Department of Retailing and Customer Management / Alumni

Alumni

The following are just a sample of the large number of alumni who have followed many different career paths

Alumni

Alumni

Dr. Christoph Achenbach
Dr. Christoph Achenbach studied Business Administration at the University of Münster and Cologne, majoring in Retailing and Sales, Business Organization and Labour Law. Between 1982 and 1984 he was working as a student assistant at the Department for Organizational Studies at the University of Cologne. In 1984 he became a doctoral student at the Department for Retailing and Sales where he completed his doctorate (Dr. rer. pol.) in 1988. Following different management positions, mainly in family-owned enterprises, Dr. Christoph Achenbach gained 20 years of operative work experience. Thus, he was a member of the board of Quelle AG since 1997, where he became chairman of the board in 2001. In 2004 he was appointed to be chairman of the board of the KarstadtQuelle AG. Lastly, Achenbach was spokesperson of the management board of the Klingel Group in Pforzheim. He is taking an active part as a member in different advisory boards and supervisory boards.
Since 2008 he is a partner of INTES. The mission of INTES is the support of entrepreneurs and entrepreneur families with regard to safeguarding the future of their family-owned enterprise. Key aspects of his work at INTES are: entrepreneur-sparring, consulting on operative and strategic topics, entrepreneur-replacement, assigning advisory boards, mergers and acquisitions as well as companionships for funding and reorganization procedures.

Dipl.-Kfm. Kai auf der Mauer
Dipl.-Kfm. Kai Auf der Mauer studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne till 2007, majoring – among others - in Retailing & Distribution. In addition, he completed the additional studies of CEMS MIM including a semester abroad at the Erasmus University (RSM) in Rotterdam. He wrote his diploma thesis on “The Impact of In-Store Coupons on Consumer Behaviour” at the Department of Retailing in cooperation with Kaufhof Warenhaus AG. During his studies he participated voluntarily at the MTP e.V where he became head of the agency in Cologne in 2004. After completing internships at the Henkel KGaA and Unilever where he gained experience in the Supply Chain Management, he started his career at Procter & Gamble working in the Market Planning (inventory management, sales projection and planning new product launches) for Ariel detergent in February 2007. In July 2008 he became Team Leader Hair Care of a team of 5 people and is responsible for the hair-care and styling products of P&G.

Dipl.-Kfm. Dietmar Bochert
Dipl.-Kfm. Dietmar Bochert studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne until 1991, majoring – among others - in Retailing & Distribution. After graduating from university he started working as assistant of the executive director at Kutsch Consult GmbH, where he participated in the repositioning process of a retailer. He then changed jobs and started to work for C&A Fashion where he became Marketing Manager for C&A Germany. In this position, he developed several marketing concepts for the company. In 1998 he first became head of New Media Europe at C&A Europe, before becoming the head of marketing Europe. In 2001 he changed to Bayer AG where he gained working experience in several positions. As “Manager eBusiness” he was in charge of the divisions of plant protection and animal health. Afterwards he became accountable team member for the division communication in the project “Bayer Business Services”. Later on he became executive of corporate communications. Last, as Executive Assistant of the Bayer Business Services GmbH, he was in charge of several important strategic projects. In November 2007 he became head of Corporate Concepts at the Haniel –Group. This position was converted to Head of External Communications quickly. Since 2012 he is Director Communications. Dietmar Bochert is a complimentary member of the executive board of the German Handball League at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen and, since 2004, and he is also a member of the “KölnAlumni”.

Dr. Christian Dach
Dr. Christian Dach studied Business Administration at the Ruhr-University of Bochum and at the University of Cologne, majoring in Retail and Logistics. He worked as an associate professor at the Department of Retail and Distribution from 1998 bis 2000, and then from 2000 to 2002 at the Institute for Retail and E-Commerce Research. After gaining his doctorate ("The choice of the Online-Shopper between Internet Shopping and Standard Retail Outlets") he moved with the Otto Group to Hamburg, where he worked as a Consultant in international Marketing and Corporate Development. In 2005 he joined General Logistics Systems (GLS), based in Amsterdam, where he worked as Head of Corporate Affairs (2005 - 2007), Manager Distribution Center Nürnberg (2007 - 2008), and since 2008 as Director Corporate Development in Amsterdam.

