IESE Business School

About

IESE Business School in Barcelona is the undisputed leader of the search fund movement in Europe. The school's International Center for Entrepreneurial Finance and the Search Fund Accelerator have been instrumental in building the European ETA ecosystem since the early 2010s. Professors including Rob Johnson have led research, teaching, and outreach that brought the search fund model from the United States to Europe, Latin America, and beyond. IESE hosts the annual International Search Fund Conference, the largest gathering of search fund participants outside Stanford. The MBA curriculum includes a dedicated ETA elective covering deal sourcing, due diligence, negotiation, and post-acquisition operations. IESE's Search Fund Club is among the most active globally, and the school's alumni network includes dozens of successful European searchers. The school's case-method pedagogy and international student body make it the ideal launchpad for cross-border search funds.