The placement trends at the London Business School MBA are one of the closest to a real-time snapshot of global opportunities. With over 90% international students, the post-LBS MBA opportunities are not entirely in the UK or London.
For the 2025 LBS MBA Graduating Class Salary and Placement trends by Region, we cover:
• London and the US Survived: International Placements Didn’t
• Asia: Weak Cues from Hong Kong
• Africa / Middle East: Lower Share and Crash in PE Roles
• North America: The Market Makers
• Latin America: Shifted to Consulting and Corporate Roles
• Europe: Strategy Roles Declined
London and the US Survived: International Placements Didn’t
UK placements fell from 45% to 43%, and the PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) mean salary declined from $134,264 to $128,284.
With a 40-25-25% post-MBA job distribution in Consulting, Finance, and Technology, the 2% fall is an answer to the long-held debate on the value of Strategic consulting and the fast dethroning of this coveted post-MBA role.
Decline in Strategy Consulting
There were defined paths to these Strategy roles.
Many employees sponsored by McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Bain & Company followed their call to an MBA with little regard for the opportunity cost.
It was true in 2022, but then AI entered.
Clients understood that the fancy PowerPoints can be replicated by Claude 5 in just a few minutes.
Worst, clients began to ask for more.
Middle-East and North Africa: Not Shining Any More
These large consulting companies that flew LBS MBA consultants to the Middle-East, North Africa, for lucrative Oil and Gas projects were now keen to find technologists to support their oil-rich economies.
Getting AI Talent to the Desert
Technologists love lifestyles.
The aggressive loosening of alcohol law and bringing dependants to the Middle East, a copycat incentive from the H1B era, seems not to work fully.
It worked for the superyacht owners and businesses in the UK, fleeing from funding the NHS.
Mismatch in Incentive
True technologists are the capitalist who loves the weather and tolerate the winters in the US. They are the idealists earning their first million in the next 4 years, not the millionaires and yacht owners with $2-30m to spare.
UK was set to Lose the AI Race
Unlike the US, where President Trump has adopted a light-touch approach to regulating AI, the UK has a strong data privacy guardrail, including GDPR.
AI thrives on the ‘loose’ scraping of data from unsuspecting customers and citizens.
UK by design was set to lose. And it showed up in the data in 2025.
Location Mattered. The US Mattered.
When Investment Banking and PE firms experienced a resurgence after sitting on dry powder for 3 years, LBS should have benefited.
The salary decline shows how correlated Finance compensation is to the epicenter of deal-making.
But with over $1.1 trillion in dry powder by the end of 2025, regulatory expertise of London and the UK might be unique expertise when AI desperately seek ROI.
UK’s Lost Deal Volume: Affected Finance Compensations in London
UK deal activity remained subdued through most of 2024, with fewer sponsor-backed transactions and limited IPO recovery, which limited creative bonus structures in finance.
The Big Cs shifted to their safe bets in public-sector, regulatory, and cost-reduction projects, which carry smaller bonus pools and even smaller base pay than transaction strategy or AI integration projects.
Technology Emerged a Winner: At Lower Compensation
Technology hiring in London was concentrated in enterprise software, cloud partnerships, and fintech compliance. These positions offer solid base pay but lower variable compensation, contributing to the PPP decline.
Wide Industry Dispersion: Affected Post-MBA Salary
Corporate hiring in supply chain, healthcare commercial strategy, and energy transition also increased, reinforcing a function-driven role mix.
The result is a stable UK share with lower average pay.
Asia: Weak Cues from Hong Kong
Asia increased from 12% to 14% of placements, while the PPP mean salary fell sharply from $210,409 to $132,461.
The prior year’s figure was influenced by a small number of very high-paying roles, particularly in private equity and investment banking in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The sharp decline can only be attributed to the outsized representation of Hong Kongers, working in Finance.
The deal volume vs. Compensation held true in Asia as well, when Hong Kong experienced a sharp -64% decline in deal value contribution and Singapore, experienced an +18% increase in deal value.
Singapore’s growth and AI readiness were the saving grace, keeping LBS MBA compensation in Asia above the $130,000 mark.
Still, Singapore is one of the costliest cities.
The contrast is visible for INSEAD MBA graduates choosing one of the campuses.
Shift towards Technology and Openings in Southeast Asia Affected Compensation
In the current cycle, the sector mix shifted toward consulting, technology, and corporate strategy roles across Singapore, India, and Southeast Asia, which offer lower PPP-adjusted compensation.
Regional growth in digital transformation, supply-chain diversification, and payments supported consulting and technology recruitment.
Singapore – Affected By Slow China Deals
Singapore continued to hire in wealth management and fintech, though front-office investment banking remained selective due to slower China-related deal flow.
India – Vibrant Deals but lower PPP Pay
India contributed technology and operations roles tied to global capability centres, which increases placement numbers but lowers the average PPP salary because compensation is benchmarked to local markets.
Asia absorbed more graduates through consulting, technology, and corporate functions rather than a small number of high-paying finance roles.
LBS MBA couldn’t position graduates for lucrative openings in Asia.
Africa / Middle East: Lower Share and Crash in PE Roles
Africa and the Middle East declined from 14% to 11% of placements, and the PPP mean salary fell from $248,605 to $144,158.
The previous year’s very high PPP figure was driven by a small number of private equity and sovereign investment roles in Gulf financial centres, which carry large bonuses and tax-free cash compensation that inflate PPP-adjusted averages.
