The Executive MBA program at Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School has been listed in the Financial Times 2010 EMBA rankings as one of the top 100 EMBA programs worldwide.

The Sawyer Business School’s Executive MBA program, the first in New England when it was established in 1975, is one of only two ranked EMBA programs in the region.

The Saturday-only Executive MBA program continually evolves to meet contemporary graduate business education needs. Today, it emphasizes global business leadership in response to an identified need to prepare managers who can fill the shoes of retiring “Baby Boom” leaders.

“This recognition says we are connecting with the needs of the global business community as well as the important value issues of our students and future leaders,” said Suffolk Professor Michael Barretti, director of the Institute of Executive Education and academic director of the Executive MBA program.

The Financial Times, an international business newspaper based in London, uses extensive alumni surveys in preparing its rankings. This year’s list was based on interviews with the Class of 2007, evaluating how completion of the Executive MBA program impacted graduates’ career progress, salary growth, and realization of personal and professional goals.

The rankings also reflect faculty scholarship, professional qualifications and international experience; the EMBA curriculum; program management; and University oversight.

“This ranking is a credit to our program’s leadership, and is a reflection of our faculty, students and alumni; it is they who made this recognition once more possible. This achievement clearly reflects the value of the Sawyer Business School’s global mission and focus,” said William J. O’Neill Jr., dean of the Sawyer Business School.

Executive MBA graduates now make up 5 percent of the total 140,000 MBAs who graduate worldwide each year, resulting in a strong point of distinction in the job market. To remedy the continuing demands of students’ work and personal responsibilities, the Sawyer Business School program employs a blended curriculum of in-class and online coursework to provide greater flexibility. Its students are business leaders who choose the program due to its multidisciplinary, cross-functional approach to achieving desired outcomes. They have access to a global alumni network and tuition-free postgraduate learning opportunities.