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Executives from all corners of the world will be heading to campus for the celebration of the UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive Education Program’s 50th anniversary.

The program began with a smaller number of classes than presently offered and were created to help executives enhance their leadership and management skills.

Programs aimed at turning creative ideas into business solutions and ones addressing women’s leadership issues are examples of courses offered.

Since its inception in 1954, the program has developed and grown, becoming an internationally renowned educational experience for executives.

Originally, the executives attending the program were from the local community around Southern California, said Alissa Materman, marketing director for the Office of the Executive Education Programs.

The programs now host around 2,000 executives annually, coming from countries around the world to be taught by faculty at the Anderson School.

Some companies who have participated in the programs include Federal Express, Xerox and Nike.

The amount and variety of classes offered to executives have also expanded, and over 40 management programs are now open for enrollment, Materman said.

The Medical Marketing Program is one of the classes that has remained on the enrollment list for 27 years.

“Pharmaceutical professionals attend the class because they need to learn about advancements in the medical field,” said Bart Bronnenberg, associate professor of marketing at the Anderson School. Bronnenberg has been teaching the course since 2001.

The class serves as a great forum for people who are in the medical marketing business because they are able to network with the professor and amongst themselves, he said.

The ever-changing atmosphere of medical business and business as a whole fits in with the programs’ goal of introducing executives to “the most recent innovations in management education.”

One of the programs’ recent innovations is personalized classes for individual companies.

Individual client companies can create customized courses to develop their business and work on specific needs.

Companies can opt to have the program taught anywhere they choose, and faculty are sent out to the chosen destination.

This option allows global program participants to remain in their respective locations while learning through Executive Education.

Materman said the Office of the Executive Education Programs is working to further develop its customized programs.

Program participants include not only major global companies, but also executives who have become headliners in the business world.

One of these business celebrities was Ruth Handler, the inventor of the Barbie doll. Handler attended the program early in the 1950s.

Handler’s daughter will accept a Distinguished Alumni Award for her at the anniversary celebration, Materman said.

The awards ceremony will highlight the achievements of program alumni who have made an impact on the business industry.

Both alumni and prospective program participants will attend the day-long festivities, receiving two free leadership sessions taught by Anderson School faculty.

All attendees will participate in a networking lunch with faculty, managers and executives affiliated with the program.