HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021

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HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021

New Chairman of the
Supervisory Board
   page 03

Feature stories of HHL alumni
   pages 07/08

Inspiring talks on sustainability
   page 09

More updates from HHL               … and many more insights into HHL’s
   pages 11–14                      research, teaching and campus activities
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
02   HHL NEWS          SUMMER 2021

EDITORIAL

           Dear HHL Community,

           Welcome to the latest edition of the HHL News. Twice a         breck presided over the tenures of four different Deans
           year we provide you with news and updates from our HHL         and helped HHL to double its size to over 750 students
           Community. With this issue you receive information about       in 2021. On 1 January 2021, he handed over the position
           the latest developments at HHL, including intellectual         as Chairman to Lutz Meschke, who has been a member
           impulses through contributions from our faculty and an         of the Supervisory Board of HHL for many years already.
           overview of the many initiatives, events and offerings our     Lutz Meschke is known for his passion for digitization,
           community engaged in during the past months.                   development and excellence which he also exemplifies in
                                                                          his various corporate roles and which he already applied
           Reading through the HHL News, one could almost forget          in the various projects initiated since he took over his new
           that we are in a pandemic and that our campus and study        role for HHL.
           locations have been closed since November. The re­silience
           shown by our students, our administration and our faculty      In an era where education and research are more dynamic
           is expressed through the energy that everybody is putting      than ever such attributes will be highly beneficial for the
           into keeping up with a high quality study program, inter-      upcoming discussions on the future offerings of HHL. I am
           nationally relevant research and extracurricular activities.   looking forward to keeping you updated and am inviting
                                                                          you to participate in this discussion.
           Another special focus of this issue of the HHL News is on
           our Supervisory Board. That HHL has developed into an          Yours sincerely,
           organization that is able to do all this, is also thanks to
           the leadership expressed by Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck
           over the past decade. As Chairman of our Supervisory
           Board he has guided the forward-looking decisions that
           made HHL into a top 25 Business School worldwide, the
           leading entrepreneurial Business School in Germany for
           over ten years and a beacon for excellent education and        Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner
           start-up support in and for Saxony. Dr. Tessen von Heyde-      Dean of HHL

     Table of Content

      02      Editorial
      03      New Chairman of Supervisory Board of HHL
      04      In Great Gratitude
      06      Entrepreneurship
      09      Sustainability
      10      Leadership
      11      Updates from HHL
      16      Executive Education
                                                                                             Imprint
      17      Faculty & Research
                                                                                             Publisher: HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Jahnallee 59, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
      24      HHL Community                                                                  +49 341 9851-60 info@hhl.de @hhlnews #hhl www.hhl.de
                                                                                             Contact HHL News: hhlnews@hhl.de Publication Date: June 2021 ISSN: 1433-934X
                                                                                             ISSN (online): 1867-8017 V.I.S.D.P.: Executive Management of HHL: Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner,
                                                                                             Dean of HHL Editor: Sigrid Fischer Photos: Michael Bader, Iona Dutz, HHL, Christian Hüller,
                                                                                             Daniel R
                                                                                                    ­ eiche, Jens Schlüter, Hendrik Schmidt, Jean-Marie Tronquet, Dominik Wolf
                                                                                             Cover Images: Christian Hüller, Miriam Wilke (HHL), Daniel Reiche Layout: Stefanie ­Bader
                                                                                             Thank you to all contributors and proof readers of this edition.
                                                                                             This edition of HHL News has been produced 100 % climate neutrally.
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
www.hhl.de                                                                                                                                          HHL NEWS       SUMMER 2021                 03

                                                                                                                    NEW CHAIRMAN OF SUPERVISORY BOARD OF HHL

Greetings from the new
Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Lutz Meschke
It is a great honor to be the Chairman of
the Supervisory Board of HHL Leipzig                                                                                                                     Since 1 January 2021, Lutz Meschke,
Graduate School of Management. I was                                                                                                                     Deputy Chairman and Member of the
delighted to have been asked to share                                                                                                                    Executive Board Finance and IT at Dr.
a few thoughts with you. As part of the                                                                                                                  Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG as well as Mem-
HHL community, you are among the                                                                                                                         ber of the Board of Management at Por-
leadership pioneers around the world.                                                                                                                    sche Automobil Holding SE, has been
                                                                                                                                                         the new Chairman of the Supervisory
So, go ahead, make something of it.
                                                                                                                                                         Board of HHL Leipzig Graduate School
The world needs capable, responsible
                                                                                                                                                         of Management.
young people who can take effective,
                                                                                                                                                         Lutz Meschke follows into the footsteps
sustainable action in tackling the chal-                                                                                                                 of Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck, who
lenges of the present and the future.                                                                                                                    led the school’s Supervisory Board for
Today’s society needs courageous peo-                                                                                                                    more than ten years. During these years,
ple with strength of character. People                                                                                                                   HHL did not only earn the international
who move things forward. Whether it’s                                                                                                                    reputation of being one of the 25 best
their company, their city or their coun-                                                                                                                 business schools worldwide with more
try. People who speak up when neces-                                                                                                                     than 140 partner universities and stu-
sary and who disagree when it matters.                                                                                                                   dents from over 65 nations. Dr. Tessen
                                                                                                                                                         von Heydebreck also promoted the
People who get involved and contri­
                                                                                                                                                         school’s strong ties to the region which
bute. So, my advice to the young gen-
                                                                                                                                                         is reflected by the fact that HHL edu-
eration and the entire HHL commu-
                                                                                                                                                         cates approximately 20 percent gradu-
nity is that the best leaders are not just                                                                                                               ates of the Masters in Management in
focused on key performance indica-                                                                                                                       Saxony today.
tors. They are able to look far beyond                                                                                                                   With Lutz Meschke, the Supervisory
their own company and family. They are                                                                                                                   Board of HHL is gaining a Chairman with
able to see the bigger picture and defi-       Lutz Meschke, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management              great expertise and wide leadership
cits in it. They take action to move the                                                                                                                 experience that will inspire HHL and its
world in a direction where there is that       even build them up. At the final whistle            can achieve a lot for your fellow human               community to take action in business
bit more fairness and that bit better          blow, success only comes to those who               beings as well. The more you cooper-                  and beyond. Lutz Meschke is a leading
                                                                                                                                                         role model for taking on responsibil-
quality of life. There are so many busi-       have stuck together as a team. That is              ate as leaders, you can shape the world
                                                                                                                                                         ity on every level of one’s personal and
ness leaders who never speak publicly          why, it is right for you to network and             to be a better place. It starts on a small
                                                                                                                                                         professional life and for nurturing active
about political issues. I think that is a      cultivate your contacts. My recom-                  scale. If someone needs help or has a
                                                                                                                                                         and supportive networks. HHL’s Dean
shame. I would like to ask you: who will       mendation is to continue to expand                  problem, your network can be there                    Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner says, “I am
be the ones raising their voice against        your community. Get actively involved               to offer support. Stand together when                 delighted and very much looking for-
mismanagement and deficits if not the          in sharing ideas. Look for stimuli from             times are rough. Perhaps help those in                ward to his contributions and our fruit-
people at the top. If not you? It’s like       outside. Listen carefully. Discuss poli-            need outside of your own network. With                ful collaboration in further establishing
football, as a top performer you carry         tics and society, too. Stay wide awake              this in mind, I wish you every success                HHL as a space for first movers and life-
more responsibility than many others.          and be alert. Networks can help you                 for the future. Stay courageous leader­               long connections.”
And when times are rough you have to           advance your career, that’s for sure. But           ship pioneers and become stronger
pull the weaker ones along with you or         don’t forget, by working together you               together.

