Paul Strebel, International Institute of Management Development (IMD), Lausanne, Switzerland IMD is an independent not-for-profit foundation based in Switzerland. It was set up over 50 years ago by a few leading corporations to address the real challenges that leading managers face in everyday business. Since then, IMD has been working closely with businesses to develop people through a number of different courses at Executive and MBA level. IMD takes a 'Real World. Real Learning' approach that combines academic rigour with practical solutions. IMD is a truly international school, with faculty from 18 countries, close links with over 130 corporations worldwide, and was ranked in Business Week and the US News & World Report in 1997 as one of the world's most eminent business schools.