In the current cycle, the hiring mix shifted toward consulting, corporate strategy, and government transformation roles in Riyadh, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, which offer strong base salaries but lower variable pay than buyout and principal investment positions.
How Changing Projects in the Gulf Affected Compensation
Gulf hiring was influenced by two parallel trends.
Sovereign-backed programs under Saudi Vision 2030 and large-scale infrastructure and giga-project delivery continued to generate consulting and operating roles, supporting placement volume. But the largest share of GCC-based PE investments was in North America.
Even though the US Federal government favors global data mobility, state laws prohibit the free flow of sensitive data. The safeguards and competition from Amazon and Microsoft, two giants driving the Federal Clouds (AWS Gov Cloud and Azure Government), put tremendous restrictions on delivering AI infrastructure solutions that are often tied to this data.
With the most trainable data in healthcare and the public sector, the former protected by regulation and the latter restricted by competition, the underlying AI solution in GCC is weak by location.
The structural challenge affected the regulatory-related consulting and AI integration opportunities in the Gulf.
The dilemma of PE projects serving the technology and AI hyperscalers in the US explains the sharp salary crash for consulting opportunities in the region.
North America: The Market Makers
North America increased from 10% to 12% of placements, and the PPP mean salary rose from $167,555 to $189,549, the highest among all regions.
The increase reflects a concentration of roles in consulting, investment management, and technology product functions in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Toronto, where compensation levels remain structurally higher.
American Strength – Clearly Visible in LBS MBA Placement Trends
During Q3 2024–Q2 2025, US consulting hiring remained more resilient than in Europe, particularly in cost transformation, healthcare, and public-sector advisory, which supported MBA intake. Asset management firms continued to hire in credit, multi-asset, and ETF strategies as higher interest rates sustained demand for income products.
Technology hiring in the US was selective but focused on revenue-generating cloud and enterprise segments, which offer higher base salaries than comparable roles in Europe.
US Openings – Aligned with Market Makers
The rise in regional share also reflects reduced visa friction for candidates with prior US work experience and the concentration of high-paying buy-side and consulting roles in the US market. Unlike the Middle East, where the mix shifted away from principal investing, North America’s finance placements were more weighted toward asset management and credit strategies that maintained hiring through the cycle.
Needless to say, the placements in North America were aligned with the Market Makers.
Latin America: Shifted to Consulting and Corporate Roles
Placements in Latin America increased from 8% to 10% of placements, while the PPP mean salary fell from $204,923 to $149,459. The prior year’s high average was driven by a small number of private equity and investment banking roles, primarily in São Paulo and Mexico City, which carry large variable pay.
In the current cycle, hiring expanded in consulting, consumer goods, and fintech strategy, which raised placement volume but lowered the PPP average because these roles have smaller bonus components.
Regional economic conditions support this shift.
Brazil’s policy rate began to decline during 2024, which encouraged corporate investment and consulting demand in operations and commercial strategy.
Mexico benefited from nearshoring fund flows triggered by North American supply chains, generating opportunities in manufacturing strategy and logistics.
Fintech hiring in Brazil and Mexico continued in payments and digital banking, though these are typically lower-compensation roles than principal investing.
The sectoral data from LBS shows stable consulting and reduced private equity share, aligning with this regional pattern: Latin America absorbed more graduates through capability-based roles.
Europe: Strategy Roles Declined
Continental Europe declined marginally from 9% to 8%, and the PPP mean salary dropped from $147,387 to $99,794.
Weaker Hiring in IB and PE
The fall reflects weaker hiring in investment banking and private equity in Paris, Frankfurt, and Zurich, where deal activity remained subdued through most of 2024. At the same time, placements increased in technology operations in Dublin and Amsterdam. Consulting delivery centres and corporate transformation roles also experienced a surge in Germany and the Netherlands. These functions offer lower variable compensation, which pulls down the regional average.
Decline in Strategy Positions in Europe
Industrial slowdown in Germany and slower consumer demand across the euro area also reduced corporate development hiring, shifting MBA roles toward supply-chain resilience, procurement, and digital transformation. This mirrors the diversified-sector trend at LBS, where operations and analytics roles replaced higher-paid strategy positions.
The result is a modest decline in share and a significant PPP pay reduction driven by sectoral rebalancing.
Oceania: Stable Share, Pay Increase from Consulting and Infrastructure Roles
Oceania remained at 2% of placements, while the PPP mean salary increased from $125,409 to $138,526.
Hiring was concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne, with roles in consulting, infrastructure advisory, and asset management.
Australia’s Push to Infrastructure and Energy Transition
Australia’s continued public investment in transport, energy transition, and urban infrastructure supported demand for strategy and project finance talent, which typically offers higher base salaries than corporate general management roles.
Because the region has a small placement base, a limited number of high-paying consulting and infrastructure positions can raise the PPP average without changing the overall share. The sector mix, consulting and long-horizon investment roles, aligns with the higher reported pay despite stable volume.
Location | Percent of Hires | Mean Base Salary (In International Dollars*) |
| United Kingdom | 43% | $128,284 |
| Europe (excl UK) | 8% | $99,794 |
| Asia | 14% | $132,461 |
| Africa/Middle East | 11% | $144,158 |
| North America | 12% | $189,549 |
| Latin America | 10% | $149,459 |
| Oceania | 2% | $138,526 |
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