Research & Programs - HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

HHL 

news 

HHL – LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT 

Can ethics be taught? 

In 2009, as was the case at the founding of 

the original Handelshochschule Leipzig in 

1898, HHL’s goal is to educate effective and 

responsible business leaders through excellence 

in teaching, research and practice. This 

requires not only linking academic theory and 

hands-on business, but also approaching all 

aspects of general management, i.e. corporate 

leadership, from the viewpoint of sustain- 

ability, i.e. corporate responsibility (CR). 

More than that, HHL’s faculty are required to 

practice in the educational environment what 

they preach for the corporate context. Responsibility 

in education begins with taking 

the students and one’s teaching obligations 

seriously, i.e. faculty members must continually 

ask themselves the questions: What is 

good teaching? How do students perceive 

me as a professor? 

The essence of HHL’s mission statement is 

also implemented in the selection process: 

the procedure is rigorous, encompassing not 

only academic achievement, but also extracurricular 

activities and personal qualities – 

only highly motivated top performers with 

leadership potential are admitted to the programs. 

At the heart of HHL’s success is 

maintaining the right balance between the 

key qualifi cations required in the business 

world – so-called soft skills – on the one 

hand, and the solid theoretical and methodological 

foundations on the other. Co-teaching 

involving faculty from different specializations 

plays an important role, and differentiates 

HHL from its competitors: thanks to this innovative 

approach, topics such as Fraud 

Management and Sustainability Marketing, 

for example, can be examined in terms of 

their strategic, fi nancial, accounting, and/or 

Highlights Careers 

Partners 

Executive Education 

Students 

Research 

Background 

SUMMER 09 

Professor Dr. Andreas Suchanek (right) 

teaching “The Golden Rule” 

marketing aspects, but also simultaneously 

from an ethical point of view. A further valuable 

contribution is made by business lead- 

ers who share their insights in classes, participate 

in the Entrepreneurship Round Table 

or give a Leadership Experience Seminar, 

providing the students with concrete examples 

of responsible management. 

Sustainability and responsibility – 

keys to long-term success 

HHL is a signatory to the “Principles for Responsible 

Management Education” (PRME). 

The school incorporates these principles into 

its programs in the form of compulsory 

courses in business ethics, exploring topics 

in multiple dimensions in co-taught classes, 

practical projects undertaken by the students, 

and public events focusing on entrepreneurial

Contents 

Highlights pp. 1-3 

Can ethics be taught? 

ACQUIN accreditation 

Maintenance of AACSB accreditation 

HHL’s new city campus 

Partners pp. 4-9 

Interview with supporters of HHL: 

Dr. Mark-Ken Erdmann and 

Professor Dr. Burkhard Schwenker 

Mercedes-Benz is HHL’s Mobility Partner 

Research at CLIC 

New network of European business schools 

Lanzhou University visits HHL 

Executive Education pp. 10-11 

HHL Open School Initiative 

HHL Executive: A year of new challenges 

Euro*MBA taught at HHL 

Students pp. 12-15 

Lecture series on financial and 

economic crisis 

DAAD Prize 2009 

HHL student initiatives 

Beta Gamma Sigma Scholarship 

Incoming exchange students 

Alumni pp. 16-17 

Interview with alumnus Thomas Kühnelt 

Update from the Alumni Office 

Research & Programs pp. 18-37 

Unique MBA courses 

Successful M.Sc. Trial Training 

Interview with Dr. Emilio Matthaei 

HHL tops survey on student satisfaction 

Field projects 

Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Chair of 

Macroeconomics 

Chair of Accounting and Auditing 

Chair of Financial Management 

Chair of Marketing Management 

Heinz Nixdorf Chair of IT-based 

Logistics 

Chair of Economics and Information Systems 

DOW Professorship of Sustainability 

and Global Ethics 

Chair of Microeconomics 

Chair of Strategic Management and 

Organization 

IHK Chair of Applied Economic Theory 

Careers pp. 38-41 

MBA placement statistics 2008 

HHL’s entrepreneurs 

Background pp. 42-44 

Interview with MBA student 

Kerwin-Ryan Marquez 

Portrait of HHL’s IT Department 

Upcoming events 

responsibility and value-driven management. 

HHL promotes intensive dialog with business 

practitioners and research focusing on the 

problems encountered in practice. 

One of the public events is the annual HHL 

Discourse Round Table. It provides a forum for 

the exchange of ideas between representatives 

from the business world, professors, students 

and members of the public on topics as 

diverse as globalization, the future of labor, the 

opportunities and risks connected with biotechnology, 

and corporate responsibility. Another 

highlight in HHL’s annual calendar is the 

Welcome Event in September for new students 

at HHL. The second day of this event is 

organized and staged by the DOW Professor- 

“HHL’s ‘Integrated Management’ 

approach educates effective and 

responsible business leaders. Our 

aim is to function as a role model 

in sustainability-led management 

education which prepares future 

executives for the challenges of 

the globalized economy.” 

Professor Dr. Hans Wiesmeth, 

Dean of HHL 

ACQUIN accreditation granted to HHL’s master programs 

in General Management (MBA) 

HHL has had its MBA programs accredited by 

the renowned German accreditation agency 

ACQUIN (Accreditation, Certification and Quality 

Assurance Institute) in accordance with the 

German regulations. The ACQUIN report empha- 

sizes HHL’s excellent study conditions as 

well as the outstanding student services, in 

particular in the area of corporate relations and 

library. HHL aims to prepare the MBA students 

best for the challenges that today’s globally 

attuned business leaders have to face and therefore 

focuses on close student faculty interaction, 

in-depth business and academic experiences 

while at the same time developing students’ 

leadership potential and networking skills. 

HHL NEWS – SUMMER 2009 

“Our economy needs smart, 

motivated people with expertise, a 

sense of responsibility, and vision. 

I strongly support HHL’s mission 

manifested in the teaching of social 

and intercultural competencies.” 

Professor Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf, 

former Prime Minister of Saxony 

and Honorary Doctor of HHL 

ship of Sustainability and Global Ethics, head- 

ed by Professor Dr. Andreas Suchanek, in 

cooperation with a partner company; in recent 

years, BASF and Porsche were the corporate 

partners. The event aims to instill in students 

from their very first day at HHL an understand- 

ing of the importance of sustainability and 

responsible leadership in everyday business 

life. The participants learn how and why companies 

invest in striving to harmonize profitability 

with ethical values. 

HHL’s mission to educate effective and responsible 

business leaders has been particularly 

evident in recent months. In a series of 

lectures and seminars entitled “The financial 

and economic crisis”, HHL students have 

been carefully investigating the current situation 

(see page 12). 

Congratulations go to all HHL faculty, students, 

and staff who helped to convince the peer 

review team of the quality of our MBA programs. 

Congratulations and special thanks are due to 

Jana Studemund and Sandra Miersch of the 

TQM team together with the MBA team, 

Professor Dr. Torsten Wulf, Petra Spanka, and 

Henning Blarr, for their tireless efforts in 

connection with the accreditation process, and 

also to Matthias Tischner who helped prepare 

the self-evaluation report last summer.

HHL maintains 

AACSB accreditation 

AACSB peer review team with HHL students 

HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management 

is Germany’s first private university to 

maintain its accreditation by the prestigious 

American organization AACSB (Association to 

Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). The 

AACSB International accreditation procedure 

evaluates the entire operations of a business 

school as well as all its academic programs. 

AACSB accreditation is the hallmark of excellence 

in business education. 

The maintenance of this accreditation is proof 

of the sustained quality of HHL’s management 

education programs in the context of constantly 

sharpening competition for the best 

business students from around the world. 

Professor Dr. Hans Wiesmeth, Dean of HHL 

said, “During their visit in January, the international 

peer review team noted that one of 

HHL’s particular strengths lies in its top-class 

students and programs. In addition, the 

AACSB team was impressed by HHL’s ex- 

Highlights 

cellent networking with regional, 

national and international 

companies, as 

well as the strong commitment 

demonstrated by faculty, 

staff, students, and 

alumni.” Dr. Judith Marquardt, 

Chancellor of HHL, 

added: “The important mile- 

stone of re-accreditation by 

AACSB puts HHL in a position 

to continue successfully 

with the implementation 

of its future-oriented growth strategy.” The 

time-consuming and challenging prepara- 

tions for the re-accreditation process, ranging 

from a self-evaluation study through to the 

on-campus visit by the peer review team, 

were ably coordinated by Jana Studemund, 

Total Quality Management Officer at HHL, 

and her team. 

With its re-accreditation, HHL has documented 

again that it is committed to offering a 

practice-oriented generalist management education 

of the highest academic quality, flanked 

by first-class services and study conditions. 

Professor Dr. Hans Wiesmeth emphasizes that 

HHL does not just teach the “hard skills” essential 

to academic management studies, but 

also attaches great importance to developing 

“soft skills” such as teamwork, intercultural 

competencies and communication skills. 

Volker Stößel 

2009 HHL award “Ready for Business” conferred 

On April 7, 2009, HHL and the business plan 

competition futureSAX conferred the 2009 

HHL “Ready for Business” award for the second 

time. The winners were SWAN – Scientific 

Workflow Analysis GmbH and Druck und 

Werte GmbH. 

Dr. Thomas Neumuth (SWAN) and Katharina 

Kunath (Druck und Werte) impressed the 

critical jury comprising Professor Dr. Hans 

Wiesmeth (Dean) and Dr. Judith Marquardt 

(Chancellor), Head of International Entrepreneurship 

at HHL Dr. Stephan Stubner, and 

Lars Köhler, futureSAX. The winners can now 

participate in one of the following modules in 

HHL’s MBA program: “Managing New Ventures 

& Growth”, “Managing Customers, Employees, 

Processes”, or “Managing Society.” Katharina 

Kunath, Marketing Manager at Druck 

und Werte, says: “The 2009 HHL “Ready for 

Business” award and the satisfaction of our 

business partners demonstrate the validity of 

our business idea. We are delighted to win this 

award. We will use it as a way to improve our 

management with the help of the most advanced 

tools and knowledge gained from the 

‘Managing New Ventures & Growth’ module at 

HHL.” Druck und Werte was founded in February 

2008. The company optimizes print and 

media production processes for its customers. 


3 

HHL’s new City Campus 

in Kretschmanns Hof 

On March 10, 2009, HHL opened its City 

Campus in Kretschmanns Hof, Katharinenstraße 

17, with the ceremonial handing over of 

the spanking new offices and seminar rooms. 

Three chairs, the Center for Leading Innovation 

& Cooperation (CLIC) and HHL Executive 

GmbH are now located in the heart of Leipzig. 

“We are proud to have created modern office 

and teaching space which meets the high 

standards set by HHL and HHL Executive in 

this beautiful historic building,” said Patrik Fahrenkamp, 

CEO of the real estate developer 

Leipziger Stadtbau AG. Professor Dr. Hans 

Wiesmeth, Dean of HHL, said: “We are thrilled 

to now have a campus in the city center in addition 

to the main building in Jahnallee, and 

grateful to our partners from the Leipziger 

Stadtbau AG for their excellent support. We 

would also like to thank and congratulate the 

HHL staff involved in this major project, in particular 

the project leader Jörg Wolf. The opening 

of our new premises is the tangible demonstration 

of the successful implementation of 

our growth strategy on the way to becoming 

one of the ten best European business schools 

by 2020.” 

At the heart of SWAN’s business is software 

for the optimization of processes in hospitals 

and medical practices. 


Prize winners with certificates: 

Katharina Kunath and Dr. Thomas Neumuth

4 

Partners 

Bertelsmann Business Consulting cooperates with HHL 

Interview 

HHL news talks with Dr. Mark-Ken Erdmann, 

CEO of Bertelsmann Business Consulting 

(BeBC), about his business model and the 

partnership with HHL’s Chair of Accounting 

and Auditing. 

HHL news: What are the medium to longterm 

challenges you see confronting 

large companies or corporations in their 

reporting? 

Dr. Erdmann: The first challenge is to adapt 

to what has come to be accepted as a per- 

manent state of flux in the international ac- 

counting environment, especially IFRS, and 

to ensure that any changes to standards are 

efficiently and properly integrated into the 

reporting workflow. This means looking not 

only at the effects on external reporting but 

typically also at the consequences for inte- 

grated reporting concepts. Second, reporting 

must adapt to the constantly increasing com- 

pliance requirements that result from numer- 

ous legal amendments such as BilMoG. One 

focus of these efforts will certainly be the 

documentation and monitoring of internal 

control systems. The main difficulty here is 

in defining the minimum requirements for 

internal control systems that are relevant 

from a German perspective. 

HHL news: What considerations led to 

the founding of BeBC? 

Dr. Erdmann: The impetus for this business 

venture was a change in strategy by soft- 

ware developer SAP, which in the past 

focused primarily on “preconfigured” system 

solutions in the field of consolidation and 

reporting – namely, EC-CS and SEM-BCS – 

but is now shifting toward “open and flexible” 

modular concepts. One of the market’s 

leading modular systems is the BO Financial 

Consolidation reporting solution, now part of 

the SAP portfolio, which Bertelsmann has 

used for all standard reporting processes 

throughout the Group since 2004. Of pri- 

mary importance here is Bertelsmann’s 

understanding of the software’s content, 


concept and processes. The solution is 

largely a “blank slate” as shipped, creating 

a great need for consultation. We do not 

expect this need to abate in the future given 

the long-standing upward trend in the 

accounting requirements companies face. 

HHL news: You work with a network of 

partners. Who exactly is involved? 

Dr. Erdmann: Our network has a clear focus 

on content, just as we do. Our partners – who 

include the Saarbrücker Institut für Rechnungs- 

legung, Visea Consulting, Pricewaterhouse- 

Coopers and HHL – cover complementary 

fields, so we can provide the customer with 

what we feel is an extremely attractive 

spectrum of services from a single source. 

HHL news: And what will be the future 

role of HHL in the BeBC partner network? 

Dr. Erdmann: HHL possesses considerable 

academic expertise, which has earned it an 

excellent reputation. This is exactly what we 

wish to tap into by intensifying our long-stand- 

ing cooperation with the Chair of Accounting 

and Auditing under the direction of Professor 

Dr. Henning Zülch. Both parties profit from 

this collaboration: We secure access to cur- 

rent academic insights in the field of account- 

ing and consolidation while providing constant 

input from hands-on accounting practices. 

“Mercedes supports - and transports - success!” 

Mercedes-Benz is HHL’s new Mobility Partner 

Norbert Wingenfelder (Sales Manager) hands over the shiny new 

E 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY limousine 

In July Mercedes-Benz Leipzig 

became HHL’s new Mobility Partner, 

providing a brand-new E-class 

Mercedes for one year under the 

motto “Mercedes supports - and 

transports - success!” 

Building on the partnership which 

has existed between HHL and 

Mercedes-Benz Leipzig under 

the leadership of Michael Friedrich 

for some time, the generous 

new sponsorship agreement 

moves the partnership to a new 

level. “The idea of supporting one 

of the best German business 

schools on its way to becoming 

one of Europe’s best appealed to us at Mercedes-Benz 

Leipzig from the beginning. The 

business school which educates our future 

management leaders ought to have its own 

‘good star’,” affirmed Norbert Wingenfelder, 

Sales Manager of the Leipzig branch. 

On July 13, 2009, he handed over the car 

keys to Dean Professor Dr. Hans Wiesmeth 

and Chancellor Dr. Judith Marquardt. 

Professor Dr. Hans Wiesmeth: “We very 

much appreciate this commitment of Mercedes-Benz 

Leipzig and hope that the addition- 

al (horse-)power will also help accelerate the 

implementation of HHL’s growth strategy.”

Partners 5 

Professor Dr. Burkhard Schwenker, CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants 

Interview 

Professor Dr. Burkhard Schwenker (right) 

talking with two HHL Diploma students 

HHL news: Roland Berger Strategy 

Consultants is strongly involved in the 

area of education. What are the reasons 

for this? 

Professor Schwenker: Business is a corner- 

stone of any functioning society, and we at 

Roland Berger recognize and assume our 

social responsibility in the area of education. 

Together with professors and students, we 

develop innovative approaches for resolving 

economic and social issues. We cooperate 

Supporters of HHL 2009 

GOLD PARTNERS 

(EUR 100,000 and more) 

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Leipzig 

Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt/Main 

Heinz Nixdorf Foundation, Essen 

Leipzig Foundation for Innovation 

and Technology Transfer, Leipzig 

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants GmbH, 

Munich 

Stadt- und Kreissparkasse Leipzig 

SILVER PARTNERS 


Gudrun Demling, Bavaria 

Sachsen Bank, Leipzig 

Stifterverband für die Deutsche 

Wissenschaft, Essen 

Uniplan International GmbH & Co. KG, Cologne 

VNG – Verbundnetz Gas Aktiengesellschaft, 

Leipzig 

BRONZE PARTNERS 


Association of Friends of HHL, Leipzig 

BASF SE, Ludwigshafen 

Bertelsmann AG, Gütersloh 

Brunswick Group GmbH, Frankfurt/Main 

CMS Hasche Sigle, Berlin 

Daimler AG, Stuttgart 

Duff & Phelps GmbH, Munich 

Ernst & Young Foundation, Stuttgart 

Henkel KGaA, Düsseldorf 

KARL-KOLLE-Foundation, Dortmund 

KWL – Kommunale Wasserwerke Leipzig 

GmbH, Leipzig 

with leading academics and institutes to 

familiarize ourselves with trends and new 

methods. Everyone benefits from this team- 

work: Professors see how management 

issues are dealt with in practice. Consultants 

refine their project experience and translate it 

into modern problem-solving approaches. 

And last but not least, our clients profit from 

the business concepts that we design within 

the partnerships in the world of education. 

HHL news: How would you describe the 

partnership between your company and 

HHL? 

Professor Schwenker: Our cooperative 

relationship has many aspects. For instance, 

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants partici- 

pated enthusiastically in putting together the 

strategy paper “HHL 2020” and at the start 

of the fundraising. With the Center for Sce- 

nario Planning, founded earlier this year, we 

would like to turn our attention to implementation; 

in other words, expanding the aca- 

demic chairs and competence centers. As 

a strategy consultancy, we find it especially 

important to actively follow ongoing research. 

We would like to express our deep appreciation to all our financial partners. 

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental 

Research – UFZ, Leipzig 

HHL Alumni Association, Leipzig 

MLP Finanzdienstleistungen AG, Heidelberg 

Peter Pribilla-Stiftung, Munich 

Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart 

SAM Sachsen Asset Management GmbH, 


The Boston Consulting Group GmbH, Munich 

TomTom Work, Leipzig 

Umedicon GmbH, Chemnitz 

Vita 34 AG, Leipzig 

Volksbank Leipzig eG, Leipzig 

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS 

Arthur D. Little, Wiesbaden 

BDO Deutsche Warentreuhand AG 

Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Leipzig 

Blue Corporate Finance AG, Leipzig 

Booz & Company, Munich 

BVK Group, Berlin 

Conogy GmbH, Berlin 

Deutsche Vermögensverwaltung AG, Cologne 

Dr. Horst Saalbach, West Palm Beach, Florida 

E. Breuninger GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 

ECG Erdgas-Consult GmbH, Leipzig 

E.ON AG, Düsseldorf 

envia Mitteldeutsche Energie AG, Chemnitz 

Ernst & Young AG, Frankfurt/Main 

Dr. jur. Dr. h.c. Ludwig Trippen, Münster 

Freudenberg (FV Service KG), Weinheim 

Hoesch + Partner GmbH, Frankfurt/Main 

HR factory GmbH, Unterföhring 

KIROW Leipzig AG, Leipzig 

Leonardo & Co. GmbH & Co. KG, Frankfurt/Main 


It’s also important that students can learn 

how to use key tools for scenario planning. 

And on a personal note, I try to teach at the 

HHL as often as possible. Talking and debat- 

ing with students both challenges and en- 

riches me, making teaching a lot of fun. As 

an honorary professor at HHL, I regularly 

teach a course in the M.Sc. program entitled 

“Strategy for Growth”. 

HHL news: From your point of view: what 

does a manager need today? 

Professor Schwenker: “A cool head, a 

warm heart and working hands,” as Martin 

Hilb from the University of St. Gallen once 

put it: Today’s managers must possess 

excellent analytical skills as well as empathy. 

They must have the will to roll up their 

sleeves and get to work, to live out their 

values every day and to be role models. 

They need integrity, so that they can project 

credibility in times of permanent uncertainty. 

They have to think strategically, manage 

boldly and be able and willing to communicate 

directly. Being bold also means ac- 

cepting your own limitations. 

