This is the first of two volumes written to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of EFMD. Through an open—ended interview research process, it seeks to explore the perspectives and views of a wide range of experts drawn not only from the European environment but also from the United States and other global players in the management education field. Understanding the relations and interactions between the various actors in management education is fundamental to any rich analysis of the roles, value and purposes of management education as well as the unfulfilled promises in its evolution. The focus in this first volume is on the challenges, issues, themes and lessons learned in the 40 years of EFMD's evolution. The second volume will concentrate on the future of management education.