Dipl.-Kfm. Wolfgang Derksen
Dipl.-Kfm. Wolgang Derksen studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne (graduating in 2007), at the Tsinghua University, Beijing (2005), and at the Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo (2006-2008), specializing in Retailing. He wrote his diploma thesis about the comparison of price awareness between German and Japanese consumers In 2008 he started working as a consultant for Simon-Kucher & Partners in the division Life Science, Consumer & Luxury Goods, after having completed internships with L’Oréal, ARAG Rechtsschutz, Heinz Ketchup and CNC Consulting.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Dobbelstein
After studying Business Administration at the Universities of Marburg and Cologne, Prof. Thomas Dobbelstein worked as a research and teaching assistant at the Institute of Research in Retailing (IfH). He completed his doctorate there with his thesis on the Optimization of Assortment Planning with the Help of Market Potential Analysis using the example of Press Articles. Later on he became a member of the Board of Directors (Marketing/Sales and Business Development) of Friedrich J. Keppel Ltd. & Co. KG in Krefeld from 2000 to 2002. In 2002 Prof. Dobbelstein moved back to the academic sector and since then has been Professor for Market Research, Marketing and Retailing at the University of Cooperative Education (Berufsakademie) Ravensburg. From 2003 to 2008 he has been Acting Director of the University. Since 2003 he is the academic director of the Market Research Institute ‘Customer Research 42’. Nowadays he mainly works on Market Research, with areas of particular focus being Customer Satisfaction, Mystery Shopping, and Image and Market Analysis for various sectors such as Retailing and Health Care. Prof. Dobbelstein has been a member of Cologne Alumni since 2003.

Dr. Stephan Fanderl
Dr. Stephan Fanderl studied Business Administration (specializing in Retailing) at the University of Cologne as well as International Business Administration at the Sophia-University, Tokyo. After his graduation in 1991 he worked as a Senior Consultant and Project Manager for Kienbaum Management Consultants until 1996. That same year, he also finished his Ph.D. studies at the Department of Retailing at the University of Cologne. He then started to work for the Metro AG first as Department Manager, International Business Development, later as Managing Director for real Poland until 2001, before he became Regional Director for the Rewe-Group (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Croatia) based in Vienna. From 2004 – 2006 he was a Member of the Executive Board – Supermarkets Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia) for the Rewe-Group. He then relocated back to the Rewe-Group Cologne as a Member of the Board – Supermarkets/Hypermarkets/Logistics Germany until 2007. Since 2008 he is President and CEO Emerging Markets East for Wal-Mart in Bentonville and Moscow.

Dipl.-Kff. Insa-Ariane Flothow
Dipl.-Kff. Insa-Ariane Flothow studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne until 2003. During her studies she specialized – among others - in Retailing and Distribution. She wrote her diploma thesis on the topic of “Decision Models for the Configuration of Supply Networks”. After her graduation she started working as Junior Consulting at Kerkhoff Consulting in the field of international purchasing and purchasing optimization until 2005. After that she became Project Manager and Senior Consultant at CONET Solutions.

Dipl.-Kfm. Robert Franz
Dipl.-Kfm. Robert Franz studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne until 2006, majoring in Retailing & Distribution. He completed his empirical diploma thesis on “Presentation of products in Newsletter-Brochures - a theoretical and empirical efficiency analysis”. Results of this study were published in the collected edition “Theoretical Foundation and General Relevance of Research in Retailing” in 2006. During his studies he was working as a student assistant at the Department of Retailing and Distribution at the University of Cologne for four years. After finishing University in 2006 he became executive assistant at the Marketing Department at was responsible for the nationawide Marketing activities at the Fortis Bank SA/NV Office Germany in Cologne. Since January 2009 he works as Marketing Manager for the management's administrative department at Movesta Lease and Finance GmbH in Düsseldorf.