Maryme Ltd., Berlin 

McKinsey & Company Inc., Frankfurt/Main 

Mercedes-Benz Niederlassung Leipzig 

Merkur Druck- u. Kopierzentrum GmbH, Leipzig 

Niemanns Tresor, Leipzig 

Nils Kambach, Berlin 

OC&C Strategy Consultants GmbH, Düsseldorf 

PC-Ware Information Technologies AG, Leipzig 

PETERSEN GRUENDEL, Rechtsanwälte 

Steuerberater, Leipzig 

Philipp Klöckner, Berlin 

PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, Frankfurt/Main 

Public Relations v. Hoyningen-Huene, Hamburg 

Searchmetrics GmbH, Berlin 

Stadtwerke Leipzig GmbH, Leipzig 

SunCoal Industries GmbH, Königs Wusterhausen 

SV SparkassenVersicherung Holding AG, 

Stuttgart 

Telefonanlagenbau Spanka GmbH, Schkeuditz 

Tchibo direct GmbH, Hamburg 

URSA Deutschland GmbH, Leipzig 

Donations can be made to: 

Account name: Handelshochschule Leipzig gGmbH 

Bank: Sparkasse Leipzig 

Bank code: 860 555 92 

Account number: 1100 104 956 

IBAN: DE59 8605 5592 1100 1049 56 

BIC (SWIFT CODE): WELADE8LXXX 

Purpose of payment: Spende/Donation 

(June 2009)

6 

Partners 

April 1-3, 2009, the Center for Leading Innovation 

& Cooperation (CLIC) presented the 

English edition of the publication “Services 

Made in Germany – A Travel Guide” at the 

Technology Services Europe Conference 

(TSE) held in Barcelona. 

The Conference was co-presented by 

AFSMI, SSPA, and TPSA – the three leading 

professional associations in the services 

and support industry. Focusing on the attributes 

that make the European technology 

services marketplace unique, the participants 

explored how European-based and 

multinational companies successfully meet 

its service needs. 

Kick-off for META project “ServProf” 

Service quality through professional work 

Following the successful completion of the 

Travel Guide project, which illustrated 

Germany’s highly innovative and future- 

oriented service industry, CLIC at HHL and 

Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen- 

Nürnberg (FAU) have taken on the leadership 

of the META project “ServProf – Learning and 

Living Service Professionalism.” 

The project is part of the overall program “Innovation 

through Services” which has been 

set up and supported by the BMBF (Federal 

Ministry of Education and Research). The 

main goal of the META project will be to promote 

the communication and exchange of 

research results among and around the focus 

groups and their sub-projects. Therefore, 

there are also plans to establish a communication 

platform, which will be accessible on 

the website www.servprof.de before the end 

of 2009. 

A total of 58 sub-projects will concentrate on 

a variety of service types or industries such 

as care for the elderly, education, energy 

consulting, retail sales or wellness. The main 

research issue will be to identify drivers and 

International book presentation: 

Services Made in Germany – 

A Travel Guide 

constraints which enhance or hinder professionalism 

and expertise in services. At the 

end of April, CLIC’s Executive Director Dr. 

Marcus Kölling and new CLIC staff members 

Angelika Pößl and Stefan Thallmaier met Professor 

Dr. Ingeborg Bootz from DLR, the proj- 

ect executing organization, and the members 

from AOC Group, a subcontracting 

company, in Berlin for the project kick-off. 

Major topics of discussion were the design of 

the interactive communication platform and 

the coordination of project tasks between 

CLIC and AOC Group. 

While AOC Group will conduct a qualitative 

analysis of all sub-projects internally, it is 

CLIC’s responsibility to provide a sound overview 

of current research on service professionalism 

on a national and an international 

scale, develop specific policy recommendations 

and identify outstanding research questions 

that require investigation. 


The Travel Guide gives insights into the German 

service industry, showing remarkable 

examples of innovation. For example, you 

can read about fascinating services offered 

by Flowline, a German company providing 

service engineering in Hollywood, what 

bookkeeping will look like in the future, or 

how a “carefree system” for machines 

works. 

The Guide is a product of the project “Innovative 

services on the way to world class”, 

which was supported by the BMBF (Federal 

Ministry of Education and Research). 

Innovation research at CLIC 

During the course of the 2 nd research forum 

hosted by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Educa- 

tion and Research) entitled “Working – Learning – 

Developing Skills. Potential for Innovation in a 

Modern Working Environment” and held April 2-3, 

2009, CLIC presented current research results 

from its projects “GENIE” and “OPEN-I”. In these 

projects, CLIC focuses on the management of 

open innovation communities in companies and 

on the management of innovation networks in 

the software industry. In the project “OPEN-I,” CLIC 

examines the role of governance and controlling 

in open innovation communities. Communities 

offer companies an alternative innovation mecha- 

nism to classical research and development de- 

partments. By allowing transparency of input and 

output, controlling concepts based on social soft- 

ware platforms are a central lever in encouraging 

acceptance of open innovation approaches 

in companies. CLIC’s “GENIE” project focuses on 

the stabilization of the German software indus- 

try. In an industry that consists mainly of SMEs, 

innovations are often the result of a combination 

of ideas supplied by several parties. Therefore, 

success depends particularly on the ability to 

transform joint ideas into new standards. Starting 

from the recognition that creating cooperations 

is an essential factor in this process, “GENIE” aims 

to develop an integrated innovation and compe- 

tence management system to promote the growth 

of innovation processes in German software 

companies.

Farewell to 

Professor Ralf 

Reichwald from 

the Technische 

Universität München 

On April 1, 2009, the event bidding farewell 

to Professor Dr. Professor h.c. Dr. h.c. Ralf 

Reichwald took place at the Carl Friedrich 

von Siemens Foundation in Munich. To hon- 

or Professor Reichwald – now professor 

emeritus at the Technische Universität München 

– a colloquium entitled “Leadership for 

Innovation” was held at the Nymphenburg 

Palace. 

Around 200 colleagues, friends and network 

partners reflected on the outstanding work 

Professor Reichwald has done at the Technische 

Universität München. Professor 

Reichwald will continue his research activities 

at CLIC where he has been an Academic 

Director since its foundation in 2006. 

Along with Professor Dr. Kathrin M. Möslein 

and Professor Anne Sigismund Huff, PhD, 

he leads CLIC’s research activities, focusing 

mainly on the topics of leadership of innovation 

processes, interactive value creation 

and innovative services. 

From left to right: Professor Dr. Professor h.c. Dr. h.c. 

Ralf Reichwald and Professor Dr. Kathrin M. Möslein 

New staff 

Partners 

Angelika Pößl joined CLIC in April 2009 as a 

Research Associate. She graduated from 

Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen- 

Nürnberg (FAU) with a Master in Inter- 

national Business Administration with a 

specialization in Strategic and International 

Management. During her studies, she spent 

one year at the Universidad de Sevilla, 

Spain, and gained work experience during 

internships and projects at Leoni AG, MAN 

Nutzfahrzeuge AG and Gomera Trekking 

Tours. Her research at CLIC focuses on the 

fields of innovation, professional services 

and research methods. 

Dr. Hagen Habicht joined CLIC back in April 2008. 

Since the opening of the new offices in 

Katharinenstraße in January 2009, Dr. 

Habicht has been supporting CLIC in Leipzig 

as a Post-Doc Researcher. He graduated in 

Business Administration / Intercultural 

Management from Friedrich-Schiller Uni- 

versity of Jena with majors in Marketing, 

International Management, and Intercultural 

Business Communication. More recently, he 

has been a Research Assistant at the In- 

stitute for Information, Organization and 

Management (Professor Reichwald) at 

Technische Universität München where he 

completed his doctoral degree. 


Claudia Lehmann joined CLIC in April 2009 as a 

Research Associate. She graduated from 

Technische Universität Dresden with a Di- 

ploma in Engineering and Business Adminis- 

tration with majors in Technology and Inno- 

vation Management, Marketing and Tech- 

nology, and Logistics in Air Transportation. 

During her studies, she gained work ex- 

perience in the aviation and automotive 

industries. As a consultant for Altran, she 

supported several major German companies 

in planning and planning and steering 

R&D projects. Her research at CLIC focuses 

on service innovation and professional 

services, with a special emphasis on aviation. 

Stefan Thallmaier joined CLIC in April 2009 as a 

Research Associate. He graduated from 

Technische Universität München with a 

Diploma in Business Administration. As a 

consultant with Altran, he supported several 

major German companies in different in- 

dustries such as logistics, finance and bio- 

technology by enhancing their customer 

relationship management systems. In the 

process, he gained special know-how in 

designing and developing marketing pro- 

cesses that combine operational and analytical 

CRM systems, and loyalty schemes. His 

research at CLIC focuses on innovation and 

professional services. 

7

8 Partners 

Review of two successful years 

of HHL Open School Initiative 

In order to draw greater attention to the 

exchange processes between academia and 

business, HHL bundled its activities into the HHL 

Open School Initiative which was awarded first 

prize in the nationwide competition “Exchange 

processes between academia and business” in 

April 2007 by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche 

Wissenschaft (Association of Donors to German 

Research) and the BMBF (Federal Ministry of 

Education and Research). Since then, HHL has 

built on its outstanding reputation as the place 

and the partner for collaboration between 

management scholarship and practice. In 

November 2008, HHL-Unternehmergespräche 

took place in a further development of the 

existing forum “HHL: Partner for business”, 

providing a theoretical and practical insight into 

the challenges of ownership transfer in family 

businesses. In addition, one outstanding result of 

the knowledge creation processes between 

academia and business practice within the HHL 

Open School Initiative is the publication of the 

book “Strategies for Innovators: HHL Open 

School Case Book” by Professor Dr. Kathrin M. 

Möslein and HHL alumnus and Research 

Associate Dr. Emilio Matthaei. The field projects 

completed by HHL students as part of their 

studies (see page 21) and of course the 

executive education programs in HHL Executive 

(see pages 10-11) are other core instruments for 

the knowledge transfer between HHL and the 

business world. On June 25, 2009, HHL once 

again showed the strength and importance of its 

partnership with businesses in the region when 

it presented cooperation opportunities to 

regional enterprises at the meeting of the 

Industrieverein Sachsen e.V. 

Delegation from Lanzhou University visits HHL 

Professor Dr. Hans Wiesmeth welcomes Professor 

Guoxian Bao (Dean of Lanzhou University) and his 

delegation 

European business schools’ 

belief in openness results in birth 

of new network 

From left to right: Professor Dr. Gianluca Spina (MIP Politecnico di Milano), Dr. Jean-Pierre Helfer 

(Audencia Nantes School of Management), Professor Dr. Hans Wiesmeth (HHL) 

In a move designed to help Europe’s firms by 

fostering a shared spirit of openness and responsibility, 

three top business schools in 

France, Germany and Italy have formed the 

nucleus of a new business education network. 

Audencia Nantes School of Management, 

HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management 

and MIP Politecnico di Milano are the 

founding members of an initiative that pools 

talents and key resources to anticipate and 

address businesses’ new recruitment needs. 

The partnership coordinates recruitment, 

corporate relations and placement efforts. 

The three schools will act together both on 

In 2004, HHL and the School of Management 

at Lanzhou University signed an agreement 

on future academic cooperation. Dur- 

ing the last few years, HHL has been 

fortunate to host several exchange students 

and junior professors from the Chinese university; 

one Lanzhou graduate is currently 

enrolled as a doctoral student at HHL’s Chair 

of Microeconomics. 

In April this year, HHL had the opportunity to 

welcome good friends for a brief visit. The 

Dean of Lanzhou University, Professor 

Guoxian Bao, and the Head of the International 

Department, Ms. Yajia Yu, were among 


post-program elements – the supply of graduates 

to employers – and, in the future, also 

on pre-program activities – the management 

of potential students. In this way, the new 

network of accredited business education providers 

offers companies pan-European access 

to exactly the sort of future managers 

that match their specific requirements. The 

agreement, signed in Paris in April 2009, also 

opens the way for the three schools to explore 

the possibility of joint executive education 

and in-company training in the future. 

Jana Vogel 

the delegation from our partner school who 

came to Leipzig. Both schools agreed to 

extend the successful cooperation, and set it 

on a higher level in the future. 

HHL will assist Lanzhou University to introduce 

an international MBA program with the 

support of its faculty. The Deans and the International 

Directors of both schools have 

signed a document extending the agreement. 

Frank Hoffmann


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9

10 


2009 – a year of new challenges for HHL Executive 

After the eminently successful year in 2008, 

HHL Executive is now experiencing a year 

with some changes and new challenges as 

it grows in leaps in bounds, despite the economic 

crisis. Although some companies have 

been rather reserved regarding plans for advanced 

training programs for their high-potentials, 

HHL Executive has conducted several 

company-specific modules in the first half of 

this year. HHL Executive’s partners seem to 

be using the crisis as an opportunity to invest 

in their best employees to secure a good position 

ready for a turbo start when business 

picks up again. In February, the Top Executive 

Program with DOUGLAS HOLDING ACADE- 

MY took place at HHL for the fourth time. The 

General Management Program for over 80 

executive managers of Volkswagen Sachsen 

finished successfully at the end of June. In 

this year’s Senior Management Program with 

Bertelsmann University, HHL Executive again 

hosted over 30 participants in May 2009. But 

that’s not all. More seminars and programs 

have been planned. In June, HHL Executive 

successfully launched its first open enrollment 

General Management Program with Professor 

New staff 

Anja Würfel joined HHL Executive in January 2009 

as Administrative Assistant. She supports 

the Executive Management in the admin- 

istration and marketing of advanced training 

programs and seminars. She is responsible 

for the preparation and organization of the 

programs, ensuring that everything runs 

smoothly for the lecturers and participants. 

Dr. Torsten Wulf as Academic Director. The six 

2.5-day modules will continue until November 

2009. The next round starts on January 21, 

2010, and will last until June 2010. If you 

wish to apply or would like more information, 

please visit the website: executive.hhl.de/gmp. 

One of this year’s major challenges was the 

move to the new premises in Katharinenstraße 

17 in July. Here HHL Executive has its own 

brand-new seminar and group work rooms 

with an excellent infrastructure. The program 

office is also now located on the City Campus. 

Jana Studemund, Managing Director 

of HHL Executive, is excited about the new 

facilities: “I am delighted with the rooms in 

Katharinenstraße which allow us to be more 

independent of the availability of HHL’s lecture 

and seminar rooms. We can’t wait to conduct 

high-quality seminars for top managers here 

and are sure that our customers will be very 

enthusiastic about the new learning environment. 

Nevertheless, some of our customers 

particularly enjoy the special atmosphere of 

HHL in Jahnallee, so we will still be offering 

programs there too.” 

The systematic approach to human resource 

development applied by the Stadtwerke 

Leipzig is supporting its long-term strategy. 

At the same time, it contributes to further 

strengthening the entrepreneurial skills of its 

staff and executive management. In cooperation 

with HHL Executive, a series of seminars 

which aim to foster and deepen economical 

and managerial competencies has been an 

inherent part of human resource development 

since the beginning of 2009. 

The Stadtwerke Leipzig is pleased to be able 

to call upon the extensive experience and recognized 

competence of the faculty of one 

of the leading business schools in Germany. 

“The lecture series is designed for our exec- 

utive and middle management. Topics such 

as finance and controlling, and strategic, responsible, 

sustainable as well as innovation 

management are being covered. Working 


HHL Executive’s new seminar rooms in Katharinenstraße 

HHL Executive GmbH 

Jana Studemund 

Tel. +49 341 9851-699 

E-mail: jana.studemund@hhl.de 

Web: executive.hhl.de 

Strengthening competencies – 

program with Stadtwerke Leipzig 

together with HHL Executive ensures an expansion 

of know-how and competency relat- 

ing to the business goals of Stadtwerke Leipzig 

and its subsidiaries,” says Raimund Otto, 

Commercial Director of Stadtwerke Leipzig. 

Raimund Otto, Commercial Director of Stadtwerke 

Leipzig, (left) with participants of the lecture series


Open-enrollment program with DKB 

Management School 

The strong partnership between Deutsche 

Kreditbank AG (DKB) and HHL Executive, 

started last year on a high note. After the successful 

first run, the second General Management 

Program, consisting of five modules, 

began in April 2009. With this program, the 

participants gain fundamental competencies 

in diverse fields of business management. 

The methodology focuses on the successful 

transfer of the latest academic research and 

knowledge into the corporate world. Professor 

Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg, Chair of Market- 

ing Management at HHL, recently led the 

module “Customer and Brands”. This year’s 

program is open for external participants, 

i. e. for professionals with several years of 

work and leadership experience from diverse 

industries and companies. 

Euro*MBA: HHL teaches 

international finance strategies 

From May 11 to September 4, 2009, HHL 

is offering the online course “International Financial 

Management” in the Euro*MBA program, 

a unique two-year e-learning-based 

executive program that combines the latest 

distance learning technology with concentrat- 

ed residential weeks at six European sites. 

The program is accredited by AMBA and run 

by a consortium of six European partners, all 

with AACSB, EQUIS and/or AMBA accreditation. 

The Euro*MBA is top ranked in the field 

of distance learning by The Economist and 

Financial Times. The current Euro*MBA class 

consists of 28 high-achieving participants. 

On average, the students, who represent 16 

nationalities, are 35 years old and have 11 

years professional experience. 

Course module “International 

Financial Management” 

Professor Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler, Chair of 

Finance Management and Banking at HHL, 

says: “Running a business requires a sol-id 

understanding of the analytical context. The 

course “International Financial Management” 

with its quantitative basis is therefore 

The next modules this year are: 

Leadership & Communication, September 7-8, 

2009, which focuses on effective leadership in 

challenging times based on an analysis of one’s 

own leadership behavior. It also conveys the 

fundamentals of change management. 

Finance & Controlling, November 7-8, 2009, 

which deals with financial management issues. 

Participants gain an overview of accounting 

standards and learn about managing and 

steering companies. 

The fee for one module is EUR 1,600 total. 

The seminars (in German) will take place in 

the splendid surroundings of Schloss & Gut 

Liebenberg. If you are interested in applying 

or need further information, please see 

www.dkb-management-school.de/gmp or 

contact Claudia Binczyk 030 20155-437. 

highly relevant for the Euro*MBA program.” 

The course provides the participants with 

the basics of investing and financing. A chat 

room and an internet forum for regular interaction 

with fellow students and the tutor is 

set up. The online course, which is based on 

Lotus Notes, has references to the current financial 

crisis. The participants are graded on 

the strength of their individual achievements 

(assignment and final exam) and their participation 

in various group discussions. 


Participants of the Euro*MBA 

The application deadline for the Euro*MBA program 

starting in January 2010 is November 15, 2009. 

More information at: www.hhl.de/euromba 


11 

Dr. Stephan Stubner (third from the left) with 

participants of the General Management Program 

in cooperation with DKB Management School 

Certificates for DOMO 

Caproleuna managers 

The participants in DOMO Caproleuna’s Gen- 

eral Management Program (GMP), which 

started in August 2008, have now successfully 

completed their last module – a business 

simulation seminar. In reward for their hard 

work, the certificates were handed over to 

the proud recipients during a special ceremony 

in July 2009. 

DOMO Caproleuna’s GMP culminated in a business 

simulation seminar

12 Students 

Lecture series “The financial and economic crisis” 

From early May to late June, HHL’s Diploma 

students, headed by Matthias Stöver (K22), 

intensively discussed the current financial 

and economic crisis. They investigated the 

credit crunch and its economic aftermath, 

researching causes, effects to date, results 

it may have in the future and also opportunities 

it may offer. Through discussion with 

HHL professors and personalities from the 

political, financial and industrial sectors, both 

academic and practical perspectives on the 

crisis were highlighted. Panelists in the lec- 

ture series “The financial and economic crisis” 

included Professor Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf, former 

Prime Minister of Saxony and Honorary 

Doctor of HHL, Professor Dr. Michael Junker, 

Managing Director Financial Service Accenture 

Germany, Sven Petersen (P1), Head of 

Analysis/Research at Sachsen Asset Management 

(SAM), Karsten Schröder (K8), 

CEO of hedge funds Amplitude Capital (see 

also p. 25), Philip Schüler (K18), Account Director 

with the BRUNSWICK Group together 

with Alexa von Wietzlow, Financial Journalist, 

and the Finance Minister of the Federal 

Republic of Germany, Peer Steinbrück, as 

well as Professor Dr. Klaus Wucherer, former 

member of the Corporate Executive Committee 

of Siemens AG. 

HHL student receives 

2009 DAAD Prize 

A student in HHL’s full-time MBA program 

was awarded a prize as one of the best foreign 

students in Germany in a ceremony on 

Wenceslas Square in Prague on June 1, 2009. 

The Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic 

of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier pre- 

Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Foreign Minister of the Federal 

Republic of Germany) confers 2009 DAAD Prize to 

Sona ˇ Žácková ˇ 

Professor Dr. 

Kurt Biedenkopf 


Michael Junker 

HHL students Hanns-Christian Ehret (left) and Matthias Stöver (right) discussing with 

Peer Steinbrück (Finance Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany) 

sented the 2009 DAAD Prize, worth EUR 

1,000, for outstanding achievement to Sona ˇ 

Žácková ˇ 

(25) at an event celebrating 20 years 

since the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

Ms. Žácková ˇ is from the Czech Republic 

and has been studying for her MBA at HHL 

since Fall 2008. During her studies she was 

supported by the KARL-KOLLE-Foundation. 

After graduating at the end of July, she hopes 

to work in Germany for an international company 

in the field of finance. Ms. Žácková ˇ said: 

“I was very proud to receive the 2009 DAAD 

Prize , and especially to be handed it by the 

Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of 

Germany in Prague. I think the recognition by 

the DAAD of foreigners studying in Germany 

is a positive sign. I am very honored that my 

social commitment and my academic results 

at HHL have been recognized in this way.” 


Sven Petersen Karsten Schröder 

HHL running 

Philip Schüler 


Klaus Wucherer 

Congratulations to HHL’s staff and students 

from classes K22, K23, M9, M.Sc.2, M.Sc.3 

as well as P4 and P5 for successfully taking part 

in the 33 rd Leipzig Marathon (April 29, 2009) and 

the 2 nd Commerzbank Firmenlauf Leipzig (June 10, 

2009).

Students 

Record participation at XIII European Ivy League 

The 13 th edition of the European Ivy League 

soccer tournament organized by HHL – Leipzig 

Graduate School of Management ended 

on May 24 th , after a weekend that saw record 

participation levels. A total of 34 teams from 

Europe’s top business schools took part, with 

the teams from the University of Economics 

in Bratislava emerging victorious. Aside from 

the soccer tournament, the event also included 

the opportunity for students in Bach- 

elor programs to listen to an introductory 

lecture on the Master programs at HHL. 

Organized autonomously by HHL students, 

the motto for the XIII European Ivy League 

was “Face the Challenge – Fair Play, Fair 

Work, Fair Life” and it continued the tradition 

of providing an excellent opportunity for 

making contacts among alumni and students 

in the HHL network. The cup in both the men’s 

and women’s soccer tournaments went to 

the teams from the University of Economics 

in Bratislava, while second place in the men’s 

event went to Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Third 

was the team from WFI – Ingolstadt School of 

Management. Second place in the women’s 

At this year’s negotiation world cup, “The 

Negotiation Challenge” (TNC), the team from 

HHL - Leipzig Graduate School of Management 

consisting of Lennart Bösch (M9), Robert 

Kühn (P5) and Hector Federico Reyes 

Salias (M9) won, closely followed by the team 

from the Bucerius/WHU Master of Law and 

Business Program, Hamburg. The thrilling finale 

was held at the Alte Börse in Leipzig. In 

the end, the winning HHL team was delighted 

to accept a cash prize of EUR 500, a trophy, 

and the title of “World Champion in Negotiation”. 

In various rounds March 26-29, 2009, 

the following seven teams competed against 

each other: Harvard Law School, Cambridge 

(USA); Georgetown University Law Center 

(USA); UC Hastings, San Francisco (USA); 

ESSEC Business School (NL); India Law 

School (IND); Bucerius/WHU Master of Law 

and Business Program, Hamburg and HHL – 

Leipzig Graduate School of Management. 

The TNC was co-organized by HHL students 

(classes M9, M.Sc.3, and K23) and students 

from Harvard Law School. The main focus 

of this year’s event was Mergers & Acquisi- 

tions. In four rounds of negotiations, the teams 

soccer tournament went to the University of 

Leipzig. Third was the team from the European 

University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). The 

list of participating teams reads like a Who’s 

Who of European business schools and includes 

ECSP Europe, GISMA Business School, 

Handelshochschule Leipzig (HHL), Mannheim 

Business School, University of Bayreuth, Università 

dell’ Insubria and Warsaw School of 

Economics. Organizer Jens Wedel (M.Sc.3) 

said, “We are particularly proud of the fact 

that, even in these economically difficult 

times, we were able to significantly increase 

the numbers participating in Europe’s most 

important soccer tournament for business 

students – not just in terms of the numbers 

of teams on the field but also of the number 

of guests at the final party.” The main sponsor 

of XIII European Ivy League was again 

BASF, continuing the tradition of many years. 

HHL is also very grateful to Deutsche Kreditbank, 

Deutsche Vermögensberatung, Ernst 

& Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and 

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants for their 

sponsorship of this momentous event. Fur- 

HHL wins The Negotiation Challenge (TNC) 2009 

had to develop strategies for implementing or 

repelling a takeover. Among other criteria, the 

jury evaluated how sustainable the strategies 

were and how convincingly they were presented. 

In addition, the aspect of financing was 

of particular importance. In addition to Bundesverband 

Deutscher Kapitalgesellschaften 

(BVK), E.ON, K16 Kommunikationsdesign und 

Präsentationen, Niemanns Tresor, Public Relations 

v. Hoyningen-Huene, Searchmetrics and 

Maryme as well as Stylicon supported TNC 


13 

thermore, many thanks go to our media partner 

squeaker.net, and to our catering partner 

Pilsner Urquell. 


From left to right: TNC winning team 2009: Lennart Bösch, Robert Kühn and Hector Federico Reyes Salias 

this year. “The topic of negotiation is gaining 

more and more importance. We are therefore 

pleased that The Negotiation Challenge receives 

such strong support from businesses,” 

said Fabian Schaaf, HHL student and member 

of the TNC organizing committee. “With 

this event, we also hope to motivate other universities 

in Germany to include negotiation in 

their curriculum,” continued Schaaf. 

Volker Stößel

14 

As an AACSB-accredited institution, HHL is 

entitled to be a part of the Beta Gamma 

Sigma (BGS) network, and in 2004 HHL 

founded the first German chapter of Beta 

Gamma Sigma. Membership in the world’s 

first truly global honor society in business 

studies is recognized as a mark of aca- 

demic excellence. Every year, the chapter invites 

the top 20% of graduates from HHL’s 

Diploma and Master programs and all who 

have completed HHL’s doctoral program to 

become members. In 2007/08, HHL’s BGS 

chapter met the initial criteria as a “Premier 

Chapter” for the second time, and so the 

chapter was able to nominate one of its members 

for the BGS Scholarship Program. During 

the graduation ceremony on July 25, 2009, 

the 2009 BGS scholarship will be awarded 

to Sebastian Hoffmann, Research Assistant 

at the Chair of Accounting and Auditing at 

HHL. The scholarship amounts to USD 1,000 

funded equally by the American BGS Central 

Office and the Gesellschaft der Freunde der 

HHL – GdF (Association of Friends of HHL) . 

In his recommendation, Professor Dr. Henning 

Zülch, HHL faculty member and the 

nominee’s doctoral advisor, lists Hoffmann’s 

high levels of professional and voluntary 

Students 

Excellent chapter member to be awarded 

2009 Beta Gamma Sigma Scholarship 

On the occasion of the 2009 graduation, the 

names of 35 new members of the Beta Gamma 

Sigma chapter at HHL will be read out. To date, 

HHL’s Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma comprises 

201 lifetime members. 

The newly inducted members are: 

Kumar Adapa M9 

Dr. Torsten Briegel 

Michael Dornauf M.Sc.2 

Dr. Richard Federowksi 

Uta Fischer K22 

Pierre Franke K22 

Dr. Ronny Gebhardt 

Philipp Christian Hellweg M.Sc.2 

Erik Hille M.Sc.2 

Christoph Jagemann P4 

Hayk Karabekyan M9 

Dr. Evelyn Kästner 

Alexander Kaulfersch K22 

Samuel Guido Kermelk P4 

commitment combined with his outstanding 

academic and practically-oriented abilities. In 

his work as a Research Associate, Hoffmann 

shows impressive leadership skills by 

successfully coordinating the chair’s various 

student assistants in their work on several 

research projects. Furthermore, Hoffmann 

plays an invaluable role as treasurer and 

active board member of the Leipziger Gesprächskreis 

Rechnungslegung und Prüfung 

e. V. (LGK), superbly organizing the society’s 

activities and undertaking personnel management 

tasks. Likewise, Hoffmann con- 

tributes to HHL as a member of the exami- 

nations board; out of hours, he enriches 

Leipzig’s cultural life through his membership 

in a big band. 

BGS would like to thank the GdF for co- 

financing this scholarship, thus rewarding 

both academic performance and the social 

commitment of one of our members. 

HHL’s Beta Gamma Sigma chapter and 

the entire HHL community warmly congratulate 

Sebastian Hoffmann on his nom- 

ination for the BGS scholarship. 

Beate Kanheißner 

(beate.kanheissner@hhl.de) 

BGS Chapter contact at HHL 

New members to be inducted into HHL’s BGS chapter 

Alexander Knauer K21 

Lutz Kregel K21 

Lars Lettner 

Dr. Nick Lin-Hi 

P4 

Anna Malgorzata Markiewicz P4 

Dr. Emilio Matthaei 

Anja Mittag M9 

Katharina Möps P4 

Stefan Albrecht Müller 

Dr. Christine Mutz 

P4 

Tilo Pinkert P4 

Dirk Plotzki M9 

Fabian Schaaf M9 

Marko Schädlich K21 

Andrey Sereda M9 

Patrick Maic Schunter 

Dr. Birgit Sponheuer 

M.Sc.1 

Maik Weinrich M.Sc.2 

Annette Undine Wilk 

Dr. Markus Wolf 

K21 

Sona ˇ Žácková ˇ 

M9 


Incoming exchange 

students 

South Korea, Seoul, KDI School 

I made up my mind to come to HHL, one 

of the top German business schools, which 

has a partnership agreement with my home 

university. The main factor which brought 

me here was the cultural challenge. Even 

though we have international students at my 

school back in Korea, I wanted to study in 

Europe and to experience a foreign culture 

first hand. When I spent my first semester at 

HHL in Leipzig, I found the city particularly 

interesting. It is very beautiful and is blessed 

with music and other art forms. Students can 

enjoy stimulating events in the old city of 

Leipzig. For instance, I went to the museum 

night. Over 100 museums opened their 

doors to entertain and to educate the public 

during the whole night. I can say Leipzig is 

one of the most international cities with a 

convenient and efficient transport infrastructure. 

However, I am still getting accustomed 

to some aspects of the way of life here in 

Leipzig because of the language and the culture 

in Germany. Some courses at HHL have 

been rather tough for me because most involve 

a lot of group work, but I am extremely 

happy with the curriculum and lectures overall. 

I anticipate that everything I experience in 

Leipzig and the high quality education I re- 

ceive from HHL will be beneficial to my career 

development. 

Seong Han Kim 

Czech Republic, Prague, 

University of Economics Prague 

The German lifestyle is pretty much the same 

as the Czech one, so I didn’t experience 

too much trouble adapting after my arrival. I 

was lucky in meeting nice and friendly people 

from the very beginning. My new friends

from all over the world haven’t allowed me to 

become homesick and have made my stay 

here unforgettable. 

In Leipzig itself, I like the “bicycle culture” and 

bustling parks the most. At HHL, everything 

is smaller and more personal than I am accustomed 

to in Prague. Only the workload 

seems more demanding, since I wasn’t used 

to studying in a foreign language before I 

came to Leipzig. I have tried to keep up 

with the professional approach of the local 

students and take advantage of the quality 

of the education, although it is difficult. The 

chance to practice my German and English 

at the same time is invaluable. 

I am really happy about the opportunity to 

experience a term abroad, and to learn so 

much during such a short time. I think that if 

everyone stayed a certain period of time abroad 

and met people from different cultures 

with diverse backgrounds and insights, there 

wouldn’t be such a lack of understanding in 

the world. 

Anna Libusova 

France, Grenoble, 

Grenoble École de Management 

When I arrived in Leipzig, I would never have 

thought I would find such an interesting and 

charming environment. 

Leipzig is such a loveable city. Who would 

have thought that this city, which used to be 

in the middle of East Germany, would become 

so attractive! Its restaurants, parks, 

inhabitants and history make it a delight to 

discover: How marvelous it is to live where 

Bach or Mendelssohn Bartholdy did! 

HHL is wonderful. Besides delivering highquality 

courses, this school is helping me to 

grow in an international context: It is such a 

Students 

great opportunity to follow interesting courses 

in English. The involvement of professors 

from other universities only reinforced the 

quality of the courses. What was also particularly 

interesting was the teamwork with 

other international students! It has enabled 

me to understand the different approaches 

people can have depending on where they 

come from. 

HHL not only provides a theoretical framework, 

it also allows the students to really understand 

the business world by inviting professionals to 

give lectures, and by studying real companies’ 

cases. This is a really strong suit! 

I do not regret my choice and I am sure I 

will discover other interesting things before I 

leave HHL, Leipzig, and Germany! 

Gwenaëlle Soupramayen 

Sweden, Linköping, 

Linköping University 

When HHL was first presented to me at 

my home university, I was told that it was 

going to be a lot of hard but rewarding work. 

I thought to myself, well it probably won’t be 

much more work then here in Sweden, so I 

applied and was accepted. 

During the summer a friend and I travelled 

to Leipzig to visit the city and to look for an 

apartment. I was astounded by how beautiful 

the city was and how easy it was to find an 

apartment. 

All the exchange students were given a twoweek 

introduction program that included 

German lessons, sight-seeing, BBQs, and 

information about the different programs, 

courses, and chairs. It was a great way to 

start the term. When my studies really began, 

I realized quickly that the talk about studying 

a lot was true. I have never studied this hard 

in my life. On the other hand, I have never 

learned as much in such a short time. The 

number of contact hours is great and I’ve had 


15 

classes almost every day. Even with the busy 

schedule, I’ve gotten to know many people 

from all around the world, from Taiwan to Mex- 

ico, from Chile to India, and of course from 

all over Europe. I am very grateful for my time 

at HHL and all the hard work has really been 

worthwhile. 

Stefan Nilsson 

Chile, Santiago de Chile, 

University of Chile 

I had the opportunity to come to HHL thanks 

to the partnership agreement that HHL has 

with the University of Chile, offering not only 

the exchange option but also the double degree, 

the alternative which I took. I must say 

that it was a family decision because I came 

here with my husband and my two-year-old 

son. At that time, we were sure that it would 

be a great experience for the three of us and 

a fundamental opportunity for my future professional 

career. Now we can say that it was 

a wise decision. A global atmosphere, international 

network and high quality of teaching 

are the main characteristics of HHL. It has 

students from different countries, something 

that is really enriching. The biggest challenge 

was revealed when we faced the long hours 

on difficult assignments in group work, where 

leadership skills are required to set up interdisciplinary 

discussions, and when tolerance 

and a helpful attitude are essential in order 

to achieve the main goals of the team. With 

this among many other things, I have had the 

opportunity of gaining valuable insights into 

other cultures, seeing different points of view, 

and learning about different backgrounds 

and ways of working. 

This outstanding experience in this kind of 

environment definitely helps future managers 

to polish the skills required to be successful 

in the business world. 

Maricel Gibbs

16 

Interview 

Thomas Kühnelt 

On the path to success 

After achieving his HHL Diploma, Thomas 

Kühnelt (K12) joined EADS, the European 

aerospace giant. Working mainly on the financing 

of large space programs as well as 

in commercial aviation, the K12 graduate 

gained experience in France, the UK, and 

India before his current job brought him back 

to Germany. Based in Munich, Kühnelt is 

now in charge of M&A activities in the Defence 

and Security division of EADS. 

Alumni communication 

HHL alumni are truly global players. They are 

currently working around the globe in over 400 

companies in over 40 countries. Not everyone 

has the time to keep up with recent developments 

at HHL by stopping by on campus. A quarterly 

newsletter published by HHL Alumni e.V. and 

supported by HHL is an attempt to make up for 

this. The April 2009 issue also contains a 

questionnaire regarding your expectations of 

alumni work. You can access the newsletter via 

the HHL website, the alumni platform 

www.hhl-alumni.de, or have it delivered to you 

via e-mail. So, if you are interested in receiving 

this newsletter, please make sure we have a 

valid e-mail address on file. If you have content 

to add, please don’t hesitate to contact me. 

We are happy to incorporate your input and 

suggestions. We are also delighted to hear about 

engagements and marriages, births and adoptions, 

as well as progress on your chosen career path. 

Drop us a note, and we will try to put your special 

news or announcement in the next newsletter. 

Homecoming 2009 and K3 & K4 

10th Anniversary Reunion 

Join HHL’s Homecoming October 16-18, 2009, 

and sign up at franziska.rook@hhl.de. 

For the celebration of the 10th anniversary 

reunion of K3 and K4, please contact 

mail@burkhart-eymer.de and 

magnus.sprenger@de.pwc.com 

Alumni 

How did your studies at HHL prepare 

you for your career? 

Mr. Kühnelt: Analysis – Structure – Execution: 

This is the canon that has become crucial 

for my everyday work. It involves not only 

quick thinking in putting the various bits and 

pieces of information together, it also requires 

being courageous to take action to maintain 

the availability of different options. The environ- 

ment at HHL fundamentally shaped and culti- 

vated my skills here. 

What does your current job involve? 

Mr. Kühnelt: Managing the non-organic 

growth of a multi-billion defense and secu- 

rity actor, my tasks evolve quickly, centered 

on highly technological, commercial and 

political content. Our team is international, 

our scope is worldwide. In this environment, 

managing the expectations and actions of 

the various parties involved is key. So, be- 

yond all the financial magic, this job is at its 

heart actually about people. 

Alumni host potential HHL students 

In April, May, and June HHL alumni Dirk Graber 

(K15), founder of MisterSpex, Thorsten Becker 

(K2), founder of Management Angels, and Rolf 

Schrömgens (K5), co-founder of trivago GmbH, 

hosted HHL After Work events at their respective 

companies. HHL After Work is an opportunity for 

prospective students to get to know HHL alumni, 

students, and staff without needing to travel to 

Leipzig. In a small group and casual atmosphere, 

prospective students learned about the thought 

processes of an entrepreneur in the start-up 

phase, were able to ask detailed questions about 

HHL’s study programs, and learned how the 

content of these programs prepares managers 

for their life after graduation. With the help of all 

alumni present at these events, HHL was able to 

reinforce its reputation as a business school 

which pays close attention to the individual and 

has a proven track record of producing 

successful graduates. With valuable information 

on studying at HHL and on life after graduation, 

all prospective students left encouraged and 

knowing that investing in a degree from HHL is 

well worthwhile. If you are interested in hosting 

HHL After Work at your company, please contact 

HHL’s Alumni Officer Franziska Rook. 

Franziska Rook 


What does the HHL alumni network 

mean to you? 

Mr. Kühnelt: HHL alumni are a safe harbor 

in which to debate vital issues – in life in 

general and in business in particular – with- 

out jeopardizing competitive positions that 

may be external or internal to the firm. Such 

discussions have become highly relevant – 

and important – sanity checks for me. Be- 

yond that, several HHL alumni that I keep in 

close touch with have become very good 

friends. 

What is the smartest advice you ever got? 

Mr. Kühnelt: The smartest career advice 

comes from Walt Whitman (1888): “First, 

don’t write poetry. Second ditto. Third ditto. 

You may be surprised to hear me say so, 

but there is no particular need of poetic 

expression. We are utilitarian, and the cur- 

rent cannot be stopped.” Despite his own 

advice, Whitman became one of the most 

distinguished poets in US history. 

New Alumni Officer 

In March 2009, Franziska Rook took over as HHL’s 

Alumni Officer. Previously, she worked for the 

UN World Food Programme and at EBS in 

Oestrich-Winkel. Ms. Rook holds a Master’s 

degree in Nonprofit Management and 

Leadership conferred by Grand Valley State 

University, Michigan, USA. She looks forward 

to working with all alumni to strengthen their 

ties with HHL. Ms. Rook is also Marketing 

Officer at HHL, primarily responsible for 

promoting the M.Sc. program. 

For more information about HHL’s alumni 

activities, contact Alumni Officer Franziska 

Rook at franziska.rook@hhl.de or via phone 

+49 341 9851-613.

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18 

Research & Programs 

Unique courses in HHL’s MBA programs 

Managing Public Relations 

The image and public perception of companies 

are vital for the acceptance and appreciation 

of their products and services, and 

hence for their success. In this regard, Public 

Relations (PR) is an essential issue which 

needs permanent and professional attention. 