Numbers we are proud of
   #1                                   #3                                        40,000+                                   350+                                   #2
   Entrepreneurial                      Graduates’ salaries                       Jobs created by                           Companies founded                      Master in Management
   University                           in Europe                                 HHL founders and                          or co-founded                          in Germany
                                                                                  co-founders                               by HHL alumni
   Startup Radar 2021                   Financial Times Global Masters                                                                                             Financial Times Global Masters
   Stifterverband                       in Management Ranking 2020                                                                                                 in Management Ranking 2020

   #23                                  #7                                        #8                                        #260                                   #123
   Master in Management                 Career service                            Worldwide in                              Newly immatriculated                   PhD students enrolled
   globally                             worldwide                                 the ­category                             students
                                                                                  “Value for Money”
   Financial Times Global Masters       Financial Times Global Masters            QS Masters in Management
   in Management Ranking 2020                                                                                               all-time high in 2020                  all-time high in 2020
                                        in Management Ranking 2020                Ranking 2021
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
04        HHL NEWS                SUMMER 2021

  IN GREAT GRATITUDE

Thank you,
Dr. Tessen von
Heydebreck
Dr. jur. Tessen von Heydebreck was the          fonds Deutsche Bank endowment fund
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of            established the Chair of Innovation Man-
HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Man-             agement and Entrepreneurship at HHL.
agement from November 2009 until the
end of 2020. He succeeded Dr. Bern-             Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck, who has a
hard Walter in this position (serving           doctoral degree in Law, joined Deutsche      Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck
from 2001 to 2009), former Chairman of          Bank in 1974. Between 1994 and 2007, he

                                                                                                                                                   “
the Executive Board of Dresdner Bank,           was a member of the Executive Board.
Dr. Ludwig Trippen (1998 to 2001), for-         During this time, Dr. Tessen von Heyde-      malschutz (German Foundation for
mer member of the Executive Board of            breck’s responsibilities included private    Monument Protection) and as Honorary
WestLB and Inaugural Dean of HHL, as            and business customers as well as asset      Chairman of the Board of Trustees of IJP              When I hand over the role as Chairman
well as Prof. Dr. Helmut Sihler (1993 to        management. He was particularly inter-       Internationale Journalisten-Programme                 of HHL’s Supervisory Board at my own
1997), former Chairman of the Super-            ested in establishing and expanding          e. V. Until November 2010, he was a                   request due to my age after more than
visory Board of Porsche AG and for-             the business in the Central and Eastern      member of the Board of Management                     eleven years, it is with the proverbial
mer Interim Chairman of the Executive           European countries, focusing especially      of the Committee on Eastern European                  laughing and crying eye. Who likes
Board of Deutsche Telekom AG.                   on Russia and Poland. In his last posi-      Economic Relations.                                   to leave when they have been part
                                                tion as the Chief Administrative Officer                                                           of such a great success story such as
Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck and, with             on the Executive Board, he oversaw the       In 2007, he initiated the establishment               the path HHL has taken? On the other
him, Deutsche Bank are closely con-             areas of HR, Legal, Auditing, Compli-        of the German-Polish Foundation for the               hand, I can only be happy and grateful
nected to HHL. Deutsche Bank set a              ance and CSR, and was in charge of the       Preservation of Cultural Heritage and                 to see Lutz Meschke as my successor,
milestone in the cooperation with the           region of Central and Eastern Europe.        contributed endowment funds. Dr. Tes-                 whose drive and future orientation will
business school in mid-2007 through its                                                      sen von Heydebreck is also a member                   make him an excellent sparring partner
endowment of 1,000,000 EUR for the              Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck is commit-         of the Supervisory Boards of Postbank,                for the university’s management as we
Kramer Foundation of HHL. In 2011, at           ted to cultural and social causes in vari-   Vattenfall Europe, the German Energy                  move forward.
the same time as Prof. Dr. Andreas Pink-        ous ways. He serves as the Chairman of       Agency (dena) as well as the Foundation               Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck
wart was appointed Dean, the Stiftungs-         the Board of Deutsche Stiftung Denk­         Board of Dussmann Verwaltungs AG.                     Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HHL

                                                                                                                               “
                                                                                                                               In 2010, it was a stroke of luck for all of us that you
                                                                                                                               became Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HHL,
                                                                                                                               succeeding Dr. Bernhard Walter. This made it easy for
                                                                                                                               me to take over the position as Dean of the university
                                                                                                                               on an interim basis. I have fond memories of the year
                                                                                                                               working with you. You have now earned the right to
                                                                                                                               devote yourself to other tasks. Many thanks and all

   “                                               “
                                                                                                                               the best for you!

                                                                                                                               Prof. Dr. Arnis Vilks
                                                                                                                               Ad interim Dean of HHL from April 2010 until April 2011,
   Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck became                Dear Mr. von Heydebreck,                                                    Chairholder of Macroeconomics
   Chairman of the Supervisory Board
   in 2009, at a time when important               Back then, when you took over the
   strategic courses of action for                 chairmanship of the Supervisory
   HHL’s future development had                    Board of the Handelshochschule,
   to be cultivated, introduced and                we only met very briefly. I can still
   implemented. These measures had                 remember the first question you
   become particularly pressing in                 asked me: “Mr. Wiesmeth, why
   light of the global financial crisis,           should Deutsche Bank support
   both regarding the financial and                HHL Leipzig Graduate School of
   organizational situation as well                Management?” I still can’t get
   as the conceptual alignment of                  this question out of my head. It
   Germany’s oldest business school.               came spontaneously at the time,
   It was all about the strategic                  I knew I had to think about it first,
   reorientation as a scientific                   otherwise my answer probably
   university of international renown              wouldn’t have been purposeful.
   with a clear focus on responsible               Afterwards, when I sat in the first
   leadership, entrepreneurship as                 or second row at some event –
   well as international strategic                 which still happens occasionally
   management. While Dr. von                       today – I kept thinking: “What
   Heydebreck chaired HHL’s                        would you say now if the
                                                                                                Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck und Dean Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner
   Supervisory Board, the school                   moderator up there asked you
   achieved outstanding positions                  ‘Mr. Wiesmeth, what do you think

                                                                                                “
   in rankings, received different                 about this?’”. In this respect – dear
   accreditations on a national                    Mr. von Heydebreck – in a way you
   and international level and was                 were also formative for my life.
                                                                                                Under Dr. von Heydebreck’s leadership, HHL has developed into one of the
   consistently named Germany’s                    I wish you health, strength and, of
                                                                                                leading business schools in Europe. In the more than ten years he has chaired
   best entrepreneurial university.                course, lots of fun in everything
                                                                                                the Supervisory Board, Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck has always understood how
                                                   you do for your new path in life.
   Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart                                                                   to maintain a balance between the highest quality standards in research and
   Former Dean of HHL from 2011 until 2017,        Prof. Dr. Hans Wiesmeth                      teaching, the value-based approach to education and a necessary growth path.
   Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation,      Former Dean of HHL
   Digitalization and Energy of the State of       from 2005 until 2010                         Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner
   North Rhine-Westphalia                                                                       Dean of HHL, Chairholder Porsche AG Chair of Strategic Management and Digital Entrepreneurship
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
www.hhl.de                                                                                                                                                         HHL NEWS               SUMMER 2021                      05

                                                                                                                                                                                       IN GREAT GRATITUDE

Timeline of Dr. Tessen von
Heydebreck’s tenure as Chairman of
the Supervisory Board
                                2011                                                                                     Dr. Tessen and Dorothee
                                                                                                                         von Heydebreck in front of
                                                                                                                         HHL’s Reading Room
                                In January 2011, HHL is the
                                first German business school

                                                                                                                                2017
                                to launch a new part-time
                                Master of Science program.