Dipl.-Kfm. Jan Geldmacher
Jan Geldmacher, who studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne majoring - among others- in Retailing, started is professional career in Sales at AT&T/NCR in 1990. Subsequently, he worked for o.Tel.o communications and later as Vice President Network Operations & International Support for debis Systemhaus. In 2000 Jan Geldmacher moved to Deutsche Telekom where he stayed for five years. From 2001 to 2004 he was member of the Executive Board of T-Systems International. Until 2008 he was CEO of BT Germany. In July 2008 Jan Geldmacher was appointed member of the board of Arcor by the supervisory board and started working as President Business Clients in September 2008. In addition, he was appointed Chief Commercial Officer Enterprise of Vodafone Germany in September 2008. Since then he is responsible for the business clients of both companies.

Dr. Malte Greune
Dr. Malte Greune studied Business Administration at the Clark University (MBA) as well as at the University of Trier (Dipl.-Kfm.). He then completed his doctorate with Prof. Dr. Lothar Müller-Hagedorn at the University of Cologne with his doctoral thesis on ”The Result of External Diversification in Retailing”. In 1995 he started his professional career in area of corporate planning at the Hoechst AG in Frankfurt. In 1997 he became responsible for the factory management in Munich and in 1999 he became head of “Global Pharma Manufacturing” in the field of animal health. After the company has been sold to the Dutch company Intervet, he was appointed “Director Global Manufacturing Pharma and Biologicals“in 2002. In 2006 he was officially nominated Vice President and member of the management board. After the acquisition of the firm by the US company Schering-Plough, Dr.Greune became responsible for the fabrication of veterinary drugs at 27 vaccine and pharma locations as well as for the distribution in 60 countries.

Dipl.-Kfm. Philipp Hegendorf
Dipl.-Kfm. Philipp Hegendorf studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne, majoring – among others – in Retailing and Distribution. He graduated in 2008. During his studies, he worked as a student assistant at the Department of Retailing and Distribution as well as the Department of Corporate Development and Organization. He and passed internships with BMW in Munich and with Henkel in South East Asia. Since 2008 he is Management Trainee at NOWEDA eG.

Dr. Klaus Helnerus
Dr. Klaus Helnerus studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne, majoring – among others – in Retailing. He completed his diploma thesis at the Department for Business Administration, Retailing and Distribution on the topic “Profit Margins in the Pharmaceutical Wholesale Industry - Types, Development, and their Determining Factors“. In 2002 he became research and teaching assistant at the Department of Retailing and completed his doctorate on “Stock-Outs in Retailing” in 2006. His doctoral thesis was honoured with several prizes: He won the German Marketing Prize 2007, the Wirichs Retail Prize 2006 and a scholarship from the BÜROPA Foundation. Since 2007, he has been working as a project leader in Strategic Category Management at OBI Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte GmbH & Co (a chain of DIY stores).

Dipl.-Kfm. Bernd Hoffmann
Bernd Hoffmann studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne, majoring in - among others - Retailing and Distribution. In 1989 he joined the film and TV company ‘UFA Film- und Fernseh-GmbH & Co. KG’ , where he has held the following positions: Head of Division for Athletics, Group Head for International Football, and as well as Business Director for UFA Sports (SPORTSFIVE Ltd). Since 2003 he has been Director of the Hamburg Sport-Verein e.V. (Sports Association).