It pays to have a well-considered PR strategy, 

not only during times of crisis. 

Hannes Külz (left) gives interview training 

For this reason, HHL offers its full-time MBA 

students the unique course “Managing Pub- 

lic Relations,” taught by Hannes Külz, a journalist 

who writes for Financial Times Germany, 

Handelsblatt, and Welt am Sonntag. 

The course is especially designed to intro- 

Successful M.Sc. Trial Training 

May 22-24, 2009, HHL welcomed 24 prospective 

new students for its first M.Sc. Trial 

Training. Combing the experience of academ- 

ic and extracurricular student life at HHL, participants 

attended a lecture by Professor Dr. 

Andreas Suchanek, DOW Professorship of 

Sustainability and Global Ethics, a BASF 

workshop, and also had the chance to enjoy 

the XIII European Ivy League, either as a player 

or a spectator cheering from the sidelines. 

Participants in the M.Sc.Trial Training 2009 

duce students to communication theory, from 

classical to constructivist approaches. Since 

practical skills are indispensable in PR, groups 

of students undertake field trips and visit the 

PR executives of major Leipzig companies 

and present the findings from these field trips 

to their fellow students. Furthermore, during a 

crisis simulation game, groups of students 

represent various stakeholders of a company 

and elaborate their communication plans. 

Leadership Experience 

What is the difference between management 

and leadership? This is a question that has 

been asked more than once and that can 

also be answered in more than one way. 

HHL’s unique Leadership Experience Seminar 

has been offered annually since 2001 

and is directed by Professor Dr. Torsten Wulf, 

Chair of Strategic Management and Organization 

and Academic Director of the MBA 

programs. The idea of the seminar is to discuss 

leadership topics with and to learn from 

experienced business leaders. The 2009 sem- 

inar featured six sessions taught by Dr. Tillmann 

Blaschke (former CFO of PC-Ware In- 

Tours of Leipzig and the MDR Media City 

rounded off the program. “The M.Sc. Trial 

Training enabled me to get a better picture of 

HHL. I met with students, alumni, and staff, 

and attended a very good lecture. I am now 

more convinced than ever that HHL is the 

right place for me to get my Master’s degree,” 

said participant Bert Förster (25). 

Franziska Rook 


Dr. Martin Gillo in discussion with HHL’s MBA students 

formation Technologies AG), Professor Dr. 

Hermut Kormann (former CEO of Voith AG), 

Dr. Martin Gillo (former CEO of AMD Germany), 

Professor Dr. Menno Harms (former CEO 

of Hewlett-Packard, Germany), Dr. Michael 

Kölmel (founder and co-owner of Kinowelt 

AG), Bernd Euler (Executive Vice President 

Germany of Siemens AG). All sessions were 

followed by a Stammtisch – an informal and 

regularly scheduled post-seminar dinner 

where groups of students discuss a variety of 

leadership matters with the guest speaker in 

a more relaxed atmosphere. 

Financial support 

for tuition costs 

Small and medium-sized enterprises in Saxony 

can apply for European Social Fund (ESF) funding 

towards the cost of further education at HHL for 

their employees. Both HHL’s MBA programs and 

the General Management Program offered by HHL 

Executive are eligible for support of up to 80% of 

the tuition fees. The ESF requires candidates to be 

employed by a small or medium-sized enterprise 

(so-called Mittelstand with up to 500 employees) 

in Saxony; the company must submit the 

completed application form prior to the start of 

the course. Other states offer similar programs. 

Several students in the current part-time MBA 

class have already received financial support. 

Further information: 

Petra Spanka (petra.spanka@hhl.de), or at 

www.esf-in-sachsen.de 

HHL’s next part-time MBA class begins in 

January 2010. Do not miss the application 

deadline October 15, 2009! More information: 

www.hhl.de/part-time-mba


New structure: HHL’s Master of Science 

in Management (M.Sc.) program 

In accordance with the Europe-wide implementation 

of the Bologna Declaration, HHL 

has adapted the structure of its study programs. 

Since September 2006, HHL has 

been offering the full-time Master of Science 

program, which will replace the Diploma program 

by 2010. From September 2009, HHL 

will offer its M.Sc. students specializations in 

finance, accounting, marketing, logistics & 

supply chain management, strategy, entrepreneurship, 

and advanced general management. 

By selecting four out of seven modules, 

students set a specific focus for their 

future career. The integrated study abroad 

term at one of HHL’s 100 partner universities 

is a further special feature of the program. In 

addition, students benefit from HHL’s high- 

Interview 

Work-life balance during 

part-time studies at HHL 

A 14-year-old son, a demanding marketing 

position, and on top of that a challenging 

MBA curriculum – Andreas Abt (P2) 

explains to HHL news how he managed to 

balance health, family, studies, and work. 

HHL’s part-time MBA opened up a new 

career path for the 41-year-old engineer. 

Today, Abt works for the consultancy 

PRTM, helping international top-management 

teams to speed up their product 

development cycles and to improve their 

operations. 

HHL news: Looking back at your studies 

at HHL would you do it again? 

Mr. Abt: Yes, of course I would do it again. 

Why? The MBA connected me to 40 plus 

new friends and to so much new knowledge 

and experience that I would have not 

acquired in any other way. I had to work 

under time pressure with a very diverse 

team of people parallel to a demanding 

job. Where else can you learn to cooperate 

with a consultant, a medical doctor, a 

banker, and a plant manager on the 

financial hedging of a sales contract to 

Latin America mainly by phone and e-mail 

profile corporate contacts and attractive perspectives 

for their entry into the business 

world. 

What is special about the Master’s 

studies at HHL? 

• Covering 120 ECTS points in 18 months, 

HHL’s M.Sc. is a tightly organized, inten- 

sive program. This distinguishes it from 

other Master programs in Germany that 

have a regular study period of 2 years. 

• Door-opener internship: Our experience 

shows that, for many HHL students, an 

internship during their studies helps in get- 

ting a job offer even before graduation. 

while you’re away on business for your 

regular job? HHL put me in contact with 

lecturers from all over the world. The 

knowledge I gained helps me better 

understand business and finance. 

Without the MBA, it would have been 

difficult changing my career path to 

take me where I want to go. 

HHL news: How did you personally 

manage the challenges of working fulltime 

while studying for an MBA? 

Mr. Abt: I am lucky that my wife supports 

my goals in the same way I support hers. 

And there were other people who helped 

me, of course. You have to understand 

that you learn the most when you are 

pushed to the limits and when 

you are working with diverse people. 

One important point is that in the MBA 

class I was never alone. I was part of 

team that was committed to success. 

Another important point is, I used my 

time efficiently and I deliberately did 

not attempt to satisfy everyone a 

hundred percent. 


19 

• Meshing of theory and practice: Whether 

Bosch, Dunkin’ Donuts or TomTom, 

compulsory field projects bring the stu- 

dents into contact with the real business 

world at an early stage. 

• Individual attention: A supportive, per- 

sonal environment is created to nurture 

each student’s development. 

• 24/7 university: The HHL library, the com- 

puter pools, and the group rooms are 

available for students 24 hours a day, sev- 

en days a week. 

www.hhl.de/master-of-science 

Andreas Abt with his wife and his second son in 2009 

HHL news: What is your “work-life 

balance advice“ for MBA students? 

Mr. Abt: Manage your energy and make 

sure to exercise, do things that are fun. 

Balance out health, family, and career. 

Even if your order of priorities for the latter 

three is different, I would not neglect any 

one of them for too long. Build up a strong 

network that can support you if you need 

it. Over time, build strong relationships with 

shared experiences inside and outside 

school. See your management studies as 

an opportunity to try out new things. In the 

classroom, you can provoke and experiment. 

It is a safe environment to fail in. When 

we talk about choices and decisions, it 

becomes a very personal matter and de- 

pends very much on the individual’s val- 

ues. That means you have to find your own 

balance.

20 

Interview 


HHL’s doctoral program – a success story 

Established in 1996, HHL’s doctoral program 

has produced 77 graduates to date and, with 

89 candidates currently enrolled, it is growing 

fast. In an interview, Dr. Emilio Matthaei (K16) 

tells HHL news about his dissertation project, 

the research journey and the great opportunities 

that HHL has offered to him. 

Doctoral degrees 

awarded by HHL 

January 2009: Richard Federowski 

Unternehmensroutinen im Turnaroundmanagement 

– Wie Routinen wirken und wie 

die Krisenbewältigung routinenbewusster 

gestaltet werden kann 


May 2009: Emilio Edgar Goswin Matthaei 

The Nature of Executive Work 

Center for Leading Innovation & Cooperation 

(CLIC) 

June 2009: Birgit Maria Sponheuer 

Strategisches und operatives Employer 

Branding als Bestandteil einer ganzheitlichen 

Markenführung 


July 2009: Brit Evelyn Kästner 

Kreativität als Bestandteil der Markenidentität – 

Ein verhaltenstheoretischer Ansatz zur Analyse 

der Mitarbeiterkreativität 


HHL news: What is your dissertation 

about? 

Dr. Matthaei: My thesis “The Nature of 

Executive Work” presents what executives 

do. The research focused on the activities of 

senior executives of global organizations and 

proposes role models on how to operate 

and integrate the business, as well as how to 

span boundaries across organizations. I am 

very grateful to the Peter Pribilla Foundation 

for their financial support of this project. 

HHL news: Did you connect up with other 

research institutions? 

Dr. Matthaei: My research has been a jour- 

ney so far. In parallel to my doctoral studies 

at HHL, I worked as a Research Associate at 

HHL and then the Friedrich-Alexander University 

of Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Moreover, I very 

HHL was again able to secure the top spot in 

a recent ranking on student satisfaction. Over 

19,000 business students from 100 universities 

in Germany were surveyed by Universum 

Communications regarding their study experience, 

job preferences, and career prospects. 

Apart from the general perception of 

the quality of studies, student satisfaction 


much enjoyed my final year as a DAAD 

research scholar at the University of Oxford. 

HHL news: What opportunities did HHL 

offer you? 

Dr. Matthaei: I had the chance to learn from 

outstanding academics at HHL, in particular 

my doctoral supervisor Professor Dr. Kathrin 

M. Möslein. Throughout the years at HHL, I 

was exposed to the topics strategy, innova- 

tion, and entrepreneurship. Also, I worked on 

several research projects funded by the BMBF 

(Federal Ministry of Education and Research) 

and the Stifterverband für die Deutsche 

Wissenschaft. Results of one project on 

entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized 

companies have recently been published 

entitled “Strategies for Innovators” (Gabler 

2009) with Professor Dr. Kathrin M. Möslein. 

Germany’s most satisfied students 

study at HHL 

HHL students celebrating 

with regard to professors, course selection, 

and access to student services was sur- 

veyed. The study shows that the most satisfied 

students study at private universities and 

smaller institutions. HHL is proud of this renewed 

confirmation that its individual attention and 

study quality are setting a benchmark for university 

education.

Field projects 

Diploma program 

Freudenberg – Purchasing process 

optimization 

Partner: FV Service KG 

Heinz Nixdorf Chair of IT-based Logistics 

This project dealt with the analysis and optimization 

of business processes in the field of purchasing 

in order to increase efficiency and to streamline 

both strategic and operational purchasing tasks. 

After optimization, the re-engineered purchasing 

processes were documented by using a standardized 

system. 

The use of Web 2.0 as a knowledge 

management tool in projects by 

SV SparkassenVersicherung 

Partner: SV SparkassenVersicherung Holding AG 


SV SparkassenVersicherung is the third largest 

public buildings insurance company in Germany 

and market leader in the field of real estate insur- 

ance. For a company of this size, knowledge man- 

agement becomes a major driver of competitive 

advantage. The project team was asked to inves- 

tigate the use of Web 2.0 as a knowledge manage- 

ment tool and suggest concrete applications. 

Master of Science in 

Management program 

Development of a partnership-marketing 

concept for establishing the Designers’ Open 

as a trade show and event platform 

Partner: H&N Kultur- u. Projektmanagement GbR 


For more details, see page 27. 

Analysis of possible business models and 

marketing strategies for SunCoal Industries 

Partner: SunCoal Industries GmbH 




Analysis of market potential and development 

of go-to-market approaches 

Partner: UMEDICON GmbH 


The field project conducted a market analysis and 

developed a marketing strategy for an innovative 

medical training device. The results of the study 

will enable a future competitive strategy to be de- 

veloped and decisions to be made regarding pric- 

ing, distribution, and communication. 

Improving the brand image of 

Volksbank Leipzig 

Partner: Volksbank Leipzig eG 


Volksbank Leipzig wishes to improve its brand 

image within its business area. Consequently, the 

target of the project was to analyze Volksbank’s 

current brand status and to generate new ideas 

and concepts to foster the brand “Volksbank 

Leipzig” in the region. 

Master of Business 

Administration program 

Development of a marketing plan for 

Mercedes-Benz 

Partner: Daimler AG 


Daimler AG is a global leader in the production of 

premium passenger cars and the largest manufac- 

turer of heavy and medium-duty trucks in the 

world. The current brand portfolio includes the 

world’s most valuable automobile brand, Mercedes- 

Benz. The goal of the project was to draw up a 

concrete marketing plan in close collaboration with 

the Innovations Department at Mercedes-Benz to 

identify new target groups and new markets in the 

near future. 

Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Chair of Macroeconomics 

Publications 

Carstensen, Kai / Hagen, Jan / Hoßfeld, Oliver / 

Salazar Neaves, Abelardo 

Money Demand Stability and Inflation 

Prediction in the Four Largest EMU Countries 

in: Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 

Vol. 56, Issue 1, 73-93 

Talks at conferences 

Oliver Hoßfeld 

“Equilibrium Real Exchange Rates and Real 

Exchange Rate Misalignments: Time Series vs. 

Panel Estimates” 

University of Göttingen: Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen, 

Göttingen, Germany, March 12-14, 2009 


ProSpec – From proof of principle to the 

product and to the market 

Partner: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental 

Research – UFZ 


21 

Mold in an apartment can cause an allergic reaction 

and accompanying asthma problems. So far there 

has been no way of testing the sensitivity of patients 

to indoor molds. Dr. Martin von Bergen and his 

team in the Department of Proteomics at the UFZ 

have identified an allergen of the most significant 

indoor mold. With the aim of introducing this aller- 

gen to the market, the field project analyzed the 

market for allergy therapies and developed a con- 

cept for a marketable product. 

Development of a communication strategy 

Partner: SIFE Germany 

DOW Professorship of Sustainability and 

Global Ethics 


Growing in emerging markets – creating a 

successful distribution model 

Partner: TomTom WORK 


TomTom WORK is the B2B oriented business unit 

within the TomTom group, offering Connected 

Navigation solutions to users of business fleets of 

any size. Connected Navigation provides two-way 

communication between drivers from mobile work- 

forces and the staff in the office, comprehensive 

order management, detailed business reporting, 

best-in-class navigation and much more. The field 

project provided advice on a distribution model that 

delivers fast growth in new markets. 

Participation in conferences 

Professor Dr. Wilhelm Althammer 

Jahrestagung des Ausschusses für 

Umwelt- und Ressourcenökonomie, 

Verein für Sozialpolitik 

Vienna, Austria, April 24-25, 2009

22 



Public accounting under review 

Public accounting in Germany, i.e. the accounting 

in municipalities, districts and states, 

is currently facing major changes. Within 

the next few years, most governmental 

budgeting departments will have to swap 

their accounting methods from the antiquat- 

ed fiscal accounting to the double entry 

bookkeeping which is obligatory for private 

companies. In view of this, the Leipziger 

Gesprächskreis Rechnungslegung und Prüfung 

e.V. (LGK) held a lecture and discussion 

session on February 18, 2009. The event 

was organized in cooperation with BDO 

Deutsche Warentreuhand AG. During the 

meeting, Professor Dr. Henning Zülch, Chair 

of Accounting and Auditing at HHL and 

Chairman of LGK, introduced the theoretical 

underpinnings of public accounting. Thereafter, 

Eckart Hagenloch, Project Manager for 

Annual congress of European 

Accounting Association 

The Chair of Accounting and Auditing attended the 

32 nd European Accounting Association (EAA) Annual 

Congress, which was held in Tampere, Finland, 

May 12-15, 2009. The EAA brings together an 

illustrious community of accounting scholars, 

researchers and practitioners. The Annual 

Congress of the EAA offers a unique opportunity 

for presenting accounting research and for 

learning what colleagues and specialists in the 

field are doing. More than 1,100 people from 

every continent attended this year’s congress, 

and some 600 to 700 high quality papers were 

presented. The Chair of Accounting and Auditing 

contributed three papers – one produced in 

cooperation with the Chair of Financial 

Managemanent (Professor Dr. Bernhard 

Schwetzler) and so was one of the outstanding 

participants in the research community. 

Thomas Nellessen 

Leipzig’s new public financial management 

authority, reported on his experiences in the 

run up to the changeover. He particularly 

mentioned the significant difficulties encountered 

when discussing changing items with 

the politicians involved. Finally, Dr. Doris 

Hammer, partner at BDO Leipzig, presented 

selected individual critical amendments in 

public accounting. It became apparent that 

the new public accounting method is 

strongly affected by local requirements and a 

wealth of unregulated details. “In the end,” 

Professor Dr. Henning Zülch said, “the new 

regulations will provide more transparency 

concerning public authorities. The taxpayer 

will know more about what happens with the 

taxes he pays.” 

Sebastian Hoffmann 

Ernst & Young Foundation backs 

research: doctoral seminar at 

HHL for all chairs of accounting 

in Eastern Germany 

The aim of the Doctoral Seminar for the Region 

East 2009 is to enable young accounting 

researchers in Eastern Germany to exchange 

ideas and build up a research network. The 

seminar is planned for October 2009 at HHL and 

is being organized by HHL’s Chair of Accounting 

and Auditing, led by Professor Dr. Henning Zülch. 

Researchers from tertiary institutions in Berlin, 

Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 

Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia are being 

invited to participate. The main focus will be on 

international accounting, but topics in the fields 

of national accounting, auditing and corporate 

governance will also be discussed. The Ernst & 

Young Foundation has generously provided EUR 

10,000 towards the cost of running this doctoral 

seminar. 


From left to right: Dr. Doris Hammer, Eckart Hagenloch 

Current developments in 

accounting standard setting 

On May 7, 2009, the Leipziger Gesprächskreis 

Rechnungslegung und Prüfung e.V. (LGK) 

organized a lecture and discussion session in 

cooperation with the Leipzig office of Deloitte & 

Touche GmbH, headed by Andreas Otter. The 

participants discussed recent developments in 

the field of international and European accounting 

standard setting. The background is that capitalmarket 

oriented companies have been required 

to report according to International Financial 

Reporting Standards (IFRS) since 2005. Therefore 

the IFRS have to be incorporated into European 

law and have to pass through European 

legislative procedures. These procedures are 

highly politically influenced and have recently 

changed. Moreover, the current economic crisis 

has shown new dimensions in standard setting 

processes. In this context, Professor Dr. Andreas 

Barckow, partner at Deloitte & Touche GmbH, 

introduced the standard setting process which 

resulted in the issuing of the IFRS. Following this 

presentation, Thomas Oversberg, former member 

of the European Financial Reporting Advisory 

Group (EFRAG), presented his views on the 

translation of IFRS into European law considering 

the very different institutions that are involved. 

“It is not surprising,” he said, “that the public 

perceives the standard setting process as not 

transparent and occasionally producing 

questionable outcomes.”

Publications 

Zülch, Henning / Gebhardt, Ronny / Hoffmann, 

Sebastian 

Politische Ökonomie der Rechnungslegung – 

Bisherige Forschungsergebnisse und künftige 

Forschungsperspektiven unter besonderer 

Berücksichtigung des Lobbyingkonzepts 

in: Journal für Betriebswirtschaft, 59 (2009) 1, 1-29 

Zülch, Henning / Hoffmann, Sebastian 

Aktuelle HGB-Novelle: Herausforderungen 

auch für die Corporate Governance 

in: Zeitschrift für Corporate Governance, 

ZCG, 4 (2009) 3, 97-144 


Das Bilanzrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz – 

Überblick über die wesentlichen Regelungen 

des BilMoG 

in: Brochure published by Leipziger Gesprächskreis 

Rechnungslegung und Prüfung e. V. (LGK) and 

Vereinigung zur Mitwirkung an der Entwicklung 

des Bilanzrechts für Familiengesellschaften e. V. 