                                1 April 2011: HHL has a
                                 new management: Prof. Dr.                                                                      In February 2017, HHL is
                                 Andreas Pinkwart takes                                                                         once again honored as best
                                 office as Dean and Dr. Axel                                                                    German start-up university by
                                 Baisch as Chancellor. The                                                                      the Stifterverband.
                                 official handing-over of
                                 office happens on 18 May         2013                          2015                            30 June 2017: After six
                                                                                                                                successful years as Dean
                                 2011.
2009                                                                                                                            of HHL, Prof. Dr. Andreas                 Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer
                                                                  September 2013: For the       21 January 2015:                Pinkwart leaves the university            visiting HHL in 2019
                                July 2011: Handover of            implementation of HHL’s
                                the renovated canteen                                           A celebration is held in        to take up the post of
                                                                  future concept “innovate
                                                                                                                                                                          2019
Number of students              building Jahnallee to all                                       the Senate Room of the          Minister for Economic Affairs,
                                                                  125”, the university needs    Schmalenbach Building to        Innovation, Digitalization
at HHL: 366                     users. Named after Eugen          more room for teaching,       mark the 70th birthday of       and Energy in North Rhine-
                                Schmalenbach, who studied         research and student
On 1 November 2009,                                                                             Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck.      Westphalia.
                                at HHL in Leipzig from 1898                                                                                                               April 2019: Saxony’s Prime
Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck                                         work. The move from
                                to 1900 and was one of the                                                                      13 July 2017:                             Minister Michael Kretschmer
takes over as Chairman                                            Katharinenstr. and the        HHL’s Reading Room is
                                first alumni.                                                                                   Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner                 visits HHL. He also
of the Supervisory Board,                                         expansion of the Jahnallee    given the name “Reading
                                                                                                                                takes office as new Dean of               emphasizes the importance
succeeding Dr. h.c. Bernhard                                      campus take place.            Room Dr. Tessen and
                                                                                                                                HHL Leipzig Graduate School               of HHL’s DIGITAL SPACE
Walter.                                                                                         Dorothee von Heydebreck”
                                                                  In November 2013, the                                         of Management.                            and assures HHL of the state
                                                                  two-day HHL Forum on          February 2015: The start-up                                               government’s support for
                                                                  “Rethinking Leadership” is    accelerator – HHL’s SpinLab     Starting in fall 2017, “HHL               a dedicated “Digitization”
                                                                  being held.                   is being established.           goes Munich” by offering a                faculty.
                                                                                                                                part-time Master of Science
                                                                                                                                program on the premises of                31 August 2019: During the
                                                                                                                                the Bavarian Business School              graduation ceremony for
                                                                                                                                in Munich.                                the class of 2019, taking
                                                                                                                                                                          place in the presence
                                                                                                                                October 2017: 25 years                    of an audience of 1,200
                                                                                                                                ago, the Leipzig Chamber                  people, HHL is awarding
HHL Supervisory Board                                                                                                           of Commerce and Industry                  an honorary doctorate to
meeting in 2009 – Dr. Tessen                                                                                                    and Friends of HHL founded                Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel
von Heydebreck becomes                                                                                                          today’s HHL Leipzig Graduate              with a laudatio of Christine
new Chairman                                                   HHL Forum 2013                                                   School of Management.                     Lagarde.

           2010                                                                   2014                                                                                                  2020
           31 March 2010: The term of                                             June 2014: With about                                                                                 Number of students at HHL: 759
           office of Dean Prof. Dr. Hans
           Wiesmeth, who has led the              2012                            200 participants the first
                                                                                  HHL-International-Investors-
                                                                                                                                                                                        4 April 2020: 1st Virtual Campus Day
           university since 2005, ends.                                           Day takes place in Leipzig.                                                                           September 2020: Take-off of the
                                                  May 2012: To mark HHL’s                                                                                                               1st batch of HHL’s DIGITAL SPACE
           From 1 April 2010,                     20th anniversary, an            October 2014: “HHL goes
           Prof. Dr. Arnis Vilks leads            international conference        Cologne” as HHL’s part-time                                                                           11 November 2020: Last meeting of
           HHL as Dean ad interim.                titled “Marketing for the       Master of Science program                                                                             the Supervisory Board of HHL chaired
                                                  21st Century” is being held.    starts at its new branch in                                                                           by Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck
                                                  Professors Philip Kotler,       Cologne with 28 students for
                                                  Heribert Meffert, Michael       the first time.
                                                                                                                              HHL celebrates the 120th anniversary in 2018
                                                  Czinkota and Hermann            In December 2014, the
                                                  Simon speak as renowned         German government                           Dr. Tessen von
                                                  representatives of the          officially recognizes HHL                   ­Heydebreck’s
                                                  field of market-oriented        as a research institution.                   speech during
                                                  management.                     The university is authorized                 HHL’s 120th
                                                  In November 2012, an            to conclude hosting                          ­anniversary
                                                  18-member Board of              agreements with foreign
                                                                                                                                                                                        Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck during
                                                  Trustees consisting of high-    researchers, which
                                                                                                                                                                                        his final meeting as Chairman of
                                                  ranked representatives from     among other things eases
                                                                                                                                                                                        HHL’s Supervisory Board
                                                  business and academia is        international collaboration.
                                                  newly appointed at HHL.
                                                  Prof. Dr. Ulrich Lehner takes
                                                  over as Chairman.                                                                               2018
                                                                                                                                                  October 2018:
                                                                                                                                                  HHL celebrates the

                                                                                                                 2016
                                                                                                                                                  120th anniversary of the first
                                                                                                                                                  German business school                Lutz Meschke, Dr. Tessen
                                                                                                                                                  being founded in Leipzig in           von Heydebreck and
Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck during                                                                                 In January 2016, HHL             1898.                                 Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner (fltr)
a HHL Conference in 2012                                                                                         becomes the first academic
                                                                                                                                                  The Federal Minister for
                                                                                                                 member from Germany
                                                                                                                                                  Economic Affairs and
                                                                                                                 to join the Peter Drucker
                                                                                                                                                  Energy, Peter Altmaier,
                                                                                                                 Society Europe.
                                                                                                                                                  congratulates HHL on its
                                                                                                                 December 2016: The               outstanding achievements
                                                                                                                 HHL Forum “Rethinking            and successes in the fields of
                                                                                                                 Leadership” with the             entrepreneurship and start-
                                                                                                                 presentation of the new          up company formation.
                                                                                                                                                                                        Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck
                                                                                                                 Leipzig Leadership Model is                                            is being congratulated on his
                                                                                                                 taking place.                                                          outstanding achievements
                                                  HHL Forum 2016
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
06       HHL NEWS              SUMMER 2021