Dipl.-Kfm. Thomas Ihrig
Dipl.-Kfm. Thomas Ihrig studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne as well as at the University Norges Handelshøyskole in Bergen until 2000, majoring in Retailing and Distribution. During his studies he gained work experience doing an internship at Pick ´n Pay Retailers, Porth Elzabeth (Southafrica). After finishing his studies he worked for Procter&Gamble in the area of Customer Business Development/ Sales as a Key Account Manager (Food & Beverage business unit) supervising drugstores. Since 2004 he is working in the field of Retail Marketing - MS&P (Market Strategies & Planning), initially for paper products in Schwalbach and since 2007 for Lifestyle fragrances in Cologne. 2008 he started working for Mars where he became National Account Manager Sales

Dipl.-Kfm. Tim Inteeworn
Dipl.-Kfm. Tim Inteeworn studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne until 2007, majoring – among others – in Retailing and Distribution. During his studies he completed two semesters abroad at the Warsaw School of Economics in Poland. He wrote his diploma thesis on “The main drivers of product shelf time in retailing” at the Department of Retailing in cooperation with the toom Baumarkt GmbH (a chain of DIY stores). During his studies he was also working for his the family-owned medium-sized retailing company. In 2007 he became project leader in the area of Category Management at the toom Baumarkt GmbH (a chain of DIY stores).

Dipl.-Kfm. Anton Jurina
Anton Jurina studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne as well as at the University of Melbourne until 2007, majoring – among others – in Retailing and Distribution. His wrote his diploma thesis on “The influence of strategic consumer behaviour on the modelling of a systematic one-price-policy in the textile industry.” Following his employment as an Investment Manager with the Venture Capital company “dw capital GmbH”, before he founded the Social Fashion Company GmbH along with other students in February 2007. Under the brand name “ArmedAngels“ (www.armedangels.de) the company markets and sells fair-trade and eco-friendly fashion. This business model won the first prize in the Business Week Entrepreneur Competition 2007.

Dipl.-Kfm. Jörg Kanabei
Dipl.-Kfm. Jörg Kanabei studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne, majoring – among others – in Retailing. The topic of his empirical diploma thesis at the Department of Retailing and Distribution was “Needs of museum visitors according to mobile multimedia exhibition guides in museums”. During his studies he completed several internships at Kaufhof in the field of financial statements, at the Metro AG in the area of Category Managemet as well as at the Ford Bank for Jaguar/Landrover Financial Services. From December 2006 to May 2008 he completed a trainee program at Kaufhof. He then he worked as executive assistant at the Kaufhof store Stuttgart Königsstraße. Since January 2009 he is the managing director of the Kaufhof store Ludwigshafen and as such responsible to 60 employees.

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Kölzer
Prof. Brigitte Kölzer studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne, majoring in Marketing. From 1989 – 1994 she was working as research and teaching assistant the Department of Retailing and Distribution. She wrote her doctoral thesis on Customer Orientation in Retailing, using the example of Marketing targeted at senior citizens. After completing her doctoral studies, she worked for Bertelsmann AG and for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, where she managed large international projects in the consumer goods and retailing sector for about ten years, developing several corporate marketing strategies. In 2003 she returned to the academic field and is now a professor of Business Administration at the University of Applied Science of Rosenheim, specialising in Marketing Communication, Industry and Retailing as well as in International Marketing.

Dr. Andreas Kricsfalussy
Dr. Andreas Kricsfalussy studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne and wrote his diploma thesis on the topic of “Inland Trade Advertising in Socialistic National Economies at the example of Hungary” at the Department of Retailing and Distribution. After finishing his studies, he was working as research and teaching assistant at the Universities of Cologne, Düsseldorf and Essen where he completed his doctoral studies at the Department for Business Management on the topic of “Efficiency of Work of the Works Council”. After his Ph.D., he started working for Droege & Comp., International Management Consulting where he became partner and was responsible for the Competence Center Consumer Goods and Retail as well as Marketing and Sales. Since 2005 he is a partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants where he supports companies in the field of market-oriented management. He is member of the managing board of the Marketing Club Düsseldorf and visiting lecturer at the ISM Dortmund for “Internal Marketing” and “Marketing Coordination”. Dr. Andreas Kricsfalussy is a member of KölnAlumni.

