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About us

ESMT Berlin

Who we are

ESMT Berlin is the highest-ranked business school in Germany and Top 10 in Europe. Founded by 25 leading global companies, ESMT offers master’s, MBA, and PhD programs, as well as executive education on its campus in Berlin, in locations around the world, online, and in online blended format. Focusing on leadership, innovation, and analytics, its diverse faculty publishes outstanding research in top academic journals. Additionally, the international business school provides an interdisciplinary platform for discourse between politics, business, and academia. ESMT is a non-profit private institution of higher education, accredited by AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS, and FIBAA, and is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion across all its activities and communities. 

ESMT has prioritized three areas: leadership, innovation, and analytics. These pillars underpin the academic and organizational development of the school and guide its programming and research.

 

Mission

From the heart of Europe, we create and impart new knowledge to advance business and society. We develop entrepreneurial leaders who think globally and act responsibly.

Purpose and values

Our purpose reflects the “why” of what we do: Empowering people to create a better tomorrow. 

Our shared values guide us in "how" we work: through community, curiosity, courage, and rigor. 

Fostering transformation

Advances in digital technologies, the increasing importance of sustainability, and the growing urgency to control climate change are just some of the forces driving change today. At ESMT Berlin, we are bundling our existing and future research, education, and outreach activities around transformation.

Learn more

Inclusion and diversity

With the Inclusive Leadership Roundtable (ILRT) students, faculty, and staff prioritize the values and practices of diversity and inclusion within the school and champion these in academia and the business community. ESMT Berlin has signed the “Charta der Vielfalt” (Diversity Charter).

Learn more

ASPIRE strategy

Our strategy ASPIRE guides a new phase of growth. With the financial support of ESMT founders, we bring together the six most important strategic focal points of ESMT:   

  • Advance sustainability through education and research
  • Support diverse future leaders of the world with a European mindset
  • Promote a stakeholder-oriented market economy with sustainable and globally inclusive economic growth  
  • Integrate business and technology to empower individuals, companies, and societies  
  • Research rigorously to find the right solutions to upcoming challenges for businesses and beyond  
  • Evolve into a hotspot for innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe 

As a first concrete measure, we launched the Sustainable Business Transformation Initiative to bundle our existing and future research, education, and outreach activities around sustainability and transformation. This led to the establishment of the FUTURE Institute for Sustainable Transformation, launched on November 2, 2021 at the COP26 in Glasgow.

Facts and figures

  • ESMT Berlin was founded in 2002 by 25 leading German corporations and institutions.
  • ESMT is a state-accredited, private business school.
  • The main campus of ESMT is located in Berlin on Schlossplatz, next to the Berlin City Palace.
  • The historic main campus building of ESMT formerly housed the state council building of the East German government.
  • ESMT has a satellite campus in Berlin-Schöneberg and a branch office in Shanghai.
  • ESMT has an endowment of ca. €123 million. (December 2019).
  • In 2019, ESMT generated income in the amount of €33.4 million.
  • Prof. Jörg Rocholl, PhD, is the president of ESMT. The Supervisory Board of ESMT first appointed Prof. Rocholl as president in 2011.
  • Georg Garlichs is the chief financial officer of ESMT and has held the position since 2014.
  • ESMT offers a full-time MBA, an executive MBA, a part-time MBA, a global online MBA, a master in management, a master in global management, a master in innovation and entrepreneurship, a master in analytics and artificial intelligence program, as well as open enrollment and customized executive education programs.
  • ESMT has 43 faculty members from 19 countries.
  • ESMT has a total of 694 students enrolled in degree programs.
  • The current student body of ESMT represents 88 countries.
  • The master in management degree (MIM) at ESMT is a two-year program. There are 248 students enrolled in the MIM degree program at ESMT.
  • The full-time master’s in business administration degree (MBA) at ESMT is a 15-month program. 77 students are enrolled in the MBA degree program at ESMT.
  • The executive master’s in business administration degree (EMBA) at ESMT is an 18-month program. 93 students are enrolled in the EMBA degree program at ESMT.
  • The part-time blended master’s in business administration (PTMBA) at ESMT is a 24-month program. 139 students are enrolled in the PTMBA degree program at ESMT.
  • The global online master’s in business administration (GOMBA) at ESMT is a 24-60 month program. 138 students are enrolled in the GOMBA degree program at ESMT.
  • There are 15 students enrolled in ESMT's PhD program. 
  • Around 3,500 executives and managers participate in the ESMT Executive Development Programs each year.
  • ESMT has more than 8,000 international business professionals representing numerous industries and sectors in our exclusive alumni network.
  • More than 36,000 executives have completed executive education programs at ESMT.

Accreditation 

ESMT is one of only four business schools in Germany to hold the accreditation “Triple Crown.”  ESMT is accredited by AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS. The “Triple Crown” is the highest distinction of quality for business schools worldwide.

ESMT has been accredited by FIBAA, the Foundation for International Business Accreditation Administration, since 2006.