  ENTREPRENEURSHIP

HHL #1 place for aspiring
entrepreneurs in Germany
                                                    based business school is the front run-              innovation and entrepreneurship, HHL             For more information:
                                                    ner in the category of universities of up            also offers a vast number of open for-
                                                    to 5,000 students. The Stifterverband                mats to promote the entrepreneurial                     https://www.hhl.de/press/
                                                    comments on its decision to honor the                spirit in the city and the region.
                                                    respective institutions:
                                                                                                         HHL Dean Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner,              HHL’s entrepreneurial spirit
                                                    “[…] They raise their students’ aware-               Professor for entrepreneurship and a             in numbers
                                                    ness on the topic of start-ups in an out-            serial entrepreneur himself says:
                                                    standing way, thereby qualifying them                                                                 Number of HHL start-ups > 350
                                                    by offering an appropriate range of                  “Founders require a special ecosystem.           (founded or co-founded
                                                    courses and events. The schools sup-                 They need like-minded people, inves-             by HHL alumni)
HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Man-                 port students seeking to start their own             tors and a region that offers a non-             Number of jobs created         > 40,000
agement has secured the top spot for                business through extensive measures                  bureaucratic and flexible environment
aspiring entrepreneurs in the Startup               and consultation.” (Peggy Groß, Stif-                to the young entrepreneurs. The award            Number of alumni               > 320/10 %
Radar Ranking 2020 published by the                 terverband Press Officer)                            shows that, together with the City of            who founded/
Stifterverband. The Startup Radar is a                                                                   Leipzig and the Free State of Saxony, we         % of HHL community
study funded by the Federal Ministry                For years, it has been HHL’s mission to              are on a fruitful path allowing start-ups
                                                                                                                                                          Start-ups in Saxony            > 50
for Economic Affairs and Energy, which              create excellent framework conditions                to grow. The recognition motivates us in
evaluates the entrepreneurial develop-              for founders in Germany and, particu-                our efforts to create an attractive envi-        Jobs created in Saxony         > 800
ment culture at German universities.                larly, at a regional level. In addition to a         ronment for founders which promotes
                                                                                                                                                          Unicorns from HHL              4
For the fifth time in a row, the Leipzig-           broad range of courses in the fields of              healthy growth.”

                                                                                                             The start-ups of our
                                                                                                                second batch
   HHL DIGITAL SPACE – Launch Day
   Batch #2
                                                                                                                        Capybara offers a platform for
   The HHL DIGITAL SPACE is HHL’s                                                                                       all parents to create exciting
                                                                                                                        and suitable family trips right
   early stage tech incubator focusing                                                                                  on your doorstep.                 Edurino co-founders Irene Klemm and
   on digital business models in Leipzig.                                                                                                                 Franziska Steiner

   In its incubator program, HHL offers
   a free of charge 12-week program to                                                                                  ChargeHotels is a platform
                                                                                                                                                                           Edurino
   anyone interested in starting their                                                                                  for booking and planning
   business from developing their ideas                                                                                 sustainable travel. On the        The founding team consists of HHL
                                                                                                                        platform the team has
   all the way through to market matu-                                                                                                                    alumna Irene Klemm (MSc16) and Fran-
                                                                                                                        6,000 hotels registered
   rity. The prospective founders meet                                                                                  already.                          ziska Steiner, who successfully raised
   like-minded people and are sup-                                                                                                                        their first pre-seed round during the
   ported by coaches who help them                  Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner, part of the expert jury                                                    HHL DIGITAL SPACE incubation pro-
   review their business ideas for pur-                                                                                 Connekt is an all-in-one          gram already. They were also awarded
   pose and chances of success.                     ­tubner with an open livestream,
                                                    S                                                                   trading platform solution,        with the Best Startup Pitch at this year’s
                                                    where over 100 viewers were pre-                                    which provides the necessary      Accelerate@HHL Conference.
                                                                                                                        tools for SMEs to compete in
   On 20 April 2021, the Launch Day of              sent and supported the founders.                                    the digital era.
                                                                                                                                                          Edurino addresses the need of kids aged
   Batch #2 took place with a hybrid                The event was combined with the                                                                       4–8+ to learn digital playing and learning
   event as the highlight of the incu-              “Best of Seed Award” granted by                                                                       competency in a responsible and educa-
   bation program. In an online pro-                the Karl-Kolle-Stiftung. Lavelio with                                                                 tive environment. This way, they acquire
                                                                                                                        LEVOOBA Kids is an awarded,
   duction at Leipzig Media City the                their AI-based social media solution                                language-based learning           skills that are needed at schools in the
   eight teams of the second batch                  for influencers consisting of the four                              app for playful practicing of     21st century and beyond. Their offer is
                                                                                                                        school content – digital but
   presented their business ideas in                HHL students Bernhard Franik, Laura                                                                   a solution of a physical toy and digital
                                                                                                                        screen-free.
   pitches to the expert jury consisting            Hepper, Moritz Moerke and Selina                                                                      learning app that invites kids on a story-
   of Constanze Buchheim, Founder                   Homann won the voting by the vir-                                                                     based journey and learning environment.
   and Managing Partner at i-poten-                 tual audience and jury. They received                                                                 For monetization and market entry in
                                                                                                                        PRESENCE is an industry-
   tials, Lukas C. C. Hempel, Founder               the prize money of 3,000 EUR and                                    specific multi-stream real-time
                                                                                                                                                          2021 a starter kit is launched with first
   and Managing Director at booking-                a pitch slot during the HHL SpinLab                                 collaboration system that         learning content and further learning
   kit and HHL’s Dean Prof. Dr. Stephan             Investors Day in June 2021.                                         enables crews a digital return    material can be purchased afterwards.
                                                                                                                        to the sets.

                                                                                                                                                            HHL’s Business Plan Seminar
                                                                                                                        Snsry is a digital and cloud-
                                                                                                                        based B2B marketplace for
                                                                                                                        industry-spanning sensor          Integrated in the curriculum, the 8 ECTS
                                                                                                                        technology.                       Business Plan Seminar, taught by Prof.
                                                                                                                                                          Dr. Stephan Stubner, took off this March.
                                                                                                                                                          During the past three months, MSc stu-
                                                                                                                        REACH is an independent           dents already had the chance to develop
                                                                                                                        financial advisory and            their business idea to found a com-
                                                                                                                        coaching app that offers an
                                                                                                                        individual financial strategy
                                                                                                                                                          pany. The seminar follows the incuba-
                                                                                                                        and execution via app in a        tion approach of HHL’s DIGITAL SPACE
                                                                                                                        subscription model.               and leads teams through the phases
                                                                                                                                                          of problem-solution-validation. Paired
                                                                                                                                                          with input sessions from entrepreneur-
                                                                                                                        Edurino is a new digital and      ship experts, five teams worked on their
                                                                                                                        tangible solution to prepare      idea and will hold their final pitch on
                                                                                                                        kids for school and beyond.
   Behind the scenes during the hybrid Launch Day                                                                                                         18 June. Stay tuned for new start-ups
                                                                                                                                                          being founded!
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
www.hhl.de                                                                                                                                                    HHL NEWS                                   SUMMER 2021             07

                                                                                                                           ENTREPRENEURSHIP – FEATURE STORIES OF HHL ALUMNI

                HHL’s start-ups and their impact on our well-being
                                                                                          Interviews and stories by Sigrid Fischer

