• Entrepreneurship
• Innovation
• Decision Science
• Longevity Science

• Technology Entrepreneurship
• Startup & Scale-up Management
• Entrepreneurial Finance
• Corporate Venturing
• Longevity & Healthspan

1980 - 1990 Banking Apprenticeship, Deutsche Bank AG

Since 2023 Affiliated Professor Center for Financial Services Innovation, University of St.Gallen

2017 - 2019 Dean, School of Management, University of St.Gallen

2015 - 2017 Vice-Dean, School of Management, University of St.Gallen

Since 2015 Director, Global Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of St.Gallen

Since 2012 Director, Center for Entrepreneurship - Startup@HSG, University of St.Gallen

Since 2010 Director, Institute of Technology Management, University of St.Gallen

Since 2010 Full Professor and Chair for Entrepreneurship, University of St.Gallen

2007 - 2010 Full Professor and Chair for Entrepreneurship (Prof. Otto Beisheim Foundation), WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar (Germany)

2007 Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Cambridge (USA), Visiting Scholar

2005 - 2007 Full Professor and Chair for Corporate Finance & Entrepreneurship, Witten Herdecke University (Germany)

2005 Venia legendi in Business Administration (Habilitation), Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf (Germany)

2000 Dr. rer. pol. (Ph. D.) in Business Administration, University of Cologne (Germany)

1996 Diploma in Business Education (Dipl.-Hdl.), University of Cologne (Germany)

1995 Diploma in Business Administration (Dipl.-Kfm.), University of Cologne (Germany)

Various courses on all levels (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate, MBA, EMBA, EMBA-X)

Intercultural teaching experiences in Australia, China, Europe, Latin Amarica, USA

Interdisciplinary courses with ETH - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

Member of the Board of the Foundation Switzerland Innovation
Member of the Advisory Board, Swiss Ventures Group
Member of the Board of Editors, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice
Member of the Board of Editors, Journal of Business Venturing
Independent expert and advisor to various political institutions in
Switzerland, European governments and agencies, and the OECD
Member of award committees for academic and practitioner’s prizes
Member of boards and program committees of international
conferences (AOM a.o.) and research association (DFG, SNF etc.)

Awards

• Impact Awards University of St.Gallen, Switzerland
• Best Paper Awards: Academy of Management, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, USA
• Wolfgang Ritter Award  for Outstanding Achievements in Business Administration Research, Germany

Appointments

• LMU - Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany (refused 2015)
• HHU - Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany (refused 2012)
• HSG - University of St.Gallen, Switzerland (accepted 2010)
• WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany (accepted 2007)
• UW/H - Witten/Herdecke University, Germany (accepted 2005)

Research Grants

• SNF – Swiss National Science Foundation
• Innosuisse – Swiss Innovation Agency (former KTI)
• EU – Horizon Europe
• DFG – German Research Foundation
• Industry Foundations: Avina, Henkel and Gebert Ruef Stiftung

Longevity - The new megatrend in business and society

Unicorn Nation Switzerland - Where is regulatory action needed?

Corporate Venturing - Find the Unicorn inside

Managing start-ups and scale-ups sustainably in line with ESG

AI versus Human Intelligence - Do Algorithms make better - and fairer - Decision than Business Angels?

Biopsychological drivers of decision-making in startup investment

JBV - Journal of Business Venturing (FT50)
ETP - Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice (FT50)

Publications

Co-author of several books with the Navigator series on the St.Gallen Startup Navigator, Scale-up Navigator and Corporate Venturing Handbook. Co-author of research articles in leading journals such as the FT50 Journals: Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Research Policy, Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review.

Visiting Appointments and Scholarships

2023 Guest Professor, Luiss Business School, Rome (Italy)

2016 Visiting Professor, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas (Litauen)

2013 Guest Professor, ESADE Business School, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona (Spain)$

2013 Lecturer at ETH - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Management Zurich (Switzerland)

2011 Visiting Professor, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar (Germany)

2010 Guest Professor, University of Melbourne (Australia) 

2009 Visiting Professor, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, III., Bogotá (Colombia) 

2006 Guest Professor, Thunderbird University, Phoenix/Arizona (USA)

Internal Services - Academic Management University of St.Gallen

President of the Board of the Institute of Media and Communications Management 
Member of the Board of the Institute of Behavioral Science and Technology
Member of the Board of the Institute of Computer Science
Member of the Board of the Institute of Business Education and Educational Management

Member of the Research Commitee (2021-2023)
Member of the Side Activity Committee (2019-2021)
Dean, School of Management (2017-2019)
Vice-Dean, School of Management (2015-2017)
Member of various Faculty Search Committees
Member of Senate, University of St.Gallen

External Services and Board Memberships

Member of the Board of the Foundation Switzerland Innovation
Member of the Advisory Board, Swiss Ventures Group
Member of the Board of Editors, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice
Member of the Board of Editors, Journal of Business Venturing
Independent expert and advisor to various political institutions in
Switzerland, European governments and agencies, and the OECD
Member of award committees for academic and practitioner’s prizes
Member of boards and program committees of international
conferences (AOM a.o.) and research association (DFG, SNF etc.)