Collage of 3 pictures. Picture a man welding. Picture 2 ESMT building. Picture 3 puzzle piece being placed in puzzle

Hidden Champions Institute

HCI and ESMT Logo

"Hidden Champions" are mainly medium-sized companies that hold a leading international market position and are not well known to the general public despite their success. But they should be – because executives of all companies can learn a lot from the successful concepts of Hidden Champions. At the same time, the Hidden Champions themselves have to face and cope with special challenges.

The Hidden Champions Institute (HCI) is the world's first academic institution dedicated to Hidden Champions, thus providing them with an academic home.

About us

Our mission

Our mission is to support entrepreneurs and executives by generating and disseminating knowledge for and about Hidden Champions.

HCI operates on three different levels

Research: We generate practical and scientifically relevant knowledge for and about Hidden Champions.
Training: We impart practical knowledge for and about Hidden Champions in our executive education programs.
Network: We provide an independent platform for Hidden Champions to learn from each other and build a reliable network. Therefore, the HCI will regularly organize conferences and further network events.