     Christian Klemenz –                                                   Stine Täubert – Co-Founder                        Martin Elwert –                                                        Tobias Zimmer –
Founder and Managing Director                                                and Chief Beer Scout at                  Founder and Managing Director                                          Founder and Managing Director
        at Bierothek®                                                        Dr. Hops Craft Beer-Bar                         at Coffee Circle                                                 at coffee-bike and myChoco
HHL alumnus Christian Klemenz (MSc4)                                    In 2015, PMSc1 alumna Stine Täubert           Martin Elwert, who graduated with a                                    HHL alumnus Tobias Zimmer (K23)
is the Founder and Managing Director                                    had the idea of opening a craft beer bar,     diploma in business from HHL in 2006,                                  decided to start up coffee-bike, the
behind the Bierothek®, a specialty store                                where spreading beer culture and having       founded Coffee Circle in 2010 with two                                 mobile coffee company, after having
all about beer. It is the place to go when                              the opportunity to try a variety of beer      other former colleagues from his time as                               attended Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner’s
it comes to exceptional and offbeat beer                                styles should be the norm. She started        consultant at Roland Berger. Coffee Cir-                               entrepreneurship lectures at HHL, which,
specialties, international craft beers or                               a sommelier study and deepened her            cle started as a coffee roasting company                               in combination with the entrepreneurial
simply for a large variety of products                                  knowledge of beer culture and history.        in Berlin focusing on exceptional cof-                                 spirit of the HHL community, were the
around beer.                                                            For Stine it was enlightening to dive in      fee quality, fair trade and social impact                              tipping point for him to follow his true
When talking to Christian about his                                     and discover a scene where people were        through innovation along the value                                     passion for founding. Tobias remembers
journey, he mentions that he decided                                    enthusiastic about their products. Brew-      chain. Adding to that is the online shop                               that “when coming to HHL, I finally real-
to study at HHL particularly because he                                 ers, distributers, bar owners, and staff      where customers can find coffee as well                                ized that my ideas and thoughts reso-
had been contemplating about the idea                                   often consider each beer as a little piece    as everything else needed to brew and                                  nated with other people, that there
to start up his own business for a long                                 of art. In this community, the spirit and     enjoy it. In 2019, Coffee Circle opened                                were others out there who thought just
time by then and wanted to join a place                                 product quality count more than num-          their first café in Berlin and up until now                            like me when it comes to entrepreneur-
where he could learn more about under-                                  bers. In 2016, she then teamed up with        they have already opened up two more.                                  ship. I felt confirmed in my belief that
going such an adventure. “In the end,                                   Franz Uhlig and Dr. Christof Petrick, who     Over the past years the company has                                    founding your own business is a legit-
my passion for the product beer itself                                  shared her enthusiasm for beer diversity      grown to more than 65 employees, many                                  imate and great way forward.” So in
as well as my passion for entrepreneur-                                 and entrepreneurship. Together, they          of them having been with Coffee Circle                                 2010, a mobile coffee shop on wheels
ship were the two main reasons for me                                   put a vision into action and in April 2017    for a long time already, which “I am very                              was created in Osnabrück, Germany.
to be able to set up a thriving business,”                              the Dr. Hops Craft Beer-Bar opened its        grateful for and which makes this team                                 With overall more than 250 coffee bikes,
says Christian. “These were also the fun-                               doors for the first time and since then, it   an incredibly trusted and safe environ-                                represented across 17 different countries,
damentals that carried me through diffi-                                has been a place known for its passion        ment to work in,” says Martin. Coffee                                  together with 190 franchise partners and
cult times and never made me lose sight                                 of sharing great beers with people.           Circle has raised and invested more                                    overall more than 600 employees, the
of where I was going,” he adds. “If other                               For Dr. Hops craft beer is not only           than 2.5 M EUR to support the coffee                                   business has grown into an internation-
people are debating about starting up                                   defined by the pure joy of experiment-        farmers and regions where their coffee                                 ally successful franchise concept. Tobias
their own business, I would encour-                                     ing with many ingredients from new            beans are growing in – these are mainly                                says that “it is so much fun and incred-
age them to be brave enough to follow                                   hops, orange peel to the fruit of para-       located in South/West Ethiopia, Kenya,                                 ibly rewarding to be offering a premium
their inner passion and to go their very                                dise; but craft beer is understood in the     the Democratic Republic of the Congo,                                  product delivered at picturesque spots
own way. I am sure they won’t regret                                    truest sense of the word craftsman-           Myanmar and Colombia. In the coun-                                     which results in lasting memories for our
it.” Christian did go his very own and                                  ship with respect for the product. Stine      tries of origin of the coffee beans, Mar-                              customers. But coffee-bike shouldn’t
successful way and by now, the online                                   says, “the team is flexible, enthusiastic,    tin explains, “we work on the grounds                                  remain the only business for him to be
shop of his business offers over 300 dif-                               and innovative, which helped us move          with the local communities to analyze                                  running: When traveling through the
ferent types of high quality beer. Addi-                                quickly by setting up and hosting fun         and evaluate key needs that need to                                    beautiful Tanzania in 2016, Tobias came
tionally, the Bierothek® also has several                               online livestream events to enable us         be tackled and we then conceptualize                                   up with the idea to combine business
stores in major cities such as Leipzig,                                 to stay in touch with our audience by         how projects can be undertaken. These                                  with creating a social impact. The idea
Munich, Vienna and Berlin where aside                                   bringing beer edutainment to their liv-       projects often revolve around the basic                                of myChoco – really good chocolate that
of buying beer, customers can also get                                  ing rooms. With livestreams we are able       supply of clean water, access to edu-                                  can do more than just being delicious –
a free beer consultation and book beer                                  to reach a broader range of people.           cation and sustainable cultivation. We                                 was born. The innovation is to combine
tastings and workshops. When being                                      We are happy to share our passion for         want the local communities to be part                                  the pleasure of buying and enjoying the
asked what makes him happy on a daily                                   handcrafted beer even during difficult        of the improvement process, which                                      chocolate with a good purpose – and
basis, Christian states: “It is so gratify-                             times.” If the bar is open and you are        increases their confidence, motivation                                 that purpose is building schools in Tan-
ing to walk through our stores incognito                                lucky you may even find Prof. Dr. André       and entrepreneurial drive. That way                                    zania. Tobias explains that “the comple-
and to hear customers speak about our                                   Casajus from HHL’s Chair of Econom-           they remain competitive, which is a key                                tion of the second myChoco school pro-
products with so much excitement. Our                                   ics and Information Systems working           factor for everyone involved and which                                 ject will be finalized in the next months.
predominant driver is to deliver a highly                               a bar shift and sharing his passion of        closes the value chain.” When asking                                   It is a remarkable feeling and I am proud
qualitative product. And seeing others                                  beer and great drinks. Stine also men-        Martin what makes his job so special to                                to be setting up a value chain that helps
cherishing that, makes the hard work                                    tions “how helpful the network of HHL         him, he answers: “Using business as a                                  everyone involved.” He closes by saying,
all worth it. To sum it up: I feel blessed                              alumni has been along our journey.”           source for good is an incredible feeling                               “I love my job, I love my colleagues and
to make that small difference in peo-                                   After four years of Dr. Hops, Stine and       for me. I am proud of the social impact                                I cannot think of anything better for me
ple’s everyday life, to be a part of their                              her team are proud to be a well-recog-        we are making and that combined with                                   to be doing on a daily basis. Maybe my
happy moments possibly creating last-                                   nized craft beer place in Germany that        my love for premium coffee make this                                   journey is an inspiration for someone
ing memories by selling happiness in                                    is able to combine beer entertainment         job so exceptionally valuable for me.”                                 else, who is carrying that entrepreneur-
bottles.”                                                               with education and to share passion and                                                                              ial spirit within them. If I could give one
                                                                        knowledge, while promoting the idea of                                                                               bit of advice, then it would be to – just
                                                                        responsible beer enjoyment.                                                                                          do it.”
                                              Photo: © Bierothek GmbH

