maatouk
Funders
2021 Cohort
Deputy CEO
Abu Dhabi Arts
Atteqa Malik
Curators
2023 Cohort
Founding Chair
Karachi Biennale
Alberto Acquilino
Technologists
2022 Cohort
Neuroinformatics
Google
Hailey Sadler
Anthropologists
2026 Cohort
Explorer
National Geographic
Jessica Philips
Artists2023 Cohort
Principal Clarinet
Metropolitan Opera
Elsje Kibler
Strategists
2026 Cohort
Vice President
LA Phil
Olivier Tarpaga
Educators
2026 Cohort
Senior Lecturer
Princeton University
The Global Arts MBA provides creative leaders with an enhanced toolkit to drive accelerated career growth and sustainable impact. Cohort Members range from cultural managers, arts entrepreneurs, and industry executives to presenters, producers, curators, education leaders, career artists, and more.
The 12-month MBA in Arts Innovation learning journey uniquely addresses the complex challenges of today’s creative impact landscape through a carefully curated sequence of modules, explorative substreams, collaboration labs, and dynamic field exchanges.
Arts Accelerator
Combining the flexibility of distributed learning with the immersive power of in-person retreats, the MBA in Arts Innovation instills a growth experience for rising cultural executives that is as efficient as it is transformative.
The Arts Innovation MBA curriculum empowers creative industry professionals in multi-dimensional leadership roles with powerful social science, innovation, entrepreneurial, and operational tools for accelerated career impact. The curriculum readies participants for the complex challenges of an evolving cultural sector through its unique balance of foundational coursework, tailored substreams, immersive field studies, innovation summits, applied learnings, reflective labs, and growth-oriented retreats, all curated by top academic institutions to build practical skills and actionable insights.
44
Nations
The 2026 Cohort brings together a robust network of dynamic change-makers in the arts across six continents, connecting the best and the brightest.
Roles
Job Growth
By generating more value for their organizations, Cohort Members increase average income by 18% & 32% in the first and second years after the MBA.
32%
Immersive Fieldwork
accelerates professional growth through hands-on work exchange across cultures & industries.
Innovation Summits
in Europe and the Americas offer transformative real-world experiences with world-class faculty & peers.
Fellows Snapshots
Andrea Ruy Sanchez
Publishers
2025 Arts MBA
Cultural Manager
Artes de México
Elisabeth Gustave
Film
2024 Arts MBA
Director
Festival Monde En Vues
Michael Bobbit
Public service
2025 Arts MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Mass Cultural Council
Gabriela Fals
Festivals
2025 Arts MBA
Administrative Director
Cartagena Music Festival
Renata Borowska
Venues
2025 Arts MBA
General Director
Poznań Opera House
Majo Morales
Influencers
2022 Arts MBA
100 Most Powerful Women
Forbes Latin America
Katharina Nikelski
Dance
2026 Arts MBA
First Artist
The Royal Ballet
Lisa Schlinkmann
Foundations
2025 Arts MBA
Director of Development
Daniel Barenboim Foundation
Trigmatic
Hitmakers
2026 Arts MBA
Record of the Year
Ghana Music Awards
Christina Soriano
Principals
2025 Arts MBA
Vice Provost of the Arts
Wake Forest University
Global Arts Prize
Recognizing innovation in
the world of culture.
The Global Arts Prize celebrates cultural organizations spearheading an innovative approach to the relevance of the arts in our time. Each year, $60,000 is awarded between two initiatives — regardless of size, location, or focus area — for their contributions to the future of the sector.
1. What made this feel like the right moment to write Lo—TEK Water? This felt like the right moment because we are living at a threshold—ecological, cultural, and technological—where the consequences of extraction-based thinking are no longer abstract, and water crises are revealing systemic fragilities across the globe. At the
In finance, compound interest is often described as one of the most powerful forces in wealth creation. Small gains accumulate over time, and each gain begins to generate new gains. Creative work often follows a similar pattern. Most cultural influence does not emerge from a single breakthrough moment. It develops
1. In a few sentences, what does impact mean in the context of your work? For me, impact is bringing rigorous evidence to inform education policy decisions, so that all children get a quality education that sets them up to flourish and thrive. I’ve been fortunate to devote my career
1. What made this feel like the right moment to write Lo—TEK Water? This felt like the right moment because we are living at a threshold—ecological, cultural, and technological—where the consequences of extraction-based thinking are no longer abstract, and water crises are revealing systemic fragilities across the globe. At the
In finance, compound interest is often described as one of the most powerful forces in wealth creation. Small gains accumulate over time, and each gain begins to generate new gains. Creative work often follows a similar pattern. Most cultural influence does not emerge from a single breakthrough moment. It develops
1. In a few sentences, what does impact mean in the context of your work? For me, impact is bringing rigorous evidence to inform education policy decisions, so that all children get a quality education that sets them up to flourish and thrive. I’ve been fortunate to devote my career
