More and more business leaders like Elizabeth Bacon are recognizing the value of Georgia Tech's Global Executive MBA.

Bacon, president of Il Vino Imports LLC, is a member of the new class of Global Executive MBA students that started July 30. Enrollment in her class, which includes 48 students, is 152 percent larger than the class entering the previous year.

"Georgia Tech is allowing business leaders to step up in the global business arena, and I'm excited to be a part of it," Bacon says.

Georgia Tech started the Global Executive MBA program in 2005 to fine-tune the skills and knowledge of business leaders who want to shift their career toward international business and/or better understand global business issues. Enhancing traditional MBA coursework, the program provides international perspectives on finance, operations, economics, and marketing, teaching participants to successfully lead and innovate in today's rapidly changing world of high-tech business.

"Few programs can match Georgia Tech's in such key areas as global supply chain management, global outsourcing and service delivery, emerging technologies, managing innovation, and sustainable business practices," notes College of Management Dean Steve Salbu.

Bacon says she knew her Global Executive MBA education would benefit both of her businesses. She and her husband, Ken, also own Mr. Electric of West Central Georgia. "Our manufacturers are moving to China, and we need to gain a better understanding of that shift," she explains.

Bacon, who earned her bachelor's degree in electric engineering from Georgia Tech in 1996, was working as an international engineering liaison in Tuscany, Italy, when she decided to combine her loves of wine and business. During that assignment, she spent her free time studying under a well-respected sommelier, gaining wine expertise that has helped Il Vino Imports flourish. After earning her Global Executive MBA, Bacons plans to continue growing her current companies and may even work as an international consultant.

Students begin the 17-month Global Executive MBA program every August with one week of classes at Georgia Tech, then return to campus every two weeks for Friday evening and Saturday courses. They go on overseas trips in the second and third semesters. At the end of the fourth semester, they complete another full week of classes at Tech before graduating in December. The countries visited by Global Executive MBA students vary from year to year.