                                                                                                                                                                    Photo: © Coffee Circle

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Photo: © coffee-bike

Christian Klemenz                                                       Stine Täubert                                 Martin Elwert                                                          Tobias Zimmer
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
08         HHL NEWS         SUMMER 2021

  ENTREPRENEURSHIP – FEATURE STORIES OF HHL ALUMNI

                   HHL’s start-ups and their impact on our well-being
                                                                                         Interviews and stories by Sigrid Fischer

   Dr. Jenny Müller – Founder                                                 Annemarie Heyl –                                                         Bart Porthun –                                                             Pater Dr. Dr. Justinus Pech –
    and Managing Director at                                              Co-Founder and Managing                                                  Co-Founder and CEO at                                                        Founder and Managing Director
   DIE FRISCHEMANUFAKTUR                                                     Director at Kale&Me                                                        ZEN GEIST                                                                     at Monastic Dry Gin
“After having debated about it for four                                While studying abroad in undoubtedly                                  After visiting Seoul, South Korea, HHL                                             In 2018, HHL alumnus Pater Justinus
years,” as HHL alumna Dr. Jenny Müller                                 one of the most beautiful places in the                               alumnus Bart Porthun (M15) conceived                                               founded the start-up Monastic Dry Gin.
(PhD) still remembers, “I finally decided                              world, Cape Town, South Africa, HHL                                   the idea of Ginseng soft drinks, the                                               Its gin is made in silence in the Helfta
to start up my own business called DIE                                 alumna Annemarie Heyl (M14) and her                                   company name ZEN GEIST (a word play                                                Monastery from juniper with a selec-
FRISCHEMANUFAKTUR in 2017.” The                                        friend (and later co-founder) Konstan-                                between Asian “Zen” and German “Zeit-                                              tion of coriander, ginger root and lemon
reason behind was the fact that Jenny                                  tin Timm underwent their very first juice                             geist”), company logo, and basic recipe.                                           balm. It combines the knowledge of a
could no longer close her eyes on huge                                 cleanse and were overwhelmed by the                                   Bart was later joined by scientist Martin                                          centuries-old European monastery his-
amounts of fresh food going to waste                                   results. Not long thereafter, as this fun-                            Hartke. Both were astonished that con-                                             tory with the modern techniques of gin
and finally knew “what is needed today                                 damental transformation stuck with                                    sumers of soft and energy drinks have                                              production. The purpose of the product
are ideas with a social impact, such as                                them so immensely, they were entering                                 few options when it comes to natural                                               is the common good – on the one hand
improving the shelf life of fresh-cut                                  a new and self-determined life by tak-                                alternatives. So, in late 2019, the two                                            is the pleasure of drinking and enjoying
fruit so that less food has to be thrown                               ing a deep-dive into entrepreneurship                                 entrepreneurial-minded friends decided                                             the gin, as P. Justinus describes it “there
away in stores.” And from this idea her                                and starting up Kale&Me. The goal was                                 to create a solution themselves by build-                                          were a lot of great moments in my life
start-up was born offering fresh and                                   and is still today to make the world a bit                            ing on Bart’s original recipe to offer cus-                                        that started with a good glass of gin”
healthy food to-go in the shape of fruit                               healthier by offering cold-pressed juices                             tomers two innovative, natural and tasty                                           and on the other hand selling the prod-
salads. After two years into the jour-                                 and juice cleanses to support preventa-                               alternatives to existing soft and energy                                           uct itself helps to preserve and promote
ney and a few setbacks due to various                                  tive fasting. Annemarie remembers that                                drinks. These are: The Ginseng Original                                            the monastery in its structures and social
changes of producers, DIE FRISCHE-                                     “setting up Kale&Me was a natural pro-                                (the “classic”) and the Ginseng Matcha                                             activities. When P. Justinus hired his very
MANUFAKTUR created the so-called                                       cess. I believed so much in our products                              (the “vegan power combination”). ZEN                                               first employee, he still remembers how
LIEBLINGSWASSER (favorite water),
­                                                                      and our idea that we didn’t spend too                                 GEIST use jaggery, which is unrefined                                              happy he was “when [he] looked into a
which entered the market in Decem-                                     much time thinking about writing the                                  organic whole cane sugar to sweeten                                                face filled with joy about having been
ber 2019 at the airport in Frankfurt. The                              perfect business plan but about what                                  their drinks. But what is Ginseng all                                              given the opportunity of becoming
LIEBLINGSWASSER comes in various                                       values to ground our business on.” And                                about? The ginseng root contains so-                                               part of the Monastic Dry Gin journey.”
styles such as pineapple-sage, black-                                  these values are: regionality, sustainabil-                           called ginsenosides, which make up the                                             In 2015, P. Justinus founded the “Institut
berry-lemongrass and cranberry-rose-                                   ity, quality, responsibility and authen-                              positive characteristics of the plant. Gin-                                        für Führungsethik” (Institute for Lead-
mary and can be bought online or in                                    ticity. “It is hugely important for us to                             seng is considered immune-boosting,                                                ership Ethics) in Bochum, which he has
supermarkets. Since the development of                                 use regional resources, to reuse test                                 energizing and stress-reducing. With                                               since led, and which focuses on coach-
the new product, the business recently                                 leftovers, to recycle our bottles and to                              their products Bart and Martin are also                                            ing executives as well as designing and
moved to Halle (Saale) and their team                                  deliver only high quality products to our                             supporting musicians as part of their                                              running seminars on leadership related
also grew to eight people overall, “which                              customers. It is an incredible feeling to                             earnings will go towards musician pro-                                             topics. As teaching is part of P. Justi-
makes this an even more exciting new                                   create an added value for society and                                 jects. In return, these musicians promote                                          nus’ DNA, he is not only educating his
step,” Jenny says. What’s different to the                             to thereby take on responsibility not                                 their drinks. When talking about their                                             employees on how to further grow their
previous product? Jenny explains that                                  only for oneself, but also for other peo-                             start-up, Bart shares that the “key to                                             business or designing and carrying out
“our customers immediately see that                                    ple’s well-being,” Annemarie explains.                                success is grit – passion combined with                                            workshops as part of his institute, but he
the fruity taste of the different waters                               And this is all only possible as team                                 stamina. Everyone’s journey is a bit dif-                                          is also teaching students at HHL on the
stems from the natural herbs and fruits                                effort. Annemarie says that “my co-                                   ferent, but if you’re motivated to reach                                           topic of authentic leadership. Having
that are in it. There isn’t much marketing                             founders have pulled me through tough                                 where you want to go, if you’re willing                                            acquired a PhD in marketing at HHL and
or explanation needed to sell the water.”                              periods and vice versa. We have never                                 to take small steps, and in spite of self-                                         another one in theology at the Pontifical
When asking Jenny what she is truly                                    had a doubt that we couldn’t make it as                               doubts keep going and keep trying,                                                 Gregorian University in Rome, P. Justi-
happy about, she mentions: “It’s really                                a team as we always had each other’s                                  you’ll surely have success.” He lastly                                             nus is like a bouquet of flowers filled
great to see that we’ve created a prod-                                back.” As their business has been grow-                               believes that “whatever you’re doing,                                              with knowledge and marvelous stories.
uct that people truly wanted and are                                   ing, so has their team as well as portfo-                             it’s a people’s thing – meaning that you’ll                                        So, in case you are in and around Leipzig
enjoying. With our delicious water we                                  lio of offers. When being asked what she                              need the support from talented people.                                             this summer, why don’t you join him dur-
are encouraging others to drink enough                                 enjoys most about her job, Annemarie                                  If you can inspire others of your idea and                                         ing one of his gin boat tasting tours on
on a daily basis and while doing so they                               shares that “I love and am fascinated                                 to help you out, you’ll come a long way.”                                          Lake Cospuden to hear more about his
are treating their bodies and souls with                               about the fact that I keep learning new                               They’re hence tremendously thankful                                                passion for gin and entrepreneurship.
something healthy and good.” At the                                    things on a constant basis. It inspires                               for the support they have received from                                            It’ll for sure be a gin-tastic experience.
end, she shares that she would rec-                                    me to know that each small move for-                                  the SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator and
ommend others who may also be fac-                                     ward is just a stepping stone and there                               the HHL network. Along with Leipzig
ing struggles “to just keep going even                                 is no end in sight where this journey                                 being a “trendy place” for their products
when it gets tough because there is                                    may take us. And that in combination                                  this was an important reason for start-
always a solution out there and things                                 with the fact that we are helping others                              ing up their business right here.
will turn around again.”                                               to feel good, to find inner strength and
                                                                       tranquility makes it all worth it.”
                                                                                                                                                                                           Photo: © Justina Smile Photography