Dr. Ekaterina Kuskova
Dr. Ekaterina Kuskova studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne, after completing her degree at the Academy of Business Administration in Moskow. She finished her studies at the University of Cologne, majoring – among others – in Retailing and Distribution in 2006 with her diploma thesis on the topic of “Success Factors for the Counselling Interviews in Pharmacies- An Analysis Based on the Model of Haas”. After her graduation, she became research and teaching assistant at the Department of Retailing and Distribution at the University of Cologne. In December 2008 she finished her doctoral studies. From 2007 to 2008 she was consultant for retail marketing in the field of corporate development at Metro, before becoming a consultant at Simon-Kucher & Partners.

Prof. Dr. Michael Lerchenmüller
Prof. Lerchenmüller studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne from 1972 until 1976, majoring – among others – in retailing. His degree dissertation (“Attitudes and Opinions of Discotheque-Owners About Their Discotheques and Their Customers”) as well as his dissertation (“Academic Journals and Daily Papers as a source of information for steel businesses”) were based on substantial empiric analyses. The latter was awarded by the Waldemar Bonsel-Trust. During his doctoral studies from 1976 until 1980 Michael Lerchenmüller was research and teaching assistant at the Department of Retailing as well as at the Department for Marketing and Market Research at the University of Cologne. After working for different consultant agencies, Lerchenmüller was head of the business consultancy at EDEKA business consultancy and venture capital company mbH Hamburg from 1983 to 1985. The main focuses of his work in this period were nationwide consulting, executive's training, and principle developments e.g., new retail formats, inventory control systems, and personnel planning systems. In 1985 Lerchenmüller was appointed professor for Business Administration, in particular Marketing and Retail Management at the University of Economy and Environment Nürtingen Geislingen. At the same time, Prof. Lerchenmüller runs a management consultant agency for retailers and manufacturer and organizes seminars for executives in retailing. Today his work focuses on a strategy consulting in food retailing (marketing, organisation, controlling), controlling consulting for retailers and craft enterprises, market research in the retailer industry, in particular image and customer satisfaction analyses as well as development of retail formats. Lerchenmüller is author or co-author of numerous publications, among others, of a textbook on retailing which has been published in the 4th edition and has also been translated into Chinese.

Dipl.-Kff. Julia Lukas
Dipl.-Kff. Julia Lukas studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne until 2008, majoring – among others - in Retailing and Distribution. She wrote an empirical diploma thesis with the title “Empirical analysis of the impact of product test results on the success of products”. During her studies she passed several internships with the event agency Intercom, with Zeppelin Construction Machines and with Gemini HR Services in Cologne as well as the state bank of the states of Hesse and Thuringia in London. Since 2009 she is assistant to the management at Gemini HR Services (Member of Metro Group) in the field Training and Consulting.

Dipl.-Kfm. Stefan Menden
Dipl.-Kfm. Stefan Menden studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne majoring in Retailing and Distribution. He wrote his diploma thesis on the topic of “Price Awareness”. During his studies, he founded the Career-Community www.squeaker.net. After finishing his studies he started working for the strategy consultant agency Oliver Wyman and was involved in the optimization of the assortment of a Swiss supermarket chain. In 2007, he changed jobs and started working for Straub Ventures, a venture capital company in the field of Internet and High-Tech, in London, where he now in the position of an associate. Since 2004 Stefan Menden is a member of Cologne Alumni.

Dipl.-Kff. Christine Moulay
Diplom-Kff. Christine Moulay studied Business Administration at the Universities of Cologne and Passau until 2005, majoring – among others – in retailing and distribution. In addition, she was also working as a student assistant at the Department of Retailing and Distribution. She passed several internships at well known retailing companies. After completing an 11-month trainee program at Coca-Cola Germany, she became Sales Marketing Project Manager. After four years of work experience she is now Product & Promotion Manager and responsible for national product launches and relaunches as well as consumer-/shopper promotions.