(VMEBF) 


Die Bilanzierung sonstiger Rückstellungen 

nach BilMoG 

in: Steuern und Bilanzen, StuB, 11 (2009) 10, 369-373 


Jahresrückblick aus Sicht der Rechnungslegung 

in: Zeitschrift für Corporate Governance, ZCG, 3 

(2008) 6, 249 

Zülch, Henning / Wünsch, Martin 

Angaben zu Finanzinstrumenten: Durchgeführte 

und geplante Änderungen von IFRS 7 

in: Praxis der internationalen Rechnungslegung, 

PiR, 5 (2009) 1, 19-21 


Die sachverständigen BilMoG-Elfmänner 

in: Der Betrieb, 62 (2009) 4, I 


Die Sachverständigenanhörung vom 17.12.2008 

zum BilMoG-RegE: Mögliche Implikationen für 

das neue Handelsbilanzrecht 



Plädoyer für einen deutschen Weg der Zeitwertbewertung 

– Erkenntnisse aus der Anhörung 

zum BilMoG vom 17.12.2008 

in: Der Betrieb, 62 (2009) 5, 189-190 


Zülch, Henning 

Verschärfung der Anforderungen an den 

Aufsichtsrat durch das BilMoG? 


(2009) 1, 35-37 

Hoffmann, Sebastian 

Aktuelle Informationen zum BilMoG 


(2009) 1, 38-41 


Aktuelle Änderung des IFRS 1: 

Grundlegende Neustrukturierung 


PiR, 5 (2009) 2, 52-54 


Elf BilMoG-Freunde sollt ihr sein! 

in: Steuern und Bilanzen, StuB, 11 (2009) 3, I 

Zülch, Henning / Burghardt, Stephan 

ED 10 “Consolidated Financial Statements”: 

Entwurf zur Abbildung von Tochter- und 

Zweckgesellschaften 


PiR, 5 (2009) 3, 80-82 


Voraussetzungen der Fehlerfeststellung und 

Fehlerveröffentlichung im Enforcement- 

Verfahren 



Das BilMoG ist endlich angekommen! 

in: Zeitschrift für internationale und kapitalmarktorientierte 

Rechnungslegung, KoR, 9 (2009) 4, I 


Fehlerfeststellung im Enforcement-Verfahren 

nur bei wesentlichen Fehlern 

in: Entscheidungen zum Wirtschaftsrecht Kurzkommentare, 

EWiR, 25 (2009) 7, 221-222 


Die Modernisierung des deutschen Handelsbilanzrechts 

durch das BilMoG: Wesentliche 

Alt- und Neuregelungen im Überblick 

in: Der Betrieb, 62 (2009) 15, 745-752 


Neue Bilanzierungsgrundlage: Wie das BilMoG 

die Finanzberichterstattung deutscher 

Unternehmen verändert 

in: GoingPublic, Sonderausgabe “Kapitalmarktrecht 

2009”, 5 (2009) Mai, 60-61 


23 


Wesentliche Neuregelungen durch das BilMoG: 

Die Bilanzreform im Überblick 

in: Buchführung, Bilanzierung, Kostenrechnung, 

BBK, (2009) 9, 425-445 

Fischer, Daniel T. / Siggelkow, Lena 

Das Diskussionspapier “Leases – Preliminary 

Views” des IASB und des FASB 


PiR, 5 (2009) 6, 174-176 

Upcoming publications 

In August 2009, a textbook entitled “Bilanzierung 

nach IFRS” (Accounting according to IFRS) will 

be published by WILEY-VCH. Authors are Professor 

Dr. Matthias Hendler (Fachhochschule Oldenburg/ 

Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven) and Professor Dr. 

Henning Zülch (HHL). 

A commentary titled “Praxiskommentar BilMoG” 

(Practical Commentary on the Accounting Law 

Modernisation Act (BilMoG)) is expected to be 

published in September 2009 by WILEY-VCH. 

The authors are Professor Dr. Henning Zülch and 

Sebastian Hoffmann (both HHL). 


Professor Dr. Henning Zülch 

Meeting of the Arbeitskreis “Immaterielle 

Werte” der Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für 

Betriebswirtschaft e.V. 

Düsseldorf, Germany, February 10, 2009 

Professor Dr. Henning Zülch / Stephan Burghardt / 

Sebastian Hoffmann / Martin Wünsch 

12 th IFRS Roundtable 

Leipzig, Germany, March 11, 2009 

Professor Dr. Henning Zülch / Stephan Burghardt / 

Sebastian Hoffmann / Thomas Nellessen / Paul 

Pronobis 

32 nd EAA Conference 

Tampere, Finland, May 12-15, 2009 

Paul Pronobis 

Doctoral consortium of the International Association 

for Accounting Education and Research 

(IAAER) and the Association of Chartered Certified 

Accountants (ACCA) within the Accounting 

and Management Information Systems (AMIS) 

2009 Conference 

Bucharest, Romania, June 16-17, 2009

24 


Center for Financial Reporting 

& Consolidation at HHL 

Starting on July 1, 2009, the all-new Center 

for Financial Reporting & Consolidation 

(CFRC) will promote HHL’s involvement in 

consulting challenges subject to financial 

reporting and consolidation according to 

IFRS. The new CFRC will be located at the 

Chair of Accounting and Auditing. Chairholder 

Professor Zülch said, “The new center will allow 

us to provide academic input to consult- 

ing ventures based on our expertise in the area 

of International Financial Reporting and consolidation.” 

Both areas have been further developed 

by the International Accounting 

Standards Board (IASB) at a dynamic pace 

and have proven in the past to be complex. 

As founding partners in the CFRC, Bertelsmann 

Business Consulting GmbH (BeBC) 

and the Leipziger Gesprächskreis Rech- 


Professor Dr. Henning Zülch / Professor Dr. Bernhard 

Schwetzler / Paul Pronobis / Marco O. Sperling 

“The Development of Earnings Quality in Germany: 

A quantitative empirical analysis of German listed 

companies between 1997 and 2006” 

Annual Conference 2009 of the VHB Accounting 

Section, Munich, Germany, February 5-7, 2009 

Professor Dr. Henning Zülch 

“Konzeptionelle Grundlagen der Finanzberichterstattung 

der öffentlichen Verwaltung – Einführung 

in die aktuellen Herausforderungen” 

Meeting of the Leipziger Gesprächskreis 

Rechnungslegung und Prüfung e.V. (LGK) 

Leipzig, Germany, February 18, 2009 


“Das Bilanzrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz 

im Überblick” 

Bertelsmann IFRS Training 

Hamburg, Germany, April 6, 2009 


“Linking decision makers and interest groups in 

accounting standard setting: some evidence from 

the modernization of German GAAP” 



nungslegung und Prüfung e.V. (LGK) will support 

the Center’s activities. Be-BC is a whollyowned 

subsidiary of media giant Bertelsmann 

AG and was recently spun off from the Gütersloh 

headquarters. (For more information, 

please see the interview with Dr. Erdmann on 

page 4). 

LGK, the second founding partner, has estab- 

lished itself as a knowledge-sharing and 

communication platform over the last two 

years. As a result, the new center will benefit 

from LGK’s extensive network. CFRC will 

help to sharpen HHL’s profile and contribute 

to the further growth of the Chair of Accounting 

and Auditing. 

Martin Wünsch 

Stephan Burghardt 

“The granting of loans by German banks to small 

and medium-sized entities against the background 

of international financial reporting” 



Paul Pronobis 

“The Development of Earnings Quality in 

Germany: A quantitative empirical analysis 

of German listed companies between 1997 

and 2006” 



Guest lecturers 

Kai Niclas Rauscher 

Kathleen Hennig 

BDO Deutsche Warentreuhand AG, Leipzig 

Hans-Jürgen Fahrion 

KPMG Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft AG, 

Munich 

Henrik Becker 

Rölfs WP Partner AG, 

Cologne 


New staff 

Patrick Krauß joined the HHL Chair of Accounting 

and Auditing in May 2009. He graduated 

from Pforzheim University of Applied 

Sciences, where he received his Diploma in 

Business Administration, majoring in 

Controlling, Finance and Accounting. In 

2005, he spent a semester at the 

Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico. Since 

October 2006, he has been working as an 

Audit Assistant in the Audit & Advisory 

Services Department at Ernst & Young AG, 

Stuttgart, and will continue to do so in a 

half-yearly rotation with his work at HHL. 

Lena Siggelkow started working as a Research 

Associate for the Chair of Accounting and 

Auditing in April 2009. Simultaneously, 

she is an Audit Assistant for PricewaterhouseCoopers 

AG, Berlin, in the context of a 

joint research project. She completed her 

Business Administration studies at Freie 

Universität Berlin in November 2008, majoring 

in Accounting/Auditing, Banking/ 

Finance, and Business Law. During her 

studies, she gained practical experience 

as a freelancer at one of the biggest 

crop-commodity marketing consulting 

companies in Europe.



The future of private equity 

On June 19, 2009, the Chair of Financial Man- 

agement organized a panel discussion in cooperation 

with finexpert GmbH about the 

“The Future of Private Equity”. In his introductory 

speech, Dr. Hanns Ostmeier, Chairman 

of Group “Large Buyouts” / German 

Private Equity and Venture Capital Association 

BVK e.V., identified upcoming challenges 

for the private equity industry caused by the 

current financial crisis. The subsequent discussion 

between the students from the seminar 

“Cases in Finance” and panel members 

Dr. Gerhard Killat, CFO of Lazard & Co., 

Professor Dr. Schwetzler heads 

new expert group of DVFA 

After the successful partnership with Deutsche 

Vereinigung für Finanzanalyse und Asset 

Management (DVFA) in the field of fairness 

opinions, Professor Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler is 

now heading the new expert group “Corporate 

Transactions and Valuation”. The group will 

develop best practice recommendations for the 

valuation of companies in cases of squeeze outs, 

mergers, and control agreements. DVFA is the 

society of professionals for investment firms, 

asset managers, and consulting businesses. 

Contingencies in M&A contracts – 

new cooperation with CMS 

Hasche Sigle 

In May 2009, the Center of Corporate Transactions 

(CCT) signed a research cooperation agree- 

ment with the law firm CMS Hasche Sigle. Togeth- 

er with Alexander Ballmann (M.A., MPA Harvard), 

attorney and partner at CMS Hasche Sigle, CCT’s 

goal is to build up a unique M&A contract database. 

Frankfurt, Stefan Klenke, Head of M&A at 

Deutsche Bahn AG, and Carsten Knobel, 

Corporate Vice President of Henkel AG & Co. 

KGaA, focused on private equity future fund- 

ing strategies in a credit-constrained world 

as well as other critical corporate finance and 

corporate governance issues. Afterwards, a 

relaxed get-together with a barbeque gave 

HHL students the opportunity to network 

and talk in an informal atmosphere about future 

career perspectives. 

Alexander Lahmann 

From left to right: Professor Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler, Carsten Knobel, Dr. Gerhard Killat, 

Stefan Klenke and Harald Brost 

Karsten Schröder (K8) on hedge 

fund industry 

In the course of the lecture series “The financial 

and economic crisis” (see page 12), the Chair of 

Financial Management invited Karsten Schröder 

(K8) to speak about the hedge fund industry and 

his fund Amplitude Capital. It was a great oppor- 

tunity to discuss the current situation in the 

financial markets and its implications for the 

future with someone actively involved. 

From left to right: Karsten Schröder and 

Professor Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler 


25 

Sponsors and supporters 

of the Center of 

Corporate Transactions 

(CCT) 

Germany’s leading M&A advisor for mid-cap 

transactions, the German law firm CMS Hasche 

Sigle, joined CCT in 2009 as a preferred 

partner. “Being at the intersection between 

legal, accounting, and economic questions, 

the field of corporate transactions offers a 

wide range of interesting research topics. We 

are happy to have such a renowned law firm 

as a partner. Together with CMS we will be 

able to extend our research on legal and economic 

issues,” says Professor Dr. Bernhard 

Schwetzler. Additionally, CCT is proud to have 

acquired Henkel AG & Co KGaA, one of 

Germany’s biggest multinational conglomerates, 

as a new research sponsor. Furthermore, 

the center’s sponsors The Boston Consulting 

Group and Duff & Phelps have committed to 

continuing their valuable support. 

Professor Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler, 

Alexander Lahmann 

Leonardo & Co. Award 2008 

conferred to Bastian J. Lechner 

(K21) 

HHL alumnus 

Bastian J. Lechner 

(K21) has received 

the Leonardo & 

Co. Award 2008 

for his Diploma 

thesis. The award 

for the best Mas- 

ter, Diploma, and 

Bachelor thesis 

on Mergers & 

Acquisitions (M&A) 

is endowed with 

EUR 1,500 and has been sponsored by Leonardo 

& Co., one of the leading independent investment 

banks in Europe, since 2006. Bastian Lechner’s 

thesis was supervised and supported by HHL’s 

Chair of Financial Management.

26 

Activities at firms and associations 


German Private Equity and Venture Capital 

Association (BVK) 

Member of Scientific Advisory Board 


Deutsche Vereinigung für Finanzanalyse 

und Asset Management (DVFA) 

Member of Financial Accounting Comittee 

Publications 

Rapp, Marc S. / Schwetzler, Bernhard / 

Sperling, Marco O. 

Who is there when they leave? – An anatomy 

of block trades in a bank-based economy 

Working paper (36 pages), accepted as GEABA 

Working paper No. 08-14 

Rapp, Marc S. / Schwetzler, Bernhard / 

Sperling, Marco O. 

The Disappearing Deutschland AG – An Analysis 

of Block Trades in German Large Caps 

Working paper (38 pages) 

Reimund, Carsten / Schwetzler, 

Bernhard / Zainhofer, Florian 

Costs of Financial Distress: 

the German Evidence 

in: Kredit und Kapital, Vol. 42, 93-123 


Paul Pronobis / Professor Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler 

/ Marco O. Sperling / Professor Dr. Henning Zülch 

“The Development of Earnings Quality in 

Germany” 



Professor Dr. Gunter Friedl / Professor Dr. Bernhard 

Schwetzler 

“Inflation, Wachstum und Unternehmens- 

bewertung” 



Dr. Marc Steffen Rapp / Professor Dr. Bernhard 

Schwetzler / Marco O. Sperling 

“The Disappearing Deutschland AG – An Analysis 

of Block Trades in German Large Caps” 

European Academy of Management 2009 

Liverpool, UK, May 11-14, 2009 



Technologie- und Gründerfonds Sachsen 

(TGFS) 

Member of Investment Committee 


Deutsche Vereinigung für Finanzanalyse und 

Asset Management (DVFA) 

Chairman of the expert group 

“corporate transaction and valuation” 

Aders, Christian / Schwetzler, Bernhard 

Fair Play bei Takeovers 

in: Die Bank, 2009, 14-19 


Fairness Opinions: Kein Freibrief für 

Unternehmenstransaktionen 

in: Finanzbetrieb, Nr. 1. 2009, Editorial 


HHL/Duff&Phelps – Fairness Opinion Monitor 

Jahresreport 2008 

in: Finanzbetrieb, Nr. 2/2009, 21-25 

Schwetzler, Bernhard 

Fairness Opinions und Ranking 

von Investmentbanken 

in: M&A Review, Nr. 1/2009, 1-7 

Paul Pronobis / Professor Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler 

/ Marco O. Sperling / Professor Dr. Henning Zülch 

“The Development of Earnings Quality 

in Germany” 



Professor Dr. Gunter Friedl / Professor 

Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler 

“Inflation, Wachstum und Unternehmens- 

bewertung” 





“The Disappearing Deutschland AG – 

An Analysis of Block Trades in German 

Large Caps” 




The Chair of Financial Management at HHL 

has been appointed “target professorship” by 

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Düsseldorf. Henkel has 

also become Partner of the Center of Corporate 

Transactions (CCT) at HHL. 

Guest lecturer 

Dr. Marc Steffen Rapp 

Technische Universität München 

Friedl, Gunther / Schwetzler, Bernhard 

Inflation, Wachstum und Unternehmensbewertung 

in: Die Wirtschaftsprüfung, 2009, 152-158 

La Mura, Pierfrancesco / Rapp, Marc S. / 

Schwetzler, Bernhard / Wilms, Andreas 

The Certification Hypothesis of Fairness 

Opinions 

HHL working paper 92 

Schwetzler, Bernhard / Strenger, Christian 

Fairness Opinions: Blankoscheck für 

Unternehmenstransaktionen? 

in: Börsen-Zeitung, Nr. 1/2009, 11 



“The Disappearing Deutschland AG – An Analysis 

of Block Trades in German Large Caps” 

7 th International Conference on Corporate Governance: 

“Corporate Governance: Managing Risk in 

a Changing World” 

Birmingham, UK, June 29, 2009 


Marco O. Sperling 

Alternative Investment Conference – London 

School of Economics and Political Science 

London, UK, January 19-20, 2009 


Terminal Value, Accounting Numbers and 

Inflation 


Section, Munich, Germany, February 5-7, 2009


Research & Programs 27 

Focusing on emerging markets – 

Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft on a trip to India 

India is known around the world for Bollywood 

movies, spicy food, and for its rich and ancient 

culture. Nonetheless, in recent years all this 

has paled beside the impressive development 

of its soaring economy. India has become a 

global center for IT services and Business Process 

Outsourcing (BPO). But the skills of the 

country’s engineering and business graduates 

have also gained a global reputation. 

February 22-28, 2009, members of the Wissenschaftliche 

Gesellschaft für Marketing und 

Unternehmensführung (Academic Society for 

Marketing and Business Leadership) visited 

the Indian IT metropolis of Bangalore and the 

country’s capital New Delhi to gain first-hand 

experience of the outstanding economic and 

societal developments and the opportunities 

in this market. The trip was organized by HHL’s 

Chair of Marketing Management. 

In Bangalore, the group at first had the opportunity 

to visit Hindustan Unilever’s research 

center. There, the specificities of the Indian retail 

structure were introduced as well as new 

tailor-made and locally developed products 

for the Indian market. The group was impressed 

by the company’s efforts to improve 

the still underdeveloped drinking water supply 

in India’s countryside by means of innovative 

products that at the same time permit a profit- 

able business model. Further corporate visits 

HHL students develop marketing 

concept for the Designers’ Open 

On April 9, 2009, five students from HHL’s 

M.Sc.3 class presented the results of their 

field project, which is an integral part of their 

studies, to the Leipzig-based project partner 

H&R Kultur- u. Projektmanagement GbR. The 

project, which ran from mid-January to the 

end of March 2009, allowed the student team 

to combine theoretical knowledge from their 

studies with hands-on experience. The results 

for the project partner, which organizes the 

annual Designers’ Open, included an international 

competitor analysis and a newly devel- 

led the delegation to Bosch India, the country’s 

largest automotive supplier, and to Infosys 

Technologies, one of the world’s leading suppliers 

of IT business solutions. Here, the group 

was welcomed by Kris Gopalakrishnan, one 

of the company’s founding fathers. 

For the second half of the trip, the HHL delegation 

had to travel 2,000 km northward to 

New Delhi where visits to McKinsey & Company 

and a subdivision of Henkel Asia-Pacific 

were scheduled. But the society’s academic 

aspect was also incorporated into the trip in 

oped financial concept with an examination of 

the present legal form. Based on the outcome 

of an online survey which achieved an aboveaverage 

response rate, the students defined 

which marketing measures the project partner 

should focus on in the future. The declared 

aim of the project partner is to raise awareness 

of the Designers’ Open throughout Sax- 

ony and the neighboring states. The student 

team also gave valuable advice regarding different 

strategies for involving several stakehold- 

ers in the project. After an exciting final pre- 


the form of visits to the Institute of Marketing & 

Management, and to the Management Development 

Institute, one of India’s leading business 

schools and partner of HHL. During a 

closing dinner, the society’s members had the 

opportunity to exchange thoughts about 

India’s future development with represent- 

atives of the German business community in 

Delhi and with the German Embassy’s Chargé 

d’Affaires, Christian-Matthias Schlaga. 

Gunther Greven 

sentation by the students, the project partner 

and the student team moved on to the more 

relaxed but no less exciting part of the day - a 

delicious business lunch at the nearby China- 

brenner restaurant. 

For further information on the Designers’ Open, 

go to www.designersopen.de 

Beatrice Ermer

28 


Show your colors! – Leadership Talk 

One and a half years after their last meeting in 

Leipzig, the members of the Wissenschaftliche 

Gesellschaft für Marketing und Unternehmensführung 

(Academic Society for Marketing and 

Business Leadership) responded to an invitation 

to hold their 56 th Leadership Talk in the 

rooms of Leipzig’s famous Gewandhaus 

April 2-3, 2009. The topic this time was the 

issue of corporate reputation in the light of the 

current financial crisis and global downturn. 