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Photo: © Sigrid Fischer, HHL
                                                                                                                     Photo: © Kale&Me GmbH
                                             Photo: © Carolin Krekow

Dr. Jenny Müller                                                       Annemarie Heyl                                                        Bart Porthun and Martin Hartke                                                     Pater Dr. Dr. Justinus Pech
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
www.hhl.de                                                                                                                                                              HHL NEWS          SUMMER 2021                  09

                                                                   ENTREPRENEURSHIP                                                                                                            SUSTAINABILITY

7th Female Founders Class has                                                                           HHL Expert Talk on “The German
­successfully graduated                                                                                 Economy in the Post-Corona World”
Since 2017, the Female Founders Initia-               in Leipzig or that of Almut Prkno, work-
                                                                                                        with Professor Hans-Werner Sinn
tive is accompanying young women on                   ing on a mobile animal practice service.
their way to their own business. In col-                                                                On 19 May 2021, HHL Leipzig Gradu-
laboration with SMILE – the founder’s                 Successful women also organize the                ate School of Management invited
network of Leipzig, HHL offers a free                 program: Since spring 2021, the initia-           its audience to a virtual conversation

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Photo: © Romy Vinogradova
of charge six-months class of 12 partici-             tive is part of the Chair of Prof. Dr. Clau-      with Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Wer-
pants including workshops, coaching                   dia Lehmann and led by the research               ner Sinn, perhaps Germany’s best-
and mentoring from women for women.                   associates Rossitza Ivanova and Car-              known economist, who was the Presi-
In spring 2021, the program has already               olin Raatz. If you have a great idea              dent of the Ifo Institute until 2016. The
organized seven classes and by doing                  and want to be part of the next class             topic of the conversation revolved
so supported about 70 women in real-                  starting in fall 2021, send an e-mail to­         around what policymakers could have
izing their visions. Among the multitude              gruenderinnen@hhl.de.                             done better in the pandemic from an
of exciting ideas were for example those                                                                economic perspective and what chal-                                    Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Werner Sinn,
of Maricruz Bermudez Serrano and                              https://www.hhl.de/                       lenges society will face if the corona-                               one of Germany’s ­best-known economists

Valeria Clement Caicedo “Hallo.city”, a                       experience/initiatives/                   related measures are dropped. In
networking platform for internationals                        female-founders-initiative/               front of an audience of more than                                   a return of inflation due to pent-up
                                                                                                        200 viewers, HHL Prof. Dr. Wilhelm                                  demand and an extremely expan-
                                                                                                        Althammer of the Sparkassen-Finanz­                                 sionary monetary policy?” or “How
                                                                                                        gruppe Chair of Macroeconomics dis-                                 long should we expect zero interest
                                                                                                        cussed questions such as: “How great                                rates?” with expert Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c.
                                                                                                        is the risk that we will have to expect                             mult. Hans-Werner Sinn.

                                                                                                        Inspired by ­Marisa Drew:
                                                                                                        Finance for Sustainability
After one semester of workshops, events and seminars the participants of the Female Founders ­
Initiative proudly presented their final pitches in front of the audience.

                                                                                                                                                                            During their talk Marisa and Stephan
                                                                                                                                                                            highlighted and discussed the fol-
                                                                                                     Photo: © Credit Suisse

                                                                                                                                                                            lowing aspects:
Accelerate@HHL Conference                                                                                                                                                   _ What are the different strategies in
                                                                                                                                                                              sustainable investing?
                                                      Over more than six months, the Acceler-                                                                               _ What is the “Double Delta of Impact
                                                      ate team worked hard to put together                                                                                    Investing”? and how do investors
                                                      an exciting list of speakers to make                                                                                    create impact?
                                                      Accelerate 2021 an unforgettable event.                                                                               _ How do you measure impact on
Accelerate@HHL is the entrepreneur-                   Among others, these included:                                           Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer &     investors’ level?
ship conference of Germany’s most                                                                                              Global Head of Sustainability Strategy,      _ Where is sustainable investing
                                                                                                                                ­Advisory & Finance at Credit Suisse
entrepreneurial university – HHL Leipzig              _D
                                                        r. Manuel Nothelfer                                                                                                  heading and what are the next
Graduate School of Management, which                   Founder at Wellster Healthtech Group                                                                                   super trends?
is organized solely by students. Every                _P
                                                        rof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart                      On 15 April 2021, HHL welcomed
year top entrepreneurs, investors and                  Minister for Economic Affairs,                   Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability                                   Marisa closed the inspirational fire-
young talents are invited to share their               Innovation, Digitalization and Energy            Officer & Global Head of Sustainabil-                               side chat by giving three power-
insights and to challenge future beliefs.              of NRW and former Dean of HHL                    ity Strategy, Advisory & Finance at                                 ful pieces of advice to the HHL
                                                      _S
                                                        ven Schmidt                                    Credit Suisse, to a most insightful fire-                           community:
Due to the pandemic, the Accelerate                    Chief Marketing Officer at                       side chat with HHL’s Dean, Prof. Dr.                                _ “There are just so many opportu-
conference 2021 took place online for                  Maschinensucher.de                               Stephan Stubner, exclusively open                                     nities to create a great career for
the first time ever on 29 and 30 April.               _J
                                                        ennifer Baum-Minkus                            to the HHL community. The talk was                                    yourself and to be part of the [sus-
The two-day conference ranged from                     Founder of gitti conscious beauty                organized as part of the cooperation                                  tainable] movement.”
panel discussions related to the finan-               _C
                                                        hristoph Behn                                  between HHL and the Credit Suisse.                                  _ “Sometimes these big world prob-
cial or food industry to thematically                  Founder of die kartenmacherei                                                                                          lems seem like – how could you
diverse keynotes all on the overall topic             _D
                                                        r. Mandy Hecht                                 Since 2020 Marisa Drew is the Chief                                   possibly have an impact – you as an
“The Power of Change”.                                 Chief Operating Officer at Codecheck             Sustainability Officer and Global                                     individual. [But] just remind your-
                                                      _T
                                                        ina Dreimann                                   Head of Sustainability Strategy, Advi-                                self […] that a third of the answer to
The Accelerate team was able to attract                Founder of better ventures                       sory and Finance at Credit Suisse.                                    global net zero is our own behav-
650 registrations from overall 34 coun-                                                                 Considered an industry trailblazer,                                   ior, the things that you do day to
tries for this year’s conference. In this             The experience of being part of this              Marisa is one of the few women to                                     day. The choices that you make as
regard, the switch to online helped to                entrepreneurial initiative helped the             have run an investment bank – for a                                   a consumer, what packaging you
attract the most diverse Accelerate                   team of 34 students not only grow,                global bank.                                                          use, […] what questions you ask.”
audience so far.                                      but the journey of organizing a two-                                                                                  _ “So, try to become as informed
                                                      day online conference made them truly             As a passionate advocate for sus-                                     as you can be, don’t be suscepti-
The Accelerate@HHL Conference 2021                    experience the #HHLspirit.                        tainable finance, Marisa is driven to                                 ble to the soundbites that lead you
offered a diverse and entertaining mix:                                                                 help mobilize capital for positive                                    to jump on a wave without being
                                                                                                        change and believes cross-sector                                      informed. But if you are informed,
_ A panel discussion about the future of                                                               collaboration is key to tackling sys-                                 then take action. Be your own
  different industries such as financial                                                                temic challenges. She has been rec-                                   activist because you can drive
  services, food or smart cities                                                                        ognized by the BBC as one of the                                      those outcomes even if you don’t
_ Keynote speeches on finding                                                                          Most Powerful Women in Britain and                                    have a single dollar or Euro or
  co-founders, getting funding from                                                                     by Fortune Magazine as one of the                                     ‘Swissy’ of capital. Your behavior
  VCs, soft skills of tomorrow and                                                                      50 Most Powerful Women in Interna-                                    can create enormous impact.”
  digital education                                                                                     tional Business.
_ A pitch contest in which the winner
  “Edurino” won 1,000 EUR for the best                                                                  In addition to her work at Credit Sui-                               Watch the full talk right here:
  pitch awarded by a VC jury                                                                            sse, Marisa is on the advisory boards
_ Networking opportunities with                                                                        of the charities “Room-to-Read” and                                          https://www.youtube.com/
  spon­sors via their virtual booths or                                                                 the “Lessons for Life Foundation”.                                           watch?v=kNmwLGSTgNM
  workshops
HHL LEIPZIG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SUMMER 2021
10      HHL NEWS          SUMMER 2021