Dr. Heinrich Müller
Dr. Heinrich Müller studied Business Administration at the University of Bochum and Cologne. Majoring in retailing he finished his studies in 1978. Afterwards he was working as a research and teaching assistant at the University of Cologne and Marburg. He gained his doctoral degree with is thesis on “Merchandise presentation as a sales-political instrument in self-service retailing“ in 1981. After finishing his doctoral studies he worked at the marketing department of Raab Karcher for two years. In 1984 he started working first as brand manager and afterwards as a brand group leader for Henkel Iberica in Barcelona. In 1988 he returned as a customer manager to the headquarters in Germany, where he was responsible for different nationwide operating customers (Edeka, Coop, Tengelmann). Within the scope of his sales and distribution activities, he was assistant sales manager for the German detergent business. In 1994 he moved back to Spain where he worked as a marketing manager with marketing and sales responsibility for Henkel Iberica, Barcelona. Since 1997 he is General Manager Distribution Germany for the Henkel Wasch- und Reinigungsmittel GmbH (detergent and cleaning supplies), where he is in charge of the national and international customers and customer groups.

Dipl.-Kfm. Christoph Niederelz
Dipl.-Kfm. Christoph Niederelz studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne until 1993, majoring in retailing and distribution. His diploma thesis was about the product mix policy and marketing for seniors in retailing. He started his professional career in 1994 participating in a trainee program of the Kaufhof Warenhaus AG. Subsequent, he became assistant to the manager attending a store opening as well as a member of buying force. Since 1996 he has been the manager of several chain stores of the Kaufhof Warenhaus AG. Among others, he was responsible for the store opening the new “vitreous” store in the city of Chemnitz. He continued his career working three years in the city of Euskirchen before becoming store manager of Galeria Kaufhof in Mannheim. Since 2008 he is responsible Store Manager at Kaufhof Warenhaus AG in Mainz, with 160 employees one of the most profitable branches of the Kaufhof Warenhaus AG. Additionally to his work for the Kaufhof Warenhaus AG he has participated in several city management projects as well as in the association for retailing. For instance, he became head of the advertising and community of interest in Neubrandenburg and Chemnitz supporting the implementation of a city management. In 2008 he was elected member of managing board of the advertising association in Mainz which works on projects to improve the city center of Mainz.

Dipl.-Kfm. Guido Palmersheim
Dipl.-Kfm. Guido Palmersheim studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne until 2003, majoring – among others – in retailing and distribution. In the context of his diploma thesis in cooperation with the Kaufhof Warenhaus AG, he analyzed different indicators for customer complaint management and their impact on customer loyalty. His diploma thesis was awarded with the research price in retailing by the Wolfgang Wirichs Foundation. After finishing his studies he participated in the trainee program of the Rewe Group. Subsequently he became head of the quality management at the toom do-it-yourself store, which is part of the Rewe Group. Since April 2008 he is also assistant to the general sales manager.

Dipl.-Kff. Sigrid Reger
Dipl.-Kff. Sigrid Reger studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne from 1999 until 2005, majoring – among others – in retailing and distribution. During her studies she was a working student at Gerling Insurance Company in Cologne. Additionally, she gained experience at Gerling Insurance Company in Toronto as well as in Vienna. After passing several internships in the insurance (Gerling, Allianz) and FMCG industry (Henkel) as well as in accounting (PWC), she has been working for PricewaterhouseCoopers AG WPG in Düsseldorf since 2006. She is working in the field of strategic business development and is assistant to the industry leader for retail and consumer. Her scope of duties includes the organization of internal and external events, the support of the web presence and the collaboration on studies for corporate change management projects. She is member of the German-Canadian association.

Dr. Peter Rinnebach
Dr. Peter Rinnebach studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne as well as at the National University of Singapore. Majoring in retailing he was additionally working as a student assistant at the Center for Research in Retailing (Institut für Handelsforschung (IfH)). After finishing his diploma thesis, he did his doctoral studies at University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna. His dissertation empirically answered the questions how efficiency- oriented fees in the textile retailing industry should be designed to gain an effect on productivity. After finishing his doctoral degree he started working for Accenture Management Consulting, where he participated in projects for different retailing companies including discounters, mail order companies and leading department stores, before joining the consultancy Kurt Salmon. His expertise is in the field of corporate strategy, reorganization, category management, and supply chain strategy.

