Bertelsmann’s phenomenal growth and internationalization in the late 1990s gave rise to the idea to establish a platform for top executive education, where participants could engage in dialogue and exchange views about the company’s future. The Bertelsmann CEO and the executive board jointly decided to found Bertelsmann University, and to contribute actively and personally to its success.

The Corporate University was seen as a crucial tool to maintain the Group’s ability to compete in constantly changing markets while at the same time facilitating the corporate culture of partnership and entrepreneurship that is characteristic of Bertelsmann.

The two first international Bertelsmann University programs were initiated straight away: Mastering New Challenges (MNC, in co-operation with Harvard Business School) and the State-of-the-Art-Fora (a high-level conference).  These were followed in 2000 by Preparing for Opportunities (PFO). MNC II Leadership was launched in 2004 to provide managers who had previously participated in MNC with a deeper understanding of leadership issues.

It was in 2000 that the long running and very successful German program “Grundkurs Führen“ (“Basics in Leadership“) was enhanced and integrated into the University’s program portfolio. In the following years it was turned into what is now the “Leadership Program“ (LP), and the new program was implemented in France, Spain, the United States, China and the UK. The regional program portfolio was further expanded in 2004 with the introduction of the “Senior Management Program“ (SMP) , pursued in both Germany and Spain today. SMP II followed in 2005, providing participants who had previously attended SMP with additional knowledge on leadership.

Since it was founded, Bertelsmann University has continually updated and enhanced  its portfolio . MNC Mastering New Challenges was updated  and is now called MNC 2.0. The State-of-the-Art  Fora  were re-designed and are now called Innovation for Growth . As part of the Bertelsmann innovation initiative, the international program portfolio was expanded and now offers Innovation JumpStart . This program provides participants with knowledge and tools to facilitate innovation in their division.