More than 30 top executives and marketing 

academics participated in the lively meeting. 

The event was opened on Thursday evening 

with a dinner speech by Professor Dr. Andreas 

Schulz, Director of the Gewandhaus, who 

talked about the communication challenges 

facing an internationally positioned cultural institution. 

Later, participants had the opportunity 

to listen to the Gewandhaus orchestra 

performing J.S. Bach’s Matthäuspassion. 

Workshop “Multichannel Management” 

at Leipzig’s Mediencampus 

Is the use of multiple sales channels a revenue 

booster in recessive times, or does it just impair 

a company’s efficiency? This question was 

discussed during a day-long workshop at 

Mediencampus Leipzig organized by the 

Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Marketing 

und Unternehmensführung on January 27, 2009. 

Numerous experts from industry, consulting, and 

academia responded to the society’s invitation 

and listened amongst others to presentations by 

Professor Dr. Gerrit Heinemann, Hochschule 

Niederrhein, Dr. Ralf Birkelbach, Springer 

Business Media, and Christoph Erbenich, 

McKinsey & Company. The speakers presented 

current findings in the field of multichannel 

management as well as insights and best 

practices from their respective industries. The 

whole workshop was videotaped and a 

multimedia documentation will soon be available 

at www.wissenschaftliche-gesellschaft.de. 


After the concert, the group was joined by 

members of the advisory board of Leipzig’s 

Energy Exchange (EEX), amongst them 

Leipzig’s Lord Mayor Burkhard Jung, to conclude 

the evening together. 

On Friday, Professor Dr. Burkhard Schwenker, 

CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, 

gave the audience a fact-based speech on 

the current economic situation and thus provided 

a solid foundation for the following debates. 

He emphasized his own conviction that 

the German economy will recover quickly and 

that it will come out of the current crisis 

strengthened and more competitive. Professor 

Schwenker was followed by Professor Dr. 

Günter Bentele, University of Leipzig, who familiarized 

the participants with the academic 

perspective on corporate reputation. In the 

last speech, Hans-Ulrich Jörges, member of 

the editorial board of Stern magazine, made 

Real-life experience 

in brand management 

In March 2009, HHL students in the marketing 

course “Strategic Brand Management” 

undertook an excursion to Berlin. Ralf Klein- 

Bölting, Chief Marketing Officer of Deutsche 

Bahn AG, gave the students a deep insight into 

and first-hand experience of brand management. 

He presented the new Deutsche Bahn branding 

strategy that had won the Marketing Award just 

the day before. Afterwards, co-founder of Musiol 

Munzinger Sasserath, Marc Sasserath, provided 

insights into how a consultancy company 

supports its clients with brand management 

knowledge. The students also had the opportunity 

to present to him their individual work on 

different car marques and their branding 

strategies and received some feedback from the 

renowned marketing professional. 

Jenny Müller 


clear that the public is well able to differentiate 

between different institutional actors and that 

the business sector overall, but in particular 

stock-listed corporations, suffer heavily from a 

lack of public trust. He especially encouraged 

participants from medium-sized and familyowned 

businesses to show their colors in the 

debate on the future and value of the market 

economy and business in general. In a final 

panel discussion chaired by Professor Dr. Dr. 

h.c. Klaus Backhaus, University of Münster, 

and supported by Professor Dr. Klaus-Peter 

Wiedmann, University of Hannover, Mr. Jörges’ 

provocative ideas were discussed vigorously, 

leaving the impression that the day’s topic had 

inspired many participants and provided them 

with valuable insights. 


Dissertation project 

“Marketing 50+” complete and 

donation from Breuninger for 

marketing research 

In September 2008, the research project 

“Marketing 50+”, conducted in cooperation with 

E. Breuninger GmbH & Co., was completed 

successfully. In his dissertation project, Marc 

Schumacher, former Head of Communications at 

Breuninger and doctoral candidate at the Chair 

of Marketing Management, showed that brand 

communication created for a specific target 

group is much more effective than a general 

one. In this context, a special catalog featuring 

older models was created for a target group 

“female, 50+”. It transpired that this group 

identified highly with the fashion shown, and this 

led to an increased turnover. E. Breuninger 

GmbH & Co. is not only involved in supporting 

research at the Chair of Marketing Management 

by cooperating in dissertation projects. 

Chairholder Professor Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg 

was delighted to receive a generous donation 

from the company to contribute to the advancement 

of research in the field of branding and 

retailing.

Research in the Eternal City: 

the Academic Marketing 

Association visits Rome 

March 26 to 29, the Akademische Marketinggesellschaft 

e.V. (AMG), an association of current 

and former doctoral students at the Chair 

of Marketing Management, held its 4 th doctoral 

colloquium in the historic city of Rome. Two 

entire days were marked by intensive scholarly 

discussions, exchange of experience, and 

also by myriad opportunities to brush up and 

deepen historical knowledge. The availability 

of an excellent guide to Rome and the flawless 

organization of the event by former COO 

Evelyn Kästner meant the days passed by all 

too fast. All the participants agreed that this 

was one of the most remarkable events in the 

history of the AMG. The association’s objective 

is to provide support in the fields of 

research and teaching, and to facilitate information 

exchange between marketing practice 

and marketing research. This includes supporting 

publication activities at the chair and 

awarding the well-established Marketing Prize 

for the most outstanding marketing student in 

each graduating class. The prize will be awarded 

for the 4 th time during this year’s graduation 

ceremony. AMG’s next meeting is scheduled 

for the end of August in Leipzig. 

For further information, visit the website 

www.akademische-marketinggesellschaft.de or 

contact HHL’s Chair of Marketing Management. 

Beatrice Ermer 


Beatrice Ermer / Gunther Greven / Dr. Evelyn 

Kästner / Jenny Müller 

AMG-Doktorandenseminar Winter 2009 

Rome, Italy, March 26-29, 2009 


Six minutes to make the customer 

happy - a look behind the scenes 

of a retail business 

On March 10, 2009, Mr. Andreas Fuchs, doctoral 

student at the Chair of Marketing Management 

and owner of several Street One 

subsidiaries in Southern Germany, was welcomed 

as guest speaker to one of the lectures 

in the course Retail Marketing. Mr. Fuchs 

provided the students not only with insights 

into the fascinating retail trade but also with 

facts about Street One, the fastest-moving retailer 

in the fashion segment. For instance, the 

students heard about the different shopping 

zones into which the Street One shops are divided. 

Mr. Fuchs also went into detail about 

the display of the clothes in store, the cleanliness 

of the changing rooms and the role his 

sales staff plays. He surprised students with 

the information that a salesperson has only 6 

minutes on average to make the customer 

happy. Furthermore, Mr. Fuchs explained the 

importance of customer surveys which are 

Talks at Conferences 

Professor Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg 

“Perspektiven für die universitäre 

(Marketing)-Ausbildung im BWL-Bereich” 

Jahrestagung der Marketingkommission 

Mannheim, Germany, January 23, 2009 


“Neue Trends und Herausforderungen für 

das Personalmarketing im Unternehmen” 

Personalleiterforum 


Dr. Evelyn Kästner 

“Antecedents and Consequences of Employee 

Creativity – Implications for Employer 

Branding and Identity-based Brand Management” 

5 th Thought Leaders International Conference 

on Brand Management 

Athens, Greece, April 6, 2009 


“Employer Branding – die Anziehungskraft 

von Arbeitgebermarken im Talentewettbewerb” 

Wirtschaftssymposium “Macht der Marke” 

Passau, Germany, May 9, 2009 


29 

necessary to find out what the customer 

needs. This information is important for the 

production of the collections that change every 

six to ten weeks. During the talk, Mr. Fuchs 

also made it clear that sticking to brand identity 

is crucial in the fashion retail business. 

Some of the key points students took home 

are that transferring a specific shop concept 

abroad is not necessarily automatically fruitful 

and that a customer is more interested in going 

shopping if he or she knows that the assortment 

in the store changes regularly. That 

creates the incentive to come in and have a 

look. All in all, Mr. Fuchs gave an interesting 

talk showing that being an entrepreneur is not 

just hard work but can also be fun and is a job 

where there is a lot that can be learned. 

Beatrice Ermer 

Publications 


und Unternehmensführung (ed.) 

Employer Branding – Professionelles 

Markenmanagement zur Profilierung am 

Arbeitsmarkt 

Working paper No. 199 of the Wissenschaftliche 

Gesellschaft für Marketing und Unternehmensführung, 

Leipzig 2009 



Erfolgsstrategien für die Mitte – Perspektiven 

aus Marktforschung, Praxis und Wissenschaft 






Multichannel Management – Effizienzfalle 

oder Vertriebsmotor in rezessiven Zeiten? 




More than 200 working papers 

published by the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Marketing 

und Unternehmensführung are available as downloads on 

www.wissenschaftliche-gesellschaft.de

30 


Heinz Nixdorf Chair of IT-based Logistics 

CITLOG working group “Evaluation of the costs 

and benefits of IT-logistics applications” initiated 

Professor Dr. Iris Hausladen (second from the left) with her CITLOG team 

In January 2009, the Center for IT-based Logistics 

Leipzig (CITLOG) officially launched its 

first working group in cooperation with the IT 

service providers ccc software GmbH, Dresden 

Informatik GmbH, evermind technologies 

GmbH, and PC-Ware Information Technologies 

AG. In the next 18 months, the 

working group will deal with the highly relevant 

issue of evaluating the costs and benefits 

of IT-logistics applications theoretically as 


Professor Dr. Iris Hausladen 

innoLogIST 2009 

University Leipzig, Information Systems Institute 



Introduction of project CITLOG 

Visit of the RED Expert Trip Asia delegation at 

HHL 



“Wie kommt das Produkt pünktlich 

zum Kunden?” 

Tag der Logistik 2009 

Leipzig, Germany, April 16, 2009 


“Studium und Karriere in der Logistik – 

Aktuelle Trends und Herausforderungen” 

Tag der Logistik 2009 


well as practically. Finally, a widely applicable 

concept to solve this challenge will be devel- 

oped and tested. During the opening event 

on January 28, 2009, the fundamentals of the 

topic were introduced by Professor Dr. Iris 

Hausladen who pointed out the general relevance 

and the main problems, followed by 

the workshop partners describing their experi- 

ences in brief. In the process, it became clear 

that there are huge problems in practice in 


“Effiziente Wertschöpfungsgestaltung durch 

Intelligente Intralogistik” 

Siemens-Intralogistik Tag, BMW Werk Leipzig 



“Bewerbung Spitzencluster 2010” 

Foundation of Clusterboards Energy & 

Environmental technology 

Leipzig, Germany, May 4, 2009 


Biotech Meets Public: 

“Biologistik – sicher ans Ziel?” 

Panel discussion Biologistik 


Participation in Conferences 


16. Münchner Management Kolloquium 

Munich, Germany, March 17-18, 2009 


identifying all the potential benefits and costs 

of IT-logistics applications and, especially, in 

quantifying them. The last step at the launch 

was to decide on the further course of action. 

Founded in January 2009, the purpose of 

CITLOG is to realize application-oriented 

project work and research in the field of ITbased 

logistics in close cooperation with 

representatives from industry, commerce, 

logistics, service, public bodies as well as 

from the IT sector. In this context of knowl- 

edge transfer, one measure is to co-operate 

with regional companies to set up working 

groups in which theoretical knowledge of 

logistics can be tested and adapted to the 

special requirements of businesses. CITLOG 

is financed by the Leipzig Foundation for 

Innovation and Technology Transfer. 

Hauke Santel 

Professor Dr. Iris Hausladen / Denis Löffler 

innoLogIST 2009 



Siemens-Intralogistik Tag, BMW Werk Leipzig 



Foundation of Clusterboards Energy & 

Environmental technology 


Professor Dr. Iris Hausladen / Nicole Porzig 

Panel discussion Biologistik – Biotech Meets 

Public: “Biologistik – sicher ans Ziel?” 



Transport Logistic 

Munich, Germany, May 14-15, 2009 

Denis Löffler / Hauke Santel 

saxxess.event 2009 

Dresden, Germany, June 10, 2009


Logistics Day on April 16, 2009 Company Visits / Factory Tours 

On the national “Logistics Day” on April 

16, 2009, HHL provided substantial insights 

into logistical topics and activities in collaboration 

with the Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry Leipzig (IHK), the German Logistics 

Association, the University of Leipzig, B.O.S.S./ 

ZAROF, PUUL and AWP. The academic part 

at HHL and the University of Leipzig gave interested 

visitors informative and vivid insights 

into the topic of careers in logistics. In addition 

to receiving an introduction to current 

and future logistics technologies, visitors 

could find out about the hard and soft skills 

essential for a successful logistician. 

Study opportunities with related career prospects 

in the field were outlined by Professor 

Dr. Iris Hausladen, Heinz Nixdorf Chair of ITbased 

Logistics. Overall, the event aroused 

considerable interest among visitors whose 

numerous questions and lively participation 

led to the day being a resounding success. 


Amazon Distribution Center 

Seminar Multi Channel Management 

and Efficient Consumer Response 



31 

Alexander Kutscher and Jürgen Ortlepp 

Infraserv Logistics GmbH 

Kaveh Taghizadeh 

Booz & Company GmbH 

Martin Lang 

Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH 

“How can I buy Pampers at Amazon?” 

On May 11-12, 2009, the seminar 

“Multichannel Management and Efficient 

Consumer Response” took place at HHL. 

Jointly organized by the Heinz Nixdorf Chair 

of IT-based Logistics and the Chair of Market- 

ing Management, the seminar was aimed at 

developing an understanding of the interfaces 

and dependencies between the two fields of 

research. It is important for future managers to 

have an interdisciplinary education in order to 

be able to make correct decisions. 

16 students from K22, K23, M.Sc.3 and some 

exchange students from HHL’s partner universities 

worked on different topics with a market- 

ing or a logistics focus and presented their 

results in the course of the seminar. The spread 

of topics ranged from supply chain management, 

the role of logistics service providers and 

applications of RFID technology through to 

multichannel management, category management, 

price promotions and cross-media 

campaigns, to name just a few. 

To spice the theoretical discussion of the top- 

ics with practical insights, a visit to Amazon 

Distribution GmbH just outside of Leipzig was 

organized. Prior to a two-hour guided tour, 

Amazon’s Senior Recruiter Katja Wilhelm gave 

the seminar participants an overview of the development 

of Amazon and its business activities. 

Afterwards, the whole procedure that a 

product runs through from the moment it is 

ordered via Internet until the outgoing goods 

leave the site was explained to the students. 

The second day was taken up with more presentations 

by students. In the afternoon, two 

HHL Alumni, Britt Mohr (K20) and Marcus 

Thieme (K18), both currently working for 

Procter & Gamble, joined the seminar. They 

presented how efficient consumer response 

(ECR) and multichannel management are understood 

at P&G and how these are implemented 

in its businesses. This resulted in a 

lively discussion which could have continued 

for several hours longer. Each student could 

take home a small P&G gift as a souvenir of the 

seminar. In addition to the classroom deliberations, 

a get-together barbecue was organized 

in the HHL courtyard on the first evening, giv- 

ing all participants the opportunity to exchange 

experience and to deepen the discussions. 

Ultimately, it became clear that marketing activ- 

ities are intimately connected with logistics. 

We would like to thank Amazon Leipzig and 

Procter & Gamble for enriching the seminar 

with practical insights. 

Beatrice Ermer, Melanie Reichert

32 

Interview 

HHL news talks with Professor Pierfrancesco 

La Mura, Ph.D., about the topic “Group 

Bargaining with Incomplete Information”. 

HHL news: Professor La Mura, you 

explore bargaining situations in a new 

way. What exactly is your approach? 

Professor La Mura: Negotiations between 

individuals have been studied exten- sively, 

but the literature says almost nothing about 

negotiations between groups. In real life 

many negotiations involve groups of 

stakeholders, who need to agree among 

themselves before they can agree with their 

counterparts. In such cases, the negotiation 

format often plays a key role. 

HHL news: Can you give us an example? 

Professor La Mura: Political negotiations, 

which are typically conducted by committees 

on behalf of even larger groups of stakehold- 

ers, are a prime example. Take the Israeli- 

Palestinian conflict: are negotiations more 

effective if they are conducted in public, or 

should they be conducted behind closed 

doors? Who gains and who loses from 

different negotiation formats? Which format 



Field project: marketing strategies 

for SunCoal Industries 

From January to April 2009, the Chair of 

Economics and Information Systems to- 

gether with a group of five students from 

M.Sc.3 conducted a field project for Sun- 

Coal Industries GmbH, a start-up which is 

developing a specialized process for transforming 

biomass into non-fossil coal for heat 

and electricity production. SunCoal Industries 

is a successful business co-founded by 

Friedrich von Ploetz (K11) in Königs Wuster- 

hausen (Brandenburg). Due to its importance 

for society as a whole, the renewable 

energy industry in Europe is subsidized by 

governments to a large extent, and this 

makes it a highly attractive sector for hightech 

start-ups, meaning that they are currently 

experiencing intensified competition. 

In such circumstances, choosing the correct 

business model and strategy plays a 

vital role. 

The main task for the HHL team was to provide 

recommendations for the implementation 

of SunCoal Industries’ strategy. The 

M.Sc. students conducted a preliminary 

market analysis and evaluated different marketing 

strategies for SunCoal. The goal of 

the market analysis was to identify a useful 

What the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 

tells us about group bargaining processes 

leads to a more rapid agreement? These are 

issues which are widely perceived as relevant, 

but there is no clear consensus even among 

diplomacy professionals on the relative 

performance of different negotiation formats. 

HHL news: How do different negotiation 

formats affect the participants, as well as 

the bargaining process itself? 

Professor La Mura: In our paper, Ekaterina 

Demidova and I studied the simplest setting 

of group negotiation: an individual bargains 

against a couple, not knowing if the couple 

is “tough” (i.e. patient) or “weak” (impatient). 

With open doors, after each offer the indi- 

vidual can hear both replies and both 

counteroffers. With closed doors, he only 

hears the joint reply and the joint counteroffer. 

We found that a weak couple always 

prefers closed doors, and that closed door 

negotiations also lead to quicker agreement 

compared to open doors. Intuitively, a weak 

couple benefits from negotiating with closed 

doors because it can bluff: for instance, the 

husband could say “I would accept, but 

unfortunately my wife doesn’t want to,” 

even if his wife would have accepted, just to 


segmentation of potential customer types 

and their estimated willingness to purchase 

SunCoal. Furthermore, the team analyzed 

the success factors of different business 

models for SunCoal and provided the company 

with recommendations on strategy implementation. 

Additionally, the HHL team identified some 

potential risks associated with the product 

and/or company. The project team proved 

fully capable of successfully conducting a 

real-life project, providing the client with a 

high-quality, relevant analysis. 

convince the individual to make a more 

generous offer. The fact that the couple can 

bluff makes it harder for the individual to 

“test” if the couple is weak with low initial 

offers. Hence, closed doors lead to quicker 

agreements because the participants have 

little to gain from long negotiations. 

HHL news: Overall, what can we learn 

from your findings? 

Professor La Mura: That group behavior is 

an important but still poorly understood 

determinant in many real-life decisions, that 

it is quite distinct from individual behavior, 

and that it is strongly influenced by the 

environment of the decision. A better under- 

standing of those drivers may have a signi- 

ficant impact for society, as it can help in the 

design of more effective social mechanisms.


Professor Pierfrancesco La Mura, Ph.D. 

“Optimal decentralization of multi-agent 

decisions” 

Conference on Economic Design 

Maastricht, The Netherlands, 

June 22-24, 2009 


“Projective expected utility – 

a subjective formulation” 

Theoretical Aspects of Rationality and 

Knowledge (TARK) Conference 

Stanford, USA, July 6-8, 2009 

SIFE field project 

This year’s DOW Professorship of Sustainability 

and Global Ethics practical project was 

conducted by a team of MBA students together 

with SIFE Germany. The uniqueness of SIFE 

(Students In Free Enterprise) lies in the fact that 

it combines entrepreneurship with corporate 

social responsibility. It brings together a diverse 

network of university students, academic 

professionals and industry leaders around the 

shared mission of creating a better, more 

sustainable world through the positive power of 

business. The key goals of the project were first 

to analyze the operations of SIFE in Germany, 

assess the prevailing conditions for expansion 

and to discover ways and means of promoting 

the organization in Germany among SIFE’s 

major target groups, namely students, 

companies and universities. The second goal 

was to create a marketing and development 

strategy for SIFE Germany, with the main focus 

on communication. Attention was also paid to 

the SIFE World Cup and to enhancing communication 

with various target groups. 