Dipl.-Kfm. Josef Sanktjohanser
Josef Sanktjohanser studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne, majoring in Retail and Sales (title of the diploma thesis: Changes in retail formats in the Context of Retail Cooperatives in the Retail Food industry. After his graduation, he became the Managing Director of the family-owned medium-sized food retailer PETZ. In 1986 Sanktjohanser became the Director of REWE-Handelsgesellschaft Koblenz. Since 1991 he has been the Regional Director of REWE West and has held other management positions within the REWE Group. In February 2004 he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the REWE-Group. He is responsible for the business segments Cooperatives and Investments, toom BauMarkt, Consumer Electronics, Cash & Carry, and Food Service as well as Public Affairs. From 2005 to 2006 he was a member of the Board of Directors of the German Retail Association. In October 2006 he was elected President of HDE.

Prof. Dr. Marcus Schuckel
After finishing his studies at the University of Siegen in 1991 Prof. Dr. Marcus Schuckel became research and teaching assistant at the Department of Retailing and Distribution. In his doctoral thesis he worked on the topic of "Service Quality in Retailing". From 1997 till 2003 he was Vice President at the Center for Research in Retailing. His work there included – among others – the financial sphere as well as the implementation of a new business area called "market- and business analysis".
He returned to academia as assistant professor at the Department of Retailing and Distribution at the University of Cologne. Since 2005 he is Professor for Retail Management at The European University of Applied Sciences (EUFH) which is a private school well-known for its dual studies of Business Administration.

Dr. Ulrich Schückhaus
After his apprenticeship in banking, Dr. Ulrich Schückhaus studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne and at Penn State University (USA). He then worked as a research and teaching assistant at the Department of Retailing and Sales at the University of Cologne. After gaining his doctoral degree, he worked as a consultant for Kienbaum Consulting, specializing in the Public Sector. He later became a partner, responsible for local government business. Since 1999 he has been Chair of the Board of Directors of WFMG – a business development organisation based in Mönchengladbach. In addition, since 2002 he has been Director of EWMG – the development organisation for the town of Mönchengladbach.

Dr. Sven Spork
Dr. Sven Spork studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne, majoring in Retailing and Logistics. He also studied at the Norges Handelshøyskole in Bergen and at the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan. From 1998 to 2004 he worked as research and teaching assistant at the Department of Retailing and Distribution. In addition, he has also been a Guest Lecturer in Marketing at the John E. Dolibois European Center of Miami University in Differdange, Luxembourg. His doctoral thesis was on conditions as a coordinating instrument in manufacturer-dealer relationships. Since 2005 is working at the headquarters of the REWE Group in Cologne, first in the area of Strategy and Business Development, then as assistant to the chairman of the board. Since January 2008 he is head of the office of the board of management.

Dr. Ralf Wierich
Dr. Ralf Wierich studied Business Administration at the University of Cologne, majoring – among others – in retailing and distribution. Subsequently, he became research and teaching assistant at the Department of Retailing and Distribution at the University of Cologne where he wrote his doctoral thesis on the topic of “Personalization and individualization of coupons- An empirical study on the customer loyalty effect of personalized and individualized coupons.” Since 2007 he is working as a consultant at Stuewe Management Consulting in Langenfeld.

Prof. Dr. Nikola Ziehe
After completing her doctoral degree at the Department of Retailing and Distribution at the University of Cologne in 1998, Nikola Ziehe worked for two years as a Consultant at SIMON, KUCHER & PARTNERS Strategy and Marketing Consultants in Bonn. She then moved to the METRO GROUP, where she has worked as division manager for, among other things, Metro Holding, for an E-Business-Portal, for the distribution channel real,- and for Metro Group Buying since 2005. From 2005 to 2007 she worked at KarstadtQuelle (ARCANDOR AG) as division manager of Management Consulting, and supported distribution channels during the restructuring and repositioning phase. Since August 2007 she is professor for Business Administration, Communication and Retail Management at the University of Applied Sciences of Düsseldorf.