In 2014, Harvard Business School announced the launch of HBX—an online learning platform dedicated to educating leaders who make a difference in the world, wherever they are.
Five years later, that mission hasn’t changed. What has, is the organization’s name and breadth and reach of its online courses.
HBX rebranded to Harvard Business School Online in early 2019 to help extend the reach of its programs. At the time of the news, Nitin Nohria, dean of Harvard Business School, said, “Through this innovation, we have brought much of what is special about the HBS experience to life online, helping us to achieve our educational mission in an entirely new medium.”
HBS Online’s portfolio has since grown to feature 12 courses, with two launching earlier this year: Global Business and Leadership Principles. Additional programs have been offered through our real-time, interactive online classroom, Live—including Developing Yourself as a Leader, Strategy Execution, and Scaling Ventures—enabling us to reach a total of more than 50,000 learners from 170-plus countries.
“In five years, we’ve gone from one online course open to a handful of learners to 12 courses and several virtual classroom programs that have provided world-class, case-based education to 50,000 participants,” says HBS Online Executive Director Patrick Mullane. “It’s been an amazing transformation from a small experiment to a globally respected suite of offerings that have helped change the lives of so many people.”
In a survey conducted by City Square Associates, nearly 1,000 past participants shared the career growth they achieved as a result of completing an HBS Online course. Among the highlights: 89 percent gained new business skills, 50 percent attracted more attention from recruiters, and 90 percent are more confident at work.
“I am so proud of what our team has done, but I’m prouder of all those who entrusted us with their professional education,” Mullane says. “They’re the reason we do what we do.”
For a closer look at HBS Online’s transformation over the last five years, explore the infographic below.
Are you interested in learning more about what HBS Online can do for you? Explore our course catalog to get started.