"Like Nestlé, IMD strongly believes that there should be more women in management, and one way that we can contribute is by giving more women the opportunity to study at top business schools," says Jim Pulcrano, an Executive Director at IMD. "We don't want deserving women to put off studying at IMD due to the cost of the program, which is why the criteria for this scholarship include both academic excellence and financial need."

The current scholarship holder, Rachna Dayal of India, chose IMD for its international perspective – something that she says is critical in an increasingly globalized marketplace. So far she has found the program both intense and hectic. "This is good, as I came here expecting no less," says Dayal, who trained as an engineer before moving into business development. "I believe that IMD is doing an excellent job in preparing us for challenging careers. Management jobs today are complex and demanding, and IMD provides the right mix of tools that are helping us to develop and grow as skilled managers. I am also impressed by IMD's willingness to help and support us in personal growth, which provides the right foundation for corporate leadership and responsibility."

The Nestlé MBA Scholarship was established in 1996 after a team of women MBAs from the class of 1995 completed a project called "Changing the shape of business" and then Nestlé gladly agreed to fund the scholarship.

The complete list of winners is as follows:

2009 - Olivia Asserto, Italian
2008 - Petra Kazdova, Czech
2007 - Serena Shamash, Kenyan
2006 - Parvathy Sankar, Indian
2005 - Smita Choudhary, Indian
2004 - Julia Pan, Chinese
2003 - Tra-Mi Phan, French
2002 - Natalia Leonova, Russian
2001 - Deana Boomestar, Croatian
2000 - Na Ye, Chinese
1999 - Carla Sinanian, Lebanese
1998 - Joanna Gremouti, Greek
1997 - Bola Bamidele, Nigerian / British

Pulcrano noted the importance of having a major company such as Nestlé sponsor the scholarship. "Nestlé recognizes that it does not have as many women in senior management positions as it would like, but it is committed to changing that balance through schemes such as this as well as its gender diversity program," he said.

The scholarship is open to accepted women candidates from around the globe (employees of Nestlé and its subsidiaries are not eligible) and preference is given to women who come from the developing world. IMD is determined to maximize the number of eligible women who benefit from its various financial aid packages, so judges from IMD and Nestlé, concentrate on candidates who will not be receiving other scholarships. Candidates should submit a 750-word essay discussing the topic: "Does diversity in management impact the bottom line? If so, how?" Entries must be received by September 30. 

Learn more.
http://www.imd.ch

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IMD is consistently top-ranked among business schools worldwide. With more than 60 years' experience, IMD takes a real world, real learning approach to executive education. IMD offers pioneering and collaborative solutions to address clients' challenges. Our perspective is international – we understand the complexity of the global environment. Real-impact executive learning and leadership development at IMD enables participants to learn more, deliver more and be more.