Urs Fueglistaller new Vice-President at the HSG

4 December 2020. The University’s Board of Governors appointed Prof. Dr. Urs Fueglistaller for the residual term of office from 1 February 2021 to 31 January 2022. The appointment was approved by the government of the Canton of St.Gallen.

Commitment to small and medium-sized enterprises

Urs Fueglistaller concluded his studies in economics sciences at the University of St.Gallen in 1987. Ever since, he has worked at the Swiss Research Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (KMU-HSG; then “Institute for Small Business”), first as a project leader, later as head of the Institute’s practical division. Fueglistaller obtained his Doctor’s degree from TU Cottbus and habilitated at the HSG in 2001 with a study on service competence in SMEs. In 2002, he was appointed Full Professor and has since then been a Director of KMU-HSG, which he successfully runs with the Board of Directors.

Prof. Dr. Urs Fueglistaller knows how to build bridges between theory and practice. Thanks to his close-meshed network of relationships, notably in the Eastern Swiss economy, he is known as the HSG’s voice for SMEs and is a household name as host of the Swiss SME Day, which he ran for many years. In his teaching at the HSG he knows how to enthuse students for the world of SMEs and the manifestations of entrepreneurship; in executive education courses, participants appreciate his commitment to SMEs.

Proven authority on the University of St.Gallen

The focal points of Urs Fueglistaller’s research are corporate management in SMEs and service excellence in SMEs; his most recent publications are devoted to consistent customer orientation and the meaning of aesthetics in management – with a focus on SMEs. His many previous functions in university self-administration and his long service to the University and his institute make Urs Fueglistaller a proven authority on the HSG with its institutes, its special spirit and all its processes and structures.

Thanks to Monika Bütler for her great commitment

The University would like to extend its thanks to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Monika Bütler, who in her almost 20 years at the HSG has had an essential impact on the University’s outstanding profile with regard to economic policy. Generations of students got to know her through the introductory course in macroeconomics in the Assessment Year, where she always linked academic learning contents with their relevance to practical economic policy and enthused students for economics.

Monika Bütler tirelessly fulfilled numerous functions at the University. As Dean of the School of Economics and Political Science (SEPS-HSG), in numerous supervisory bodies, and finally as Vice-President for Institutes & Executive Education, the economist had a substantial impact on the HSG’s strategic development. As chair of the newly established Committee for Secondary Employment, she had to help establish a trailblazing practice in a sensitive area. The motto of the University of St.Gallen – From insight to impact – applies to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Monika Bütler better than to most other researchers. Her research was always inspired by highly relevant issues of economic policy.

Appointment procedure for members of the President’s Board

In accordance with the University’s Statutes, the President and the Vice-Presidents of the University of St.Gallen are appointed from among the number of full professors. Appointments are made by the University’s Board of Governors at the request of the Senate; they have to be approved by the government. The President’s Board consists of the President, the Vice-President, the General Counsel, the Director of Administration and the Dean of Studies & Academic Affairs.