Appointment: Max von Zedtwitz

After earning an MSc in Computer Science from ETH Zurich, Prof. von Zedtwitz received his PhD from the University of St.Gallen and was a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University. He then held various professorships, including at IMD in Lausanne, Tsinghua University in Beijing, Skoltech in Moscow, KTU in Lithuania, and most recently at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. He is also director of the Research Center for Global R&D and Innovation (GLORAD). He founded the network in 2003 to facilitate joint research between doctoral students at Tsinghua University and the University of St.Gallen. Outside academia, Prof. von Zedtwitz has been involved in four start-up companies and served as vice president and Global Innovation Lead at PRTM Management Consultants (now PwC Consulting) in Shanghai.

Research on international management, emerging markets, and innovation

Prof. von Zedtwitz's work focuses on three complementary research areas: (1) International management and emerging markets: How can core competencies be developed and replicated from afar, especially when creating and entering new markets? (2) Strategy, entrepreneurship, and leadership: Which operational strategies promote international competitiveness and innovation? and (3) Innovation, R&D, and product development: How to optimally develop and deploy technology, talent, and know-how to develop new products and services. He has published in leading journals and magazines, including Research Policy, Journal of Product Innovation Management, and MIT Sloan Management Review.

Extensive experience in academic teaching and management development

Prof. von Zedtwitz has a diverse portfolio of teaching experience and expertise, both in executive education (primarily strategy implementation and intercultural leadership) and at the academic PhD, master's, and bachelor's levels (primarily innovation management, international management, and entrepreneurship). In addition to the universities already mentioned, he has also taught at the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), Chalmers (Sweden), CEIBS and Tongji University (China), Cornell and San Jose State (USA), the University of Southern Denmark (Denmark), and the Ecole Polytechnique (France).