The German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) renewed its accreditation of ESMT Berlin to grant PhDs in October 2018. ESMT was first awarded this right in 2013.

Rankings

Governance

Legal structure

Twenty-five corporations and institutions established the endowed ESMT Foundation, which consequently founded ESMT European School of Management and Technology GmbH. The executive committee of the ESMT Foundation legally represents and leads the foundation and is controlled by the board of trustees. Both are advised by the international advisory council.

The majority shareholder of the school is the ESMT Foundation and the minority shareholder is the Gesellschaft der Freunde und Förderer der ESMT e. V. (Friends of ESMT).

 

School governance

ESMT Berlin has two spheres of governance: corporate and academic. The corporate governance of ESMT regulates all strategic and operative issues. The president and CFO of ESMT are its legal stewards. They are controlled by the supervisory board and advised by the Management Committee (MC) as the supreme advisory body of ESMT Berlin. Its members are, besides the president and CFO, the dean of faculty and research, and the dean of programs.

The academic governance of ESMT covers all matters of faculty policy, research, and education. There are two main bodies: The academic board is an independent advisory body for academic matters. The academic committee supervises and advises the president in fundamental issues of research, academic instruction, and the further development of the study program. The president is in charge of ESMT and represents the school in both spheres of its governance.

Governing and advisory bodies

  • Supervisory Board of ESMT GmbH

    The supervisory board is a controlling governing body of ESMT GmbH. It controls and advises the management directors of the school.

    • Chairperson: Dr. Werner Zedelius, Senior Advisor, Allianz SE 
    • Filiz Albrecht, Member of the Board of Management and CHRO, Robert Bosch GmbH
    • Dr. Michael Diederich, Spokesman of the Management Board, HypoVereinsbank – UniCredit Bank AG
    • Prof. Dr. Andreas Dombret, Global Senior Advisor, Oliver Wyman GmbH, and former Board Member, Deutsche Bundesbank AG (2010 - 2018)
    • Dr. Joachim Faber, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Harald Quandt Holding
    • Jürgen Hartwig, Member of the Board of Management, Daimler Truck AG, Human Resources
    • Sabine Kohleisen Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, HR, and Director of Labor Relations
    • Dr. Thomas Ogilvie, Member of the Board - HR & Arbeitsdirektor, Deutsche Post DHL Group
    • Karl von Rohr, Member of Management Board, Chief Administrative Officer, Deutsche Bank AG
    • Zvezdana Seeger, Member of the Executive Board of RWE AG / Chief Human Resources Officer (CHO) and Labour Director
    • Judith Wiese, CHRO and Member of the Managing Board, Siemens AG

  • Management Committee

    Members of the management committee provide updates from their areas and give recommendations to the managing directors on various administrative and operative issues.

    • Chairperson: Prof. Jörg Rocholl, PhD, President and Managing Director, ESMT Berlin
    • Georg Garlichs, Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, ESMT Berlin
    • Prof. Harald Hungenberg, Dean of Programs, ESMT Berlin
    • Per Olsson, Dean of Faculty and Research, Deutsche Post DHL Group Professor in Sustainable Accounting

  • Advisory Committee (AC)

    The Advisory Committee (AC) consists of eight members from different parts of ESMT. The mission of the AC is to support the work of the MC by bringing in diverse perspectives from different areas of ESMT. The AC has the mandate to provide input and propose concrete actions by developing new policies and procedures, developing strategies and plans to address business challenges, and driving forward crosscutting, new projects within ESMT. The members are:

    • Molly Ihlbrock, Director of Corporate Communications 
    • Tatjana Lluent, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Volkswagen Group Junior Chair for Diversity in Organizations
    • Rebecca Loades, Director, MBA Programs
    • Antje Niebuhr, Director of Corporate and Legal Affairs
    • Henry Sauermann, Professor of Strategy, ESMT Chair in Entrepreneurship, and Director of the Institute for Endowment Management and Entrepreneurial Finance (IFEE)
    • Roland Siegers, Director, External Engagement
    • Sonja Tolsdorff, Director of Accounting and Controlling
    • Valentina Werner, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

  • Academic Board

    The Academic Board consists of leading academics of international reputation. Members of the Academic Board are proposed by the faculty and appointed by the president. They advise ESMT Berlin and its president on all fundamental academic issues and provide feedback on ESMT’s academic development.

    • Chairperson: Tim Baldenius, Paul M. Montrone Professor of Private Enterprise in the Faculty of Business, Columbia Business School
    • Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School
    • Alfonso Gambardella, Professor of Management and Head of the Department of Management and Technology, Università Bocconi
    • Martin Gargiulo, Professor of Entrepreneurship, INSEAD
    • Michael J. Page, Professor of Finance and Management, Bentley University
    • Manju Puri, J. B. Fuqua Professor; Duke University, The Fuqua School of Business
    • Vinod Singhal, Professor of Operations Management, Associate Dean, MBA Programs; Dunn Family Professorship in Operations Management; Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology
    • Edward A. Snyder, Professor of Economics and Management, Yale School of Management.
    • Reinhilde Veugelers, Full Professor, Department of Management, KU Leuven
    • Florian Zettelmeyer, Nancy L. Ertle Professor of Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

