Leadership today is no longer defined by operational excellence alone. In an environment shaped by disruption, complexity, and scrutiny, senior leaders are expected not just to decide, but to justify decisions with strategic foresight and evidence. Yet a clear capability gap persists: while over 60% of leaders1 identify future-focused skills, such as strategy, change leadership, and prioritisation, as critical, fewer than 40% report1 having developed them in a meaningful way.For many accomplished professionals, this is the point where traditional executive education starts to deliver diminishing returns. Short programmes refine technique, but they rarely build the intellectual authority required to shape strategy, influence stakeholders, or generate original insight. This is where leaders begin to ask a different question: How do I think more deeply, credibly, and decisively at the highest level? For those leaders, research-led development such as a Doctor of Business Administration, offers a fundamentally different path.At senior levels, advantage no longer comes from mastering more frameworks. It comes from clarity of thought, research literacy, and the ability to defend strategy with evidence. With fewer than 2% of postgraduate business professionals2 globally holding a doctorate, the DBA has emerged as a powerful marker of distinction, signalling not just the application of knowledge, but the creation of it. In an era where leadership demands defensible, future-oriented decisions, the message is clear: leadership today doesn’t just need opinions. It needs footnotes.The IPAG Business School DBA: Global rigour anchored in leadership practiceThe Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from IPAG Business School, delivered in collaboration with Xavier School of Management (XLRI), is designed for experienced professionals seeking to elevate their influence while continuing to lead in their careers. The programme blends global academic rigour with applied research, enabling leaders to tackle complex organisational challenges and deliver strategically defensible decisions across boardrooms, consulting engagements, and academic platforms.The programme’s credibility stems from the combined strengths of its partners: IPAG Business School, an AACSB-accredited institution, a recognition achieved by only the top 6% of business schools worldwide,while XLRI brings industry relevance, intellectual discipline, and ethical leadership, enhancing the doctorate’s value in India and across global markets. For senior professionals, this dual recognition ensures the DBA is not just a qualification, but a marker of executive authority, thought leadership, and enduring professional impact.How the DBA translates into leadership advantage
- Doctor of Business Administration Degree (from IPAG, France): A globally recognised doctoral qualification that strengthens executive authority and international credibility.
- Customised specialisation pathways: Participants get an opportunity design their own doctoral specialisation. This personalisation is enabled through structured research seminars, where learners engage with advanced academic and applied research, refine research questions, and shape a focused, future-relevant doctoral pathway under faculty guidance.
- Postgraduate certificate in research from XLRI, India: Formal recognition of advanced research capability from one of India’s most respected management institutions.
- Research-led pedagogy with practical impact: Rigorous doctoral research designed to address real organisational, strategic, and policy-level challenges.
- Final research paper analysis & presentation: Doctoral research guided by IPAG ensuring academic depth and real-world relevance.Campus immersion experience: Three mandatory five-day immersions at XLRI Delhi-NCR, with an optional international immersion at IPAG Paris or Nice to broaden global perspective.
Beyond the degree: Strategic advantage and leadership identityFor senior professionals, the DBA is not an academic milestone — it is a strategic leadership differentiator. The programme develops the ability to think like a researcher while leading with executive judgment, enabling leaders to operate with greater authority, clarity, and influence.
- Doctoral authority at the executive level: The ‘Dr.’ title signals intellectual leadership, strengthening credibility in boardrooms, governance forums, and high-stakes decision environments.
- Research-led strategic impact: Advanced research capability enables leaders to frame complex problems rigorously, challenge assumptions, and design evidence-based solutions that influence organisational and policy-level strategy.
- Sharper critical thinking and analytical depth: Leaders develop the ability to evaluate complexity objectively, synthesise diverse perspectives, and make defensible decisions in uncertain, high-pressure contexts.
- Expanded global and career influence: The DBA opens pathways to CXO and board roles, strategic consulting, thought leadership, and academic engagement, without requiring a transition away from senior industry roles.
Graduates often leverage the programme to publish research, advise organisations at a strategic level, contribute to industry and policy discussions, or engage with academia as adjunct faculty, while continuing to lead at the highest levels of practice.Who is this programme forThe IPAG DBA with XLRI Certificate is designed for mid-management leaders, senior professionals, and industry veterans who are ready to expand their influence beyond operational leadership.
- Leaders preparing for CXO, board, or governance roles
- Professionals seeking to formalise experience into recognised academic and leadership credentials
- Executives aspiring to thought leadership through publishing, consulting, or academia
- Senior professionals aiming to deepen expertise in strategy, digital transformation, AI, ESG, and innovation
- Leaders motivated by global recognition, intellectual authority, and long-term professional legacy
Key programme details
- Programme duration: 3 years, structured for working professionals
- Pedagogy: 100% live online sessions with mandatory campus immersions
- Programme fee: INR 13,20,000 + GST (immersion fees additional)
- Eligibility: Master’s degree with 3 years, Bachelor’s with 8 years, or Diploma with 10 years of work experience
- Selection process: Eligibility review by Emeritus
- Language requirement: IELTS 6.0 / TOEFL iBT 80 or equivalent (waived if prior education was in English)
- Documents required: Academic records, resume, statement of purpose (mandatory); research proposal (optional)
- Programme commencement Date: 31 March 2026
A strategic investment in leadership legacyFor leaders who have mastered execution, the next phase of influence is defined by intellectual depth, research-backed authority, and global credibility. The IPAG Doctor of Business Administration with XLRI Certificate is not about adding another qualification, it is about transforming how leaders think, decide, and are perceived.For senior professionals ready to shape strategy, influence thought, and leave a lasting professional legacy, the DBA represents a decisive step forward.Reference:
- https://stevenarmstrong.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/global-leadership-forecast-2025-report.pdf
- https://hbr.org/sponsored/2022/08/why-a-doctorate-in-business-administration-is-becoming-more-valuable
Disclaimer: The article has been produced on behalf of Emeritus by the Times Internet’s Spotlight team.