The results were presented at Bayer headquarters 

in Leverkusen. The company kindly 

supports SIFE. 

Hans-Christian Erdmann 


Michael Bahr 

I Plant a Tree 

Research & Programs 33 



Third international quantum interaction 

symposium QI-2009 

Saarbrücken, Germany, March 24-27, 2009 

Publications 

Casajus, André 

Networks and outside options 

in: Social Choice and Welfare 32 (1), 1-13, 2009 

DOW Professorship of Sustainability and Global Ethics 

Dr. Annett Baumast 

Zürcher Kantonalbank 

Dr. Markus Scholand 

WestLB 

Tanja Castor 

BASF 


Casajus, André 

Outside options, component efficiency, 

and stability 

in: Games and Economic Behavior 65 (1), 2009, 

9-61 

Casajus, André / Hiller, Tobias / Labrenz, Hilfried 

Majority shareholder protection by variable 

qualified majority rules 

in: European Journal of Law and Economics, 

online, February 2009 

From Leipzig to Mannheim: 

Dr. Nick Lin-Hi appointed Junior Professor 

for Corporate Social Responsibility 

Four months after finishing his doctoral studies 

at HHL, Dr. Nick Lin-Hi was appointed 

Junior Professor (W1-Professor) at the University 

of Mannheim. Beginning in the Fall/ 

Winter term 2009, he will teach and conduct 

research in Corporate Social Responsibility 

(CSR) at the Faculty for Business Administration. 

In 2006, Dr. Lin-Hi began working at 

HHL’s DOW Professorship of Sustainability 

and Global Ethics as a Research Associate. 

In this position, and also later as Assistant 

Professor, he taught several courses at HHL, 

was responsible for different CSR consulting 

projects, and organized the Welcome Event’s 

second day. In his research work, he looked 

at questions of the responsibility of business 

and the moral quality of the market economy. 

In July 2008, Dr. Lin-Hi received the HHL research 

award for his outstanding achievements 

in 2007. 

His doctoral thesis “Eine Theorie der Unternehmensverantwortung” 

(published 2009 by 

Erich Schmidt Verlag) was graded summa 

cum laude in December 2008. We were delighted 

to hear of Dr. Lin-Hi’s appointment to 

Mannheim and congratulate him on this 

achievement. We wish Dr. Lin-Hi all the best 

in Mannheim, congratulate him on his achievement, 

and wish him all the best for his career. 

The call from the University of Mannheim also 

demonstrates the high quality of scientific 

education at HHL. Furthermore, we are looking 

forward to establishing cooperation for 

mutual advantage between the DOW Professorship 

of Sustainability and Global Ethics at 

HHL and the CSR Juniorprofessur at the University 

of Mannheim. 

Professor Dr. Andreas Suchanek 

Get to know HHL 

at the Information Day on October 23, 2009 

Information & registration: 

www.hhl.de/infoday

34 



“Die Vertrauenskrise in der Wirtschaft und 

die Verantwortung von Unternehmen” 

Jahresversammlung des Landeskuratoriums 

Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland im Stifterverband, 

Wiesbaden, Germany, March 3, 2009 


“Verantwortung in Unternehmen – 

Investitionen in Zukunftsfähigkeit” 

Winterschule University Heidelberg: 

Verantwortlichkeit – eine nützliche Illusion? 

Heidelberg, Germany, March 9, 2009 



Professor Dr. Arnis Vilks 

“Wirtschaftstheorie: Mathematik, 

Sozialwissenschaft oder Ideologie?” 

Center for Philosophy and Ethics of Science, 

Leibniz University Hannover 

Hannover, Germany, April 28, 2009 

The recent developments on global financial 

and economic markets have shown 

once again that strategic planning is a tricky 

process and all forecasting is fraught with a 

certain amount of risk. Accordingly, a grow- 

ing number of companies have started to 

integrate a more open approach into their 

planning processes and have introduced 

new tools such as scenario techniques and 

war gaming to broaden the scope of their 

forecasts. Researchers have long dis- 

cussed scenario planning as a way of helping 

managers to better understand their 

environment, but so far only few integrated 

and comprehensive approaches have been 

developed. In general, the whole field is 

under-researched. 



“Wertemanagement als Grundlage gelebter 

Unternehmensverantwortung” 

HR-Forum BASF, 

Ludwigshafen, Germany, 

March 26, 2009 


“Ethik für Manager – Investition in die 

Zukunft” 

Jahrestagung 2009: BDEW Mitteldeutschland – 

DVGW Ost 

Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany, April 21, 2009 


“Global Economic Difficulties” 

4 th International Conference on Interdisciplinary 

Social Sciences 

Athens, Greece, July 8-11, 2009 


“Afrika und Deutschland” Congress on Devel- 

opment Politics, organized by the CDU/CSU 

parliamentary group of the Bundestag 

Berlin, Germany, June 17, 2009 


HHL Center for Scenario Planning 

From this starting point, Professor Dr. Torsten 

Wulf, Chair of Strategic Management 

and Organization at HHL, has teamed up 

with Professor Dr. Burkhard Schwenker, 

worldwide CEO of Roland Berger Strategy 

Consultants, to found a new center that focuses 

on research in this field. On March 1, 

2009, the Center for Scenario Planning, 

Roland Berger Research Unit was institution- 

alized at HHL.The joint initiative between 

HHL and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants 

aims to further develop academic research 

in the field of scenario planning and 

at the same time to foster exchange and 

transfer of knowledge between researchers 

and practitioners. 

In order to expand academic research in 

the area of scenario planning, the center 

focuses on three main areas: scenarios and 

their behavioral effects in organizations; the 

development of an integrated approach to 

scenario planning; and, last but not least, 

scenario development. 



“Chancen und Risiken eines 

Wertemanagements” 

11. Deutscher Personalberatertag 

Bonn (Petersberg), Germany, May 5, 2009 


“CSR als Instrument oder als Grundlage 

des Marketing?” 

Marketing Horizonte 2009 – CSR: 

Marketing für Profit mit Verantwortung 

Mannheim, Germany, May 14, 2009 


“Unternehmensverantwortung 

und Nachhaltigkeit” 

Führungskräftetag Stadtwerke Leipzig-Gruppe 


Martina Wuttke 

Roundtable talks with Board of Directors of 

Indian-German Chamber of Trade and 

Commerce on “India at first hand: 

current situation and first hand reports” 

Chamber of Industry and Commerce Nuremberg 

Nuremberg, Germany, May 28, 2009. 

The first area concentrates on analyzing the 

role of scenario planning in managers’ decision-making 

processes. The goal here is to 

examine how scenarios influence the behav- 

ior of managers and the whole organization, 

and what impact this has on the performance 

of companies. In the second stream 

of research, one aims to develop an integrated 

approach to planning that links a company’s 

strategy development process with scenar- 

io planning tools. And the third focus will be 

on engaging in the development of HHL’s 

own scenarios along with an affiliated network 

of experts. 

This network of experts is also integral to 

fostering knowledge exchange between 

academics and practitioners. With the Center, 

one is already building up a compre- 

hensive scenario and tool library and is 

reaching out to experts in the field with the 

goal of building a world-class network. The 

Center’s vision is to become a global com- 

petence center for scenario planning.


Family business research – Professor Dr. Torsten 

Wulf becomes board member of Alphazirkel 

Alphazirkel is an initiative for family business 

owners that originated in Munich. It serves as 

a discussion and information platform for successful 

family businesses, and supports publication 

and research projects on the topic. 

Supported by renowned entrepreneurs and 

organized by expert on the topic Andreas E. 

Mach from Droege & Comp., Alphazirkel 

News from the Entrepreneurship program 

Grazia Equity Business Plan 

Competition in the MBA program 

Once again, Venture Capitalist Jochen Klüppel (K1), 

partner at Grazia Equity, joined HHL’s Entrepreneurship 

program in July to host the “Grazia 

Equity Business Plan Competition”. In this seminar, 

students from HHL had the possibility to develop a 

business plan and present it to a jury of practi- 

tioners and scholars, receiving invaluable instant 

feedback on how to improve their results. Mr. 

Klüppel has hosted this event at HHL for seven 

years now, and this time it also included external 

partners. In cooperation with the Chamber of 

Commerce and Industry Leipzig (IHK) and smile. 

medibiz, we invited researchers and founders from 

outside HHL to develop their business plan 

together with our students. Besides this, several 

internal ideas have also been worked on. 

From the academic side, the seminar was run by 

Professor Dr. Peter Kesting from Arhus University 

(Denmark) and coached by the smile.medibiz 

team around Professor Dr. Bernhard Schwetzler, 

most notably Matthias Tischner, who has been 

involved in the seminar since last year. 

Guest speakers in Spring Entrepreneurship 

class: Hitflip, Mister Spex, 

Team Europe Ventures 

This Spring term we were delighted to welcome 

three guest speakers to our M.Sc. Entrepreneurship 

class: Jan Miczaika (K12), Dirk Graber (K15), 

and Lukasz Gadowski (K12). First, Jan Miczaika 

visited us to give a lecture about venture capital 

contracts and cash flow management in young 

companies. In addition to these inputs, co-founder 

of Hitflip and Hitmeister Miczaika also shared many 

insights into the dos and don’ts of starting up and 

running a business. In another session, Dirk Graber, 

meets quarterly to share experiences and 

viewpoints on a given focus. Professor Dr. 

Torsten Wulf was invited to join the board of 

initiators, and first projects are already in prep- 

aration. HHL’s Chair of Strategic Management 

and Organization will support Alphazirkel by 

preparing and conducting empirical studies 

with high relevance for family businesses. 

For more information: www.alphazirkel.de 

founder of online optician Mister Spex, joined us 

for a lecture and Q&A session on his experiences 

in entrepreneurial marketing and public relations. 

Finally, serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist 

Lukasz Gadowski visited HHL to present his point 

of view on success factors for entrepreneurs. 

Gadowski has an innovative approach to investing 

with his firm Team Europe Ventures, as he actively 

creates founder teams and provides coaching to 

overcome the typical growth barriers which every 

start-up encounters. As his seminar coincided 

with HHL’s Information Day on May 8, we had an 

open lecture with over 100 students and potential 

students. Feedback for all three appearances was 

overwhelming, so our thanks go once again to the 

three HHL alumni for putting in so much effort to 

help build new entrepreneurs in this course! 

Unternehmerstammtisch in Leipzig 

On May 7, 2009, the HHL Unternehmerstammtisch 

met in Leipzig. The event is a regular meeting of 

HHL entrepreneurs. They get together every 3 to 4 

months in various locations in Germany to discuss 

current business issues. The set-up is like a 

workshop with external speakers, an impulse 

presentation on a predefined focus topic, and a 

great deal of experience sharing. This time we invited 

Andreas Schroeteler, CFO of Spreadshirt, and 

he shared his experiences in running this business 

with us. The event is organized as a “closed-shop” 

experience, i.e. what is discussed remains confidential 

to the participants, and this means that 

discussions are very open and productive. Thank 

you very much to all of the 15 entrepreneurs who 

participated this time. 

Dr. Stephan Stubner 


New staff 

35 

Philip Meißner (M8) joined the Chair of Strategic 

Management and Organization in March 2009 

and is working as a Research Associate at the 

HHL Center for Scenario Planning. He graduated 

from HHL where he attained an MBA with the 

highest distinction, including spending a term 

abroad at the John Molson School of Business 

in Montréal, Canada. Before joining HHL, he 

gained extensive work experience, primarily in 

the German banking industry. 

Klaas Henrik Albrecht joined the Chair of Strategic 

Management and Organization in June 2009 

and is also working as a Research Associate at 

the HHL Center for Scenario Planning. He 

graduated from Karlsruhe Institute of Technol- 

ogy (KIT) as an Industrial Engineer, spending 

terms abroad at the Schulich School of Busi- 

ness in Canada and at Yale University in the 

USA Before joining HHL, he spent several years 

as a Strategy Consultant, mainly in the field of 

fast-moving consumer goods and logistics. 

European Ivy League, Information Day, Workshops – 

Are you interested in upcoming events at HHL? 

www.hhl.de/events

36 


“Explaining Diversification – 

a conceptual model integrating 

Ambidexterity Orientation” 

Junior Faculty Workshop of the annual 

conference 2009 of the International 

Management Kommission of VHB, 

Berlin, Germany, February 13, 2009 

Professor Dr. Torsten Wulf / 


“Executive succession and firm perfor- 

mance – the role of position specific skills” 

Annual conference of EURAM – 

European Academy of Management 

Liverpool, UK, May 13, 2009 


Talks at conferences Publications 

Professor Dr. Torsten Wulf / 


“Executive departure following acquisitions 

in Germany – An empirical analysis 

of antecedents and consequences” 

Annual conference 2009 of the VHB, 

Nuremberg, Germany, June 5, 2009 


Professor Dr. Torsten Wulf / Dr. Stephan Stubner / 

Jutta Miksche / Henning Blarr 

Leipzig-Nuremberg internal Research 

Colloquium with the Department of 

Management of Friedrich-Alexander 

University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) 

(Professor Dr. Harald Hungenberg) 

Leipzig, Germany, February 4-6, 2009 

IHK Chair of Applied Economic Theory 

Successful project with HTWK 

HHL’s Center for Healthcare Management 

(CHM) is part of an interdisciplinary team 

which seeks to transfer research approaches 

within a ForMaT (Forschung für den Markt 

im Team) project funded by the BMBF (German 

Federal Ministry of Education and Research). 

The project with the title “Innovatives 

Labor life science engineering” is one of 

only 11 initiatives chosen for the second 

round funding (out of 35 applications). The 

team will receive research funds of up to 

EUR 2 million in the next two years. The 

project is run by the Leipzig University of 

Applied Sciences (HTWK), the Innovation 

Center Computer Assisted Surgery (ICCAS) 

at the medical faculty of University Leipzig 

and HHL together with regional companies. 

In the first phase of the project – which was 

3 rd international conference on “Regulatory Risks” 

HHL and the Halle Institute for Economic 

Research (IWH) will hold their third joint 

conference on “Regulatory Risks” in HHL’s new 

City Campus October 1-2, 2009. The event is 

generously supported by VNG – Verbundnetz Gas 

Aktiengesellschaft and envia Mitteldeutsche 

Energie AG. 

The conference, organized by Professor Dr. Ulrich 

Blum, President of IWH, and Professor Dr. Hans 

Wiesmeth, Dean of HHL, brings together scholars 

funded with almost EUR 100,000 – research 

ideas in the fields of life sciences and mechatronics 

were screened and conceptualized 

for an Innovationslabor. The concept 

team around HHL focused on the formation 

of a test and training center for medical devices 

under real conditions to bring together 

the expertise of the ICCAS and the HTWK. 

The goal of ForMaT projects is to identify 

and develop the innovative potential of universities 

and scientific institutions at an early 

stage in the Neue Länder. Researchers 

should be motivated to think about the 

marketability of their scientific results and 

engage in an interdisciplinary cooperation 

with business faculties to conceptualize 

and realize their projects. 

and industry experts from Germany and Russia 

to discuss the economic effects of regulatory 

heterogeneity and inconsistency in energy 

markets of the Russian Federation and the 

Federal Republic of Germany. The program 

features a keynote speech by Professor Dr. 

Andrey V. Zverev, Minister-Counsellor of the 

Embassy of the Russian Federation in the 

Federal Republic of Germany in Berlin. 

Dennis Häckl 


Wulf, Torsten / Stubner, Stephan / Gietl, Robert / 

Landau, Christian 

Can Private Equity Investors add Value to 

formerly Family Owned Businesses? 

Working paper accepted at the annual 

Babson College Entrepreneurship Research 

Conference 

Conferences and 

lectureship 

On June 18, Professor Dr. Hans Wiesmeth 

was invited to give a presentation on “Economic 

Aspects of Closed Substance Cycle 

Waste Management” in Shenyang, China, 

in the context of the German-Sino Conference 

“Municipal Waste as a Secondary Resource 

– From Waste Management to Circular 

Economy”. The conference was 

organized by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of 

Education and Research). 

Funded by a DAAD short-term lectureship, 

Professor Wiesmeth again taught a course 

on “Environmental Economics” at the 

International School of Economics at Tbilisi 

State University (ISET) last February. ISET 

is an elite institution training leaders for academia, 

the public and private sectors in the 

entire South Caucasus region (Georgia, Armenia 

and Azerbaijan). 

In November this year, the workshop on 

“Implementation of Integrated Waste Management 

in Vietnam” will take place at 

Hanoi University of Science. Professor 

Wiesmeth organized this workshop, which 

will be funded by the DAAD, together with 

Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Diem Trang 

(Hanoi University of Science) and Professor 

Dr. Bernd Bilitewski (TU Dresden).

Partner für Forschung 

und Studium 

Die erstklassige Qualifi zierung unserer Mitarbeiter sichert der 

VNG-Gruppe eine führende Position auf den globalen Energiemärkten. 

Damit wir auch in Zukunft auf Spitzenkräfte setzen können, 

unterstützen wir besonders befähigte Studenten, Hochschulen 

und mit unserer Initiative VNG-Campus auch länderübergreifende 

Hochschulkooperationen. 

Die VNG – Verbundnetz Gas AG mit Sitz in Leipzig ist ein international agierender Erdgasimporteur 

und Energiedienstleister mit 50-jähriger Tradition. Zum Kerngeschäft der Unternehmensgruppe 

gehören der Handel mit Erdgas, der Transport und die Speicherung sowie 

innovative Energiedienstleistungen. Kunden von VNG sind vor allem in- und ausländische 

Stadtwerke und regionale Versorgungsunternehmen, Kraftwerke, Industriebetriebe sowie 

Gashändler und Gastransporteure. 


VNG – Verbundnetz Gas AG | PF 24 12 63 | 04332 Leipzig | Telefon + 49 341 443-0 | Fax + 49 341 443-1500 | info@vng.de | www.vng.de 

37

38 

Careers 

Placement statistics for HHL’s 

full-time MBA program in 2008 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

In summer 2008, the eighth full-time MBA 

class (M8) graduated from HHL. Their placement 

statistics reveal an increased interest of 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

Expanded service for MBA 

students – QS TopMBA Careers 

and CareerMee.com 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

Since the beginning of this year, HHL’s MBA 

students have had access to the exclusive 

services of QS TopMBA Careers, the world’s 

leading network for top careers and education, 

which provides graduates with current internation- 

al job lists, access to various global company files, 

as well as the QS TopMBA Career eGuide with 

exciting articles. In addition, HHL offers its MBA 

students exclusive membership of CareerMee.com 

which is available only to MBA graduates from the 

highest ranking business schools around the 

world. CareerMee.com gives students exposure 

to senior management and executive level 

positions. Rather than searching for open posi- 

tions, members are directly contacted by the 

world’s leading recruiters with opportunities of 

interest. 

Kati Dorsch 

�� 

�� 

MBA graduates in industrial companies, while 

the MBA graduates of 2007 mainly found employment 

in the consulting sector. The diagram 

6 th MBA Career Fair 2009 in Berlin 

The MBA Career Fair is a first-class opportunity 

for all MBA students en route to success. 

The 2009 edition of the joint initiative by the 

leading German-speaking business schools 

with international accreditation from either 

AACSB or EQUIS once again attracted bigname 

companies that took the oppor- 

tunity to meet and get to know high-potential 

graduates in prescheduled interviews and 

workshops. 

This year’s event, the sixth, took place at the 

Estrel Convention Center in Berlin on April 27, 

2009, offering human resources managers 

from Johnson & Johnson GmbH, Deutsche 

Post DHL Inhouse Consulting GmbH, Novartis 

International AG, Siemens AG and Georgsmarienhütte 

Holding GmbH a pleasant environment 

in which to talk with the students in the 

open forum. The multicultural origin and the 

diverse academic backgrounds of the MBA 

graduates, including engineering, natural sciences, 

business studies, and law, are the main 

reasons why they are in such demand. A total 

of about hundred students from GISMA 


shows the distribution of the students’ placement 

in 2008 and the figures for 2007 for comparison 

purposes and displays the following 

developments: 

• In 2008, the proportion of the manufacturing 

sector nearly doubled from 30% in 2007 to 

58% in 2008. 

• Consulting was the second most popular 

choice among M8 graduates, with 26% start- 

ing their career in this field in 2008 compared 

to 45% in 2007. 

• Whereas no graduate in 2007 started a career 

in the university sector or joined a postgrad- 

uate program, 11% chose this option in 2008. 

• In 2008, the percentage of students working 

in the family business, joining a start-up or 

starting their own company remained at 

around 5%. 