  • Academic Committee

    The Academic Committee is an academic supervisory and advisory body of ESMT. Current members are:

    • Chairperson: Prof. Jörg Rocholl, PhD, President and Managing Director, ESMT Berlin
    • Prof. Matthew Bothner, PhD, ESMT Berlin
    • Prof. Gianluca Carnabuci, PhD, ESMT Berlin
    • Alexander Hijmering, EMBA Class 2021-2023
    • Prof. Harald Hungenberg, Dean of Programs, ESMT Berlin
    • Oscar Knipp, MIM Class 2021-2023
    • Jingze Nate Niu, PhD Student, ESMT Berlin
    • Prof. Per Olsson, Dean of Faculty and Research, ESMT Berlin
    • Prof. Catalina Stefanescu-Cuntze, PhD, ESMT Berlin
    • Fabian Unger, MIM Class 2022-2024
    • Rachel Wang, MBA Class 2022-2023
    • Maria Zambrano. EMBA Class 2022-2024

  • ESMT Foundation Board of Trustees

    Executive Committee

    • Chairperson: Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz Group AG
    • Vice Chairperson: Christian Sewing, CEO, Deutsche Bank AG

    Additional members

    • Prof. Stefan Asenkerschbaumer, Chair of the Supervisory Board, Robert Bosch GmbH
    • Dr. Roland Busch, President and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens AG
    • Timotheus Höttges, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Telekom AG 
    • Carsten Spohr, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO, Deutsche Lufthansa AG

  • International Advisory Council

    ESMT Berlin’s International Advisory Council (IAC) was instituted by the Board of Trustees of the ESMT Foundation to provide external perspective, assessment, and support to the school. Its main goals are to foster ESMT’s mission by acting as an advocate for ESMT around the world, to provide advice on strategic direction and overall objectives while supporting the school’s founding principles and values, and to promote ESMT’s relationships with its founders as well as with individuals and organizations associated with the school.

    • Chairperson: Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz Group AG
    • Dr. Patrick Adenauer, Managing Partner, Bauwens GmbH & Co. KG
    • Mansoor Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Investment Authority
    • Klaus Becker, CEO, KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
    • Dr. Clemens Börsig, Former Chairman of the Board of Management, Deutsche Bank Stiftung
    • Dr. Gerhard Cromme, Chairman and CEO, P.A.C. Consulting
    • Dr. Julian Deutz, Member of the Executive Board, Axel Springer SE
    • Dr. Michael Diederich, Spokesman of the Management Board, HypoVereinsbank – UniCredit Bank AG
    • Michael Diekmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Allianz SE
    • Dr. Corinne Flick, Founder and Chair, Convoco Foundation
    • Jan-Hendrik Goldbeck, Managing Director, GOLDBECK GmbH
    • Dr. h. c. Christoph Henkel, Chairman of the Management Board, Dr. Jost Henkel Stiftung
    • Dr. Achim Kassow, Member of the Board of Management, Munich Re  
    • Carsten Kratz, Managing Director, Bridgepoint GmbH
    • David Knower, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, Cerberus Deutschland Beteiligungsberatung GmbH
    • Dr. Anja Langenbucher, Director, Europe Office, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
    • Dr. Johannes-Tobias Lorenz, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company, Inc
    • Frank Mattern, Director Emeritus, McKinsey & Company, Inc.
    • Philippe Oddo, CEO and General Partner, ODDO BHF AG
    • Dr. Thomas Ogilvie, Member of the Board - HR and Arbeitsdirektor Deutsche Post DHL Group
    • Thomas Schmall-von Westerholt, Member of the Board of Management, Technology, and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components, Volkswagen AG
    • Professor Hermann Simon, Honorary Chairman and Founder, Simon, Kucher & Partners

  • Board of Friends of ESMT

    • Chairperson: Prof. Dr. Wulff Plinke, Founding Dean, ESMT Berlin
    • Vice Chairperson: Dr. Oliver Engels, Managing Director, Chief Risk Officer, Deutsche Börse AG
    • Treasurer: Georg Garlichs, Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, ESMT Berlin
    • Nick Barniville, Advisor, EdTech and Social Impact Programs, ESMT Berlin
    • Anke Dassler, Head of Support Segments and Legal Entities, Evonik Industries AG
    • Claudia Donzelmann, Global Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs, Allianz SE 
    • Prof. Dr. Harald Hungenberg, Dean of Programs, ESMT Berlin
    • Wolfgang Stadler,  independent, previous Executive Director Manufacturing, Jaguar Land Rover, UK

    Find more information about the Friends of ESMT here. 

Partnerships and cooperations

ESMT is part of a number of national and international cooperations in executive development, business research, and academic exchange. These benefit ESMT students, faculty, and alumni, as well as academic and corporate partners.

Learn more about the national and international cooperations of ESMT.

Our campus

Find information about the location, hybrid and online learning, and the history of our building here. 

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Leadership

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Innovation

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