Global Arts MBA
Each year, a select Cohort of creative sector leaders is invited to the MBA in Arts Innovation.
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, University of Chicago, 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.
Cohort Profile
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.
Nancy Usher
2021 Cohort
President
Fine Arts Deans
Museums
Herman Marigny
2025 Cohort
NMAAHC Director
The Smithsonian
Policymakers
Claudia Curiel
2021 Cohort
Minister of Culture
Mexico
Heritage
Ivan Henares
2023 Cohort
Secretary-General
UNESCO Philippines
Presenters
Elizabeth Helgeson
2026 Cohort
Director | Planning
NY Philharmonic
Toufic Maatouk
2021 Cohort
Deputy CEO
Abu Dhabi Arts
Curators
Atteqa Malik
2023 Cohort
Founding Chair
Karachi Biennale
Technologists
Alberto Acquilino
2022 Cohort
Neuroinformatics
Google
Hailey Sadler
2026 Cohort
Explorer
National Geographic
Artists
Jessica Philips
2023 Cohort
Principal Clarinet
Metropolitan Opera
Elsje Kibler
2026 Cohort
Vice President
LA Phil
Olivier Tarpaga
2026 Cohort
Senior Lecturer
Princeton University
MBA for Culture
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.
Module Curators
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.
Cohort by Numbers
Nations
The 2025 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.
Global Perspective
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 Snapshot
Public service
Michael Bobbit
2025 Arts MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Mass Cultural Council
Festivals
Gabriela Fals
2025 Arts MBA
Administrative Director
Cartagena Music Festival
Venues
Renata Borowska
2025 Arts MBA
General Director
Poznań Opera House
Influencers
Majo Morales
2022 Arts MBA
100 Most Powerful Women
Forbes Latin America
Dance
Katharina Nikelski
2026 Cohort
First Artist
The Royal Ballet
Foundations
Lisa Schlinkmann
2025 Arts MBA
Director of Development
Daniel Barenboim Foundation
Trigmatic
2026 Arts MBA
Record of the Year
Ghana Music Awards
Christina Soriano
2025 Arts MBA
Vice Provost of the Arts
Wake Forest University
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.
Sector Insights
Most strategic plans follow a familiar formula: assess where you are, define where you want to go, and plot a path to get there. But what happens when the future is too uncertain or full of possibilities for a single path to make sense? That’s the question behind the Odyssey
No matter where you live — whether you realize it or not — you fund the arts. The question isn’t if citizens support cultural production, but how they do it, and more importantly, who decides what cultural projects deserve support. Understanding the macroeconomics of culture reveals a surprisingly consistent pattern
A Strategic Lens for Understanding How Cultural Organizations Create Value The theory of Jobs to Be Done (JTBD), introduced by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, reframed how businesses understand customer choices: people don’t buy products, they hire them to fulfill specific life goals. Christensen said, “People don’t want a
