Prof. Dr. habil. Hans Jobst Pleitner receives a special award from the Steinbeis Foundation for his long-standing and excellent achievements in knowledge and technology transfer for the Steinbeis Network.
After having completed an apprenticeship as an industrial management assistant at Siemens and its German subsidiary, the Deutsche Grammophon record label, Hans Jobst Pleitner went on to study business administration at the University of Münster and the Graduate School of Business, now the University of St. Gallen - School of Management, Economics, Law, Social Sciences and International Affairs (HSG).Deciding on an academic career path, he stayed at St. Gallen and was awarded his doctorate in 1972, becoming an adjunct professor at the university that same year. Three years later, he became director of the Institute for Industry (IGW, Institut für gewerbliche Wirtschaft), now the Swiss Research Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Gallen (KMU-HSG). At age 45, he wrote his habilitation thesis. From 1985 to 2000, he served as a tenured professor of general business administration with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the University of St. Gallen.
Hans Jobst Pleitner made significant contributions to the establishment of Steinbeis University Berlin (SHB). As director of the IGW, he opened doors for the founding of the St. Gallen Management Seminar in Germany, which was one of the key academic programs at SHB. He also actively supported and influenced the development of SHB’s first programs of study. All of this was achieved thanks to his cooperation with Steinbeis, a very unusual course of action at the time. After receiving the status of professor emeritus at the University of St. Gallen in 2000, he became a professor for entrepreneurial management at SHB.
Over the last 15 years, Hans Jobst Pleitner has offered SHB exemplary dedication. In addition to his extraordinary commitment to teaching and advising students, he has shown devotion and support in the development of the project competence doctorate, which has been the main focus of his endeavors in recent years. He will retire his services to Steinbeis at the end of 2015. With this special award, Steinbeis would like to thank Hans Jobst Pleitner for his exceptional contribution to the success of SHB, while acknowledging his lifetime achievements in two-way knowledge transfer between academia and SMEs.