Gerhard R. Plaschka

Gerhard R. Plaschka is an Associate Professor at DePaul University's Driehaus College of Business, Department of Management & Entrepreneurship, where he has taught since 1988. He chaired the department from 1995 to 2001 and teaches courses like Strategic Analysis for Competing Globally, Entrepreneurship, and Corporate Ventures.

• PhD, Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (1985)
• MBA, Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (1984)
• BS, Engineering in Electronics and Telecommunication, Polytechnic Institute of Vienna (1978)

Plaschka specializes in venture management, customer choice, and demand-based pricing models for complex industrial and connected mobility products. His research spans entrepreneurship, strategic analysis, and corporate ventures, with publications in journals like MIT Sloan Management Review and Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice.

His expertise has earned recognition from Forbes as a top entrepreneurship educator. He serves on CNBC's Disruptor 50 Companies Advisory Council and previously held board roles at Hoerbiger AG, Kapsch TrafficCom subsidiaries, and Park Jockey/Reef Technologies.

Plaschka's industry leadership includes executive roles at Kapsch TrafficCom AG's New Ventures business (since 2014) and founding the Austrian UniVenture Fund (2000-2012). He maintains active academic and corporate advisory engagements.