  LEADERSHIP

Dismantling                                                                              News from the Leipzig

Leadership –                                                                             Leadership Model
                                                                                         The corona crisis is also a stress test for thinking about leadership. Is the Leip-

a talk series with
                                                                                         zig Leadership Model up to date? How can it be applied to cope with the new
                                                                                         complexity? What are new questions? Currently, the faculty as a whole engages
                                                                                         in intense discussions and reflections, which shall be published in due course.

corporate leaders
Many articles, interviews and even case     that needs to change. If the work of the
studies have been written about the         future will be dominated by creation, by
innovative leadership approach at HHL       definition we need freedom. We have to
start-up trivago. The experiences of        let go of control and power and create a
over a decade of building up and scal-      space to let people evolve.
ing the company to an IPO at Nasdaq
inspired HHL alumnus Rolf Schrömgens        Intrinsic motivation and purpose: We
to start a social venture together with     need to build environments that follow
former Head of Organizational Develop-      the shift from external driven motiva-
ment at trivago Anna Gottschalg: lead-      tional factors to internal driven ones.
ership.sprouts. Their purpose is to help
individuals and organizations rethink       Dynamic capabilities: We need organi-
their approach to leadership. Based on      zations that constantly evolve and learn.
their experiences at trivago and from the   Ultimately, the value of an organiza-
interaction with many corporate leaders     tion will be less defined by what output     Executive Coaching Program
they have developed a new concept.          it currently creates and much more by
                                            how fast it learns.                          celebrates its 1st anniversary
As Anna Gottschalg outlines: “The exist-
ing narratives of how we are expected       Identity: We need to create value-           Last year’s joint coaching program                  pants have already successfully com-
to lead and create our organization         based organizations, remove rules and        with the renowned coaching com-                     pleted the program and benefitted
were once crafted for a way more static     processes as the way of operating and        pany May & Company has devel-                       from the sparring of an international
and simplistic world. They were making      rather set a frame determining the           oped well and is an add-on to the                   set of professional coaches.
sense in a resource-focused production      space in which people can create value.      HHL Executive program portfolio.
economy and got washed away by the          It is a common mindset, mission and          It includes a three-months coach-                   If you are interested in personally
tidal wave of digitalization. Our organi-   purpose that implies a deeper sense of       ing program for junior and middle-                  growing via coaching, please see
zations are drowning in an overload of      belonging.                                   management executives and a six-                    details here:
information and dependencies. Lead-                                                      months coaching program for senior
ers are seemingly reaching the limits of    Education has a high responsibility for      leaders. Up to now, several partici-                          www.hhl.de/coaching
their cognitive capacities. Mantras such    carrying the narratives we tell each other
as: think faster, work harder seem naive    about the world. To help changing our
knowing that more computation power
or more skillful applications do not pro-
vide a solution for the fact that eventu-
                                            perspectives and opening up our mind-
                                            sets to new approaches, educational
                                            institutions should also become spaces
                                                                                                               “
                                                                                                               Every day we are confronted with leadership challenges.
ally, human beings with all their hopes     where (self-)development and reflection                            This is why we need to understand and apply the practices
and fears are instrumental for the crea-    are triggered and new approaches and                               of effective and successful leaders. Our coaching program
tive output.”                               narratives are offered for inspiration.                            puts a hands-on perspective on individual leadership
                                                                                                               challenges. This is an ideal addition to our curriculum.
On the grounds of this understand-          To enable such new perspectives and
                                                                                                               Prof. Dr. Tobias Dauth
ing, leadership.sprouts developed the       reflection, HHL and leadership.sprouts
                                                                                                               Academic Director Executive Education and Part-time MBA Program
HEIDI principles for sustainable lead-      offered an open talk series in spring
ership: creating long-term success in       2021 titled “Dismantling Leadership”
fast learning, identity-based organiza-     inviting students and the public to dis-
tions through humbleness, empower-          cuss with leaders from different back-
ment, intrinsic motivation and diversity    grounds (see below) current topics                                                                                     Yo
of thought.                                 evolving around leadership.                  #LeadershipPioneers                                                          u
                                                                                                                                                                          m
                                                                                         Inspired from To Change The Way You Think,                                        ak
                                                                                         Change The Way You See by Adam Brandenburger,                                       e
                                                                                                                                                                                 th
Humbleness and diversity: We need to        _F
                                              lorian Heinemann, Founding                the HHL Alumni Association launched this thought                                          e
                                                                                         leadership series dedicated to taking a deliberately                                          di
be humble and let go of our own biases       Partner of Project A                                                                                                                        ffe
while being open to alternative per-        _W
                                              aldemar Zeiler and Philip Siefer,
                                                                                         different perspective on the back of our generational                                               re
                                                                                         challenge to achieve more with less resources.                                                         nce
spectives that let us look at a problem      Founders of Einhorn
from multiple directions.                   _W
                                              ilfried Gillrath, Impact Investor and
                                             former CEO at Lichtblick
Empowerment: The way we organize            _M
                                              iriam Meckel, Founder of ada
work is built on the idea of distrust –     _N
                                              iklas Östberg, CEO at DeliveryHero

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