Introdution

The Board has now adopted CBS Executive Fund’s Theory of Impact, which establishes an overarching strategic framework for how the fund’s activities and grants contribute to strengthening research, developing leadership competencies, and creating societal impact through collaboration between CBS and the business community.

For 2025, based on the 2024 financial statements, the Board has approved and allocated a total of DKK 10 million to six strategic initiatives that enhance CBS’s research, talent development, and international attractiveness, as well as the development of leadership competencies in a complex, global reality.

At the same time, the Board has decided that, based on the 2025 financial statements, the fund will allocate DKK 10 million in 2026 for new grants, which will continue to be prioritized within the fund’s strategic themes.

A Significant Development in the Fund's Grants

CBS Executive Fund’s grants for research and talent development have increased significantly in recent years. From a relatively modest level at the beginning of the decade, the grants have grown substantially, and in both 2025 and 2026, the Board has been able to allocate DKK 10 million annually to new strategic initiatives at CBS.

This development reflects the fund’s ambition to increasingly contribute to strengthening CBS’s research environments, international position, and the development of responsible leadership.

A Strategic Framework for CBS Execuitve Fonden's Impact

CBS Executive Fund’s Theory of Impact consolidates the fund’s activities into a single strategic framework, where research grants, leadership education, and the dissemination of CBS’s research collectively contribute to developing responsible leadership and strengthening CBS’s position as an international research environment.

With this new framework and increasing grants, CBS Executive Fund continues its work to create long-term impact through research, leadership development, and collaboration between CBS and the business community.

About the Grants

Grant to CBS Stipendiefonden
This grant supports scholarships for international CBS MBA Full-time students. The CBS Full-time MBA program significantly contributes to CBS’s internationalization strategy, including promoting CBS through various international and prestigious rankings. The number and quality of MBA students are crucial for participation in these rankings. Additionally, the Full-time MBA enables CBS to provide highly qualified international labor to the Danish workforce.

Grant to CBS Executive Fund Associate/Assistant Professor Chair Program
This grant supports research and education at CBS by attracting and retaining global research talent. This is achieved by establishing special “chairs” in the form of “CBS Executive Fonden Associate Professors” or “CBS Executive Fonden Assistant Professors.”

Grant to CBS Leadership Centre and the Strategic Focus on ‘Responsible Leadership’
This grant boosts efforts in leadership with a special focus on ‘Responsible Leadership.’ Such funding enables a significant scaling up of these efforts in the coming years, thereby positioning CBS even more strongly within leadership research. A dedicated focus on ‘Responsible Leadership’ also provides an opportunity to build greater synergy with the strategic focus on green transition.

Grant to PhD Graduation Day & CBS Executive Fonden PhD Award
This grant supports the establishment of a tradition of formal recognition and celebration of CBS’s PhD graduates. In connection with CBS’s 100th anniversary in 2017, a PhD Graduation Day was held, and CBS now wishes to revive this tradition with an annual event celebrating the previous year’s PhD graduates in the company of PhD alumni.

Grant to CBS’s Engagement in the Academy of Management Conference
This grant supports the project management of this initiative and the invitation of select international VIP guests who have contributed over the years to establishing and strengthening CBS’s position within the Academy of Management (AOM). The latter has been a contributing factor to AOM choosing Copenhagen as its first overseas conference destination.