• The proportion of students who chose employment 

in banking and financial firms, and in 

companies in the services, media and telecommunications 

industries fell in both cases 

from 10% to 0%. 

HHL’s MBA students in front of the Brandenburg Gate 

Business School (Hannover), HHL – 

Leipzig Graduate School of Management, 

and the University of St. Gallen (HSG) at- 

tended the fair, reinforcing its status as the 

leading recruitment event for MBA graduates 

in Germany. 

Kati Dorsch

RTL Group | Random House | Gruner + Jahr | Arvato | Direct Group 

39 

Willkommen bei Bertelsmann, 

dem Unternehmen der Unternehmer. 

www.createyourowncareer.de 

HHL NEWS – SUMMER 2009

40 

Careers 

HHL news presents a selection of HHL’s young entrepreneurs and asks them: 

A) What was the smartest piece of advice you ever received? or 

B) What is the biggest challenge in your job? 

My business is about the successful marketing of products and services. I consult 

and lead projects on an temporary basis, and moderate workshops and other 

events. 

www.Marketing-Moderation.com 

A: Everything happens for a reason... 

Tatjana Steusloff Marketing & Moderation 

Tatjana Steusloff (K6) 

Lecturio allows everyone easy and effi cient access to a wide variety of high-quality 

knowledge, independent of place and time. 

www.lecturio.de 

B: One of the biggest challenges is to convince educational institutions to become 

involved in a network of excellent knowledge which has the goal of promoting a 

knowledge-based society. We strive to become the most comprehensive and 

user-friendliest Internet platform for high-quality knowledge, so everyone has the 

chance to learn what they want, when they want and where they want. 

Lecturio GmbH 

Martin Schlichte (K21), 

Tim Koschella (K21) 

Playnik.com is the fi rst platform 

to combine persistent free-to-play 

browser games with social gaming 

and community features. 

www.playnik.com 

A: “Just do it!” 

wwg worldwidegames GmbH 

Malte Paul (K10) 

KeyX offers compact leak testers with 

tracer gas. 

www.keyx.de 

A: If you want to be successful you 

need a great family behind you all the 

way. 

KeyX GmbH, Volker Dahm (P4 and 

winner of the 2008 HHL – Q-Cells 

award “Ready for Business”) 


Gründerszene is the online magazine 

for start-ups and potential start-ups, 

publishing important news and information, 

success stories and specialist 

articles by well-known experts with 

the goals of inspiring business founders 

and helping them realize their visions. 

A: Get your arms around the numbers 

– know the key indicators of your company, 

then you can base your strategy 

on them. And be careful about setting 

up a business with friends, because 

the people you trust in private might 

not be the best business partners. 

Gründerszene GmbH 

Lukasz Gadowski (K12) 

Our business is about (internet) entrepreneurship 

... we launch new internet 

companies and invest in early stage 

internet companies. We are based in 

Berlin but are active throughout Europe 

as well as in the USA. Our slogan 

is ‘empowering entrepreneurship’. 

www.teameurope.net 

A: The best advice I (Lukasz Gadowski) 

got was in 2002 while fundraising 

for Spreadshirt. I received it at Georgia 

Tech in Atlanta: “Don’t waste your 

time with fundraising, you won’t get 

any decent offers in this market.” I disregarded 

the advice, and my time was 

wasted. Lesson: timing is key! 

Team Europe Ventures 

Lukasz Gadowski (K12), 

Pawel Chudzinski (K15) 

Contact: 


Tel.: +49 341 9851-677 

E-mail: stephan.stubner@hhl.de

Interview 

HHL’s entrepreneurs 

HHL start-up founders have been awarded the 

EXIST-Gründerstipendium for the second time 

within the space of a few months. First Mario 

Körösi, doctoral candidate at the Chair of Financial 

Management at HHL, received a grant 

for his internet portal www.netzschaffende.de, 

and now the achievements of two K21 graduates, 

Justus von Grone (25) and Alexander 

Hiller (24), have also been recognized. 

HHL news: You were recently awarded the 

EXIST-Gründerstipendium, a grant from 

the BMWi (Federal Ministry of Economics 

Brief news on entrepreneurs 

Dailyme.tv closes second fi nancing round: HHL 

alumnus Stefan Bielau (P1) succeeded in concluding 

the second fi nancing round for his start-up dailyme. 

tv. Besides the fi rst-round investors bmp Media investors 

and IBB Berlin, this time KfW ERP Startfonds 

also invested in the company. Impressed by the 

early proof-of-concept of dailyme.tv, the investors 

have now provided the resources to extend 

coverage for the tv on mobile phone offerings from 

the start-up. 

Careers 

and Technology) which is co-fi nanced by 

the European Social Fund. What is so 

promising about your business model? 

Mr. von Grone and Mr. Hiller: Our semantic 

e-commerce platform is based on state-ofthe-art 

technology. We think that semantic 

web technology is the future of web-based 

internet services because competitive 

advantages in this area will be achieved by 

best understanding customer needs. Our 

platform can respond to customer requests 

more precisely, so that the customer gets the 

right product at the right time and in the right 

place. By integrating existing information, 

ratings, and product databases, our semantic 

e-commerce platform will meet the 

customer’s demand right from the fi rst 

second. 

HHL news: What exactly is the EXIST- 

Gründerstipendium? 

Mr. von Grone and Mr. Hiller: The EXIST- 

Gründerstipendium consists of three 

elements. The fi rst is the direct grant for the 

start-up founders. The second and third 

elements are lump sums for equipment and 

coaching. All in all, the scholarship gives us 

the fi nancial freedom to concentrate on the 

further development of our business ideas for 

one year. 

HHL news: You are starting your own 

venture at a time of economic downturn. 

Two HHL start-ups nominated for Internet World 

Business Idea 2009: The reputed publication Internet 

World Business is once again looking for the 

best business ideas. Among the 20 nominees for 

the 2009 prize are two HHL start-ups: Playnik and 

Smava. Playnik, one of the premier German online 

gaming offerings, was founded by HHL alumnus 

Malte Paul (K10). Smava, a micro-fi nancing platform, 

has HHL alumnus Sebastian Rieschel (K11) in 

the founder team. 


41 

What are your personal tips on how to 

handle start-ups successfully in this 

climate? 

Mr. von Grone and Mr. Hiller: From our 

point of view, economic downtowns are 

times with the highest innovative output. 

Fewer resources (e.g. diffi cult funding) lead 

to re-thinking of how one could solve 

problems more effi ciently and effectively. To 

achieve this, a start-up needs best-in-class 

team members. With a great team, 

a business has the ability to navigate through 

insecure times and grow even stronger. 

HHL news: With more than 70 successful 

start-ups, HHL has made a name for itself 

as an academy for entrepreneurs. How 

do you benefi t from this network? 

Mr. von Grone and Mr. Hiller: HHL has built 

up a reputation for itself as an excellent 

Gründerschmiede (academy of entrepreneurs). 

Besides the high-quality academic 

education it offers, HHL is a place to meet 

other outstanding personalities. After 

graduation, the close bonds of the HHL 

family really supported our initial business 

ideas. We very much benefi ted from 

contacts with and motivation from potential 

business partners. 

Grazia Equity’s latest investment: Grazia Equity, 

the venture capital fi rm in which HHL alumnus Jochen 

Klüppel (K1) is a partner, recently invested in 

a third fi nancing round with Quantenna Communications. 

Together with Southern Cross Venture Partners, 

Sequoia Capital, Sigma Partners, and Venrock 

Associates, the two companies invested USD 13.8 

million (summing up to over USD 42 million in fi - 

nancing so far). 

News about the latest events, research projects, 

and new developments at HHL 

www.hhl.de/news

42 

My way in… 

As the Head of Market Intelligence of my company, 

I used to attend conferences all over 

Germany to talk about best practices in business. 

In early 2008, I arrived the evening before 

such a conference in Frankfurt/Main 

(FFM). I noticed that one of my old friends 

was probably still working in FFM, so I gave 

him a call. After a short chat, he invited me to 

his fl at that evening. There the best practice 

started. I was enthusiastically welcomed by 

three other students from his HHL MBA class. 

We cooked, had some drinks and afterwards 

we played Wii together. I heard a lot of fasci- 

Background 

Always looking for best practice! 

Prospective students of 

HHL’s M.Sc. class 2034 

Phillip Maximilian Wachs (* 22.5.2009) 

Parents: Friedhelm Wachs (P2 and alumni representative 

on HHL‘s supervisory board) and Meike Wachs 

Greta Helene Janke (*12.05.2009) 

Parents: Melanie Janke (P3 and Director of 

Corporate Relations / Career Service at HHL) 

and Dr. Nikolaus Petersen 

nating stories about HHL; the lectures, the 

staff, the students and the MBA program the 

management school offers. Throughout the 

evening I had the feeling that I was a part of 

this community even though it was the fi rst 

time in my life that I met the others. A couple 

of months later, I had my annual feedback 

session with my CEO. We discussed my future 

career path and happily we agreed that I could 

take part in a program that would prepare me 

for future management tasks. After intense research, 

I came to the conclusion that HHL 

would suit my needs. The big difference was 

the wonderful evening with the HHL alumni in 

FFM a couple of months before. The next 

steps happened quite fast. I convinced my 

CEO that HHL was the perfect fi t for me. I applied 

successfully and fi nally started in the fulltime 

MBA program in Fall 2008. Thanks to my 

HHL alumni colleagues in FFM and the best 

practice they live! 

Kerwin-Ryan Marquez (M9) 

Nils Josch Nelles (*05.02.2009) 

Parents: Erik Pfannmöller (K23) 

and Susanne Nelles 


New staff 

Anja Backhauß joined HHL in July 2009 as 

Admissions Offi cer. Prior to that she was 

Executive Assistant to the President of the 

Zeppelin University. She graduated with a 

Master in British Studies from Humboldt 

University Berlin. During her studies she 

gained work experience at the Bertelsmann 

Foundation, AHK London and the Centre 

of Higher Education (CHE). 

Welcome, Anja Backhauß! 

Farewell to Jürgen Kotte, 

welcome to Jens König 

Jürgen Kotte Jens König 

After almost 11 years as HHL’s facility manager, 

Jürgen Kotte retired on March 31, 2009. 

Voted “Best administrative member of staff” 

by the students in 2007, we would like to 

express our gratitude to him for his dedication 

to HHL over this considerable period of time. 

We wish him all the best for his well-deserved 

retirement. Jens König succeeds him as new 

facility manager. Before joining HHL, the 

trained car mechanic headed a team in the 

service sector. In his leisure time he enjoys 

deep-sea fi shing. Welcome to Jens König!

HHL is grateful to the Kramer Foundation’s donors: 

Dr. Andreas Schmidt, Berlin 

Professor Dr. Kathrin Möslein, Leipzig 

Dr. Judith Marquardt, Halle (Saale) 

Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Hans Wiesmeth, Leipzig 

Ute and Winfried Pinninghoff, Lüdinghausen 

KODA Stanz- und Biegetechnik GmbH, 

Dortmund 

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, Munich 

Dr. Hans-Paul Bürkner, Frankfurt/Main 

Festo Corporation, Hauppage (New York), USA 

Professor Dr. Dr. Helmut Sihler, Pörtschach 

am Wörthersee, Austria 

Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Heribert Meffert, 

Münster 

Beatrice Deutschland GmbH, Paderborn 

Festo AG & Co. KG, Esslingen-Berkheim 

Stadt- und Kreissparkasse Leipzig 

Dr. Norbert Emmerich, Münster 

Kreiskrankenhaus Greiz GmbH, Greiz/Thuringia 

Marco Minnerup, Oberursel 

Harald and Nicola Lehmkühler, Warendorf 

Sachsen Bank (former Sachsen LB), Leipzig 

Deutsche Bundesbank Hauptverwaltung, 


E. Breuninger GmbH & Co., Leipzig 

Deutsche Bahn AG, Berlin 

Alte Leipziger Lebensversicherung aG, 

Oberursel 

Dr. Siegfried Luther, Gütersloh 

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Leipzig 

Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Karl-Heinz Forster, 

Frankfurt/Main 

Dr. Christian Elsner, Leipzig 

Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart 

Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt/Main 

Dr. jur. Dr. h. c. Ludwig Trippen, Münster 

Hans-Peter Wehner, Cologne 

Professor Dr. Hans Göschel, Leipzig 

Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG, Munich 

Ernst & Young AG, Berlin 

Deutsche Industriebank AG, Leipzig 

Stadtwerke Leipzig GmbH 

Robert Bosch GmbH, Gerlingen-Schillerhöhe 

Martens & Prahl Versicherungskontor GmbH, 


Background 

Obituary for Hans-Dieter Manegold 

On April 25, 2009, Hans-Dieter Manegold passed away suddenly at 

the age of 70. He was one of the pacemakers who reestablished 

the Association of Friends of HHL (GdF) on September 13, 1991, 

reviving it following its dissolution after World War Two. In his capacity 

as Managing Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry 

Leipzig (IHK) after Germany’s reunification, he played 

an important role in re-founding HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of 

Professor Dr. Gert Assmus, 

Hanover (New Hampshire), USA 

Professor Dr. Christian Milow, Kronberg 

Frank Wilhelmi, Heidelberg 

in memoriam Florian Zinsmeister, Straubing 

The Terboven Family, Rheinberg 

The Uhlig Family, Oberursel 

Markus Schmitt, Bad Soden 

Friedrich von Ploetz, Berlin 

Thomas Butzlaff, Berlin 

Dr. Alfred Oetker, Bielefeld 

The Dr. Enders Family, Bornheim 

Dr. Michael Rau, Frankfurt/Main 

Silvia and Harald Hungenberg, Lich 

Anja Nietzschmann, Taucha 

Bernhard Walter, Frankfurt/Main 

Michael Petersen, Leipzig 

Hubertus Scherer jun., Hannover 

Dr. Hans-Dietrich Winkhaus, Düsseldorf 

Christian Pfingsten, Düsseldorf 

Professor Dr. Dieter J. Pommerening, Hamburg 

Michael Veit, Munich 

PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, Frankfurt/Main 

Kommunale Wasserwerke Leipzig GmbH 

Siemens AG, Leipzig 

Dr. Arend Oetker, Berlin 

Ludwig-Ferdinand Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein- 

Berleburg, Bad Laasphe 

UNIPLAN International GmbH & Co KG, Kerpen 

Henkel KGaA, Düsseldorf 

Dr. Johannes Habbig, Bergisch Gladbach 

Bettina Kudla, Leipzig 

K19 of HHL 

Sebastian Just, Munich 

b&m management, Zürich, Switzerland 

Karl Kolle, Dortmund 

Goldman, Sachs & Co. oHG, Frankfurt/Main 

WIPConceptWinfriedPinninghoff, Leipzig 

K13 of HHL 

Ivy League Organizing Team 2006 / K20 

Peter Krakow, Leipzig 

Alexander von Reden, Leipzig 

The von Plato Family, Heiligenthal/Lüneburg 

Christian Freiherr von Humboldt-Dachroeden 

Stephan Schröter, Leipzig 


Management in October 1992. Together with the founding team, he 

worked with energy and commitment to enable the new HHL to 

commence its research and teaching activities in February 1996. He 

was awarded honorary membership in the Association of 

Friends of HHL for his outstanding contribution to GdF and HHL. 

The faculty, staff, and students of HHL honor Hans-Dieter Manegold’s 

memory and express their sincere condolences to his family. 

43 

Kinowelt GmbH, Leipzig 

Weber Rohrleitungsbau GmbH & Co. KG 

Deloitte & Touche GmbH, Leipzig 

BGH Edelstahlwerke GmbH, Freital 

BMW AG, Werk Leipzig 

Ivy League Organizing Team 2007/K21 & M.Sc.1 

The Steusloff Family, Frankfurt/Main 

P2 of HHL 

Dow Olefinverbund GmbH, Schkopau 

Dr. Burkhart Eymer, Lübeck 

Andreas Frisch, Frankfurt/Main 

Dr. Niklas Darijtschuk, Verl 

Dr. Gerd and Nicola Robertz, Augsburg 

Ciarán O’Leary, Munich 

CosiFan Computersysteme GmbH, Leipzig 

Dr. Kerstin Faaß and Tobias Fehre, 

Frankfurt/Main 

Daniel Theuerkauf, London 

Dr. Alois and Antonella Waldburg-Zeil, Leipzig 

Dr. Emilio Matthaei, Oxford 

Dr. Nikolaus Petersen, Leipzig 

Peter Dorsch, Leipzig 

VNG Verbundnetz Gas Aktiengesellschaft, 


Veolia Wasser GmbH, Leipzig 

Daniel Kirchhof, Leipzig 

Irena Tomys, Mirkow 

Professor Dr. Bernhard and Gisela Schwetzler, 


Katharina Rosenbohm, Frankfurt/Main 

Thorsten Becker, Hamburg 

Büromöbel Müller Sachsen GmbH, Leipzig 

Telefonanlagenbau Spanka GmbH, Schkeuditz 

Dr. Christiane Springer, Leipzig 

We are grateful to BDO Deutsche Warentreuhand 

AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, 

Leipzig, for their pro bono support. 

Help to shape a great future for HHL! 

The account details are 

Account name: Kramerstiftung der HHL 

Bank: Deutsche Bank AG 

Bank code: 860 700 00 

Account number: 171 991 300 

IBAN: DE90 8607 0000 1719913 00 

BIC (SWIFT CODE): DEUTDE8LXXX 

Purpose of payment: Zustiftung/Endowment

44 Background 

A look behind the scenes: 

HHL’s IT Department 

…at the regular morning meeting 

Impressum 

…with an amazed client 

... checking HHL’s servers …rolling out CampusNet 

…supporting HHL staff 

PUBLISHER: HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management 

Jahnallee 59 · 04109 Leipzig · Germany 

Tel.: +49 341 985160 · Fax: +49 341 4773243 

E-mail: info@hhl.de · Internet: www.hhl.de 

PUBLICATION DATE: July 24, 2009 

V.I.S.D.P.: Professor Dr. Hans Wiesmeth, Dean of HHL 

EDITORS: Executive Management of HHL: Professor Dr. Hans 

Wiesmeth (Dean), Dr. Judith Marquardt (Chancellor) 

EDITORIAL BOARD: Volker Stößel (MBA), Jana Vogel 

Staff: Jörg Wolf (Head of Department), 

Stefan Kaudelka, Stephan Werchau 

HHL’s IT Department operates ... 

32 servers 

134 personal computers 

approx. 300 external devices connected 

to HHL’s network 

648 network connections 

17 access points for mobile devices 

3.2 TByte storage capacity 

1,400 mail accounts 

25 million incoming e-mails per year 

1 million outgoing e-mails per year 

1,000 calls for each member of IT staff 

per year 

Our motto: “Always be prepared!” 

Contact us: it@hhl.de / Tel.: +49 341 9851-888 

CONCEPT: WSB Werbeagentur 

ADVERTISEMENTS: WSB Werbeagentur GmbH 

Lampestraße 9 · 04107 Leipzig · Germany 

Tel.: +49 341 141000 · Fax: +49 341 1410014 

PHOTOS: HHL, Peter Franke (Punctum) 

FREQUENCY: twice a year 

CIRCULATION: 5,000 

ISSN 1433 934X | ISSN 1867-8017 

Thank you to all contributors and proofreaders of this edition. 


Upcoming events 2009 

September 5: Education Fair Wege ins Studium at 

Congress Center Leipzig (CCL) 

September 8: Enrollment Ceremony with 

keynote speaker Dr. Michael Mertin, President and 

CEO of JENOPTIK AG 

September 9: Seminar on Logistics with 

Jugend Aktiv Mitteldeutschland e.V. 

September 17: HHL Excellence Dinner 

September 18: 1 st International HHL Manager Golf 

Tournament 

September 20-26: Global Immersion Trip P4 

(Shanghai) 

October 1-2: 3 rd International Conference on 

“Regulatory Risks”, HHL 

October 3: HHL on Tour: MBA Day by e-fellows.net 

(Frankfurt) 

October 15: Application deadline part-time 

MBA program 

October 23: HHL Information Day 

October 26 and 31: HHL on Tour: World MBA Tour 

(Munich, Frankfurt) 

October 29-30: HHL Healthcare Challenge at 

Congress Center Leipzig (CCL) 

Changes in HHL’s quality management team. As of July 

1, 2009, Ms. Jana Studemund (left) is devoting 100% 

of her time and energy to leading HHL Executive as its 

Executive Management. Ms. Sandra Miersch has succeeded 

her as HHL Quality Manager.

Research & Programs - HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

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