Horst Albach

Professor Dr. Dr. hc. mult. Horst Albach (1931–2021) served as an Honorary Professor at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management since 1990 and played a pivotal role in its establishment. He held academic appointments at the University of Cologne, University of Bonn, Free University of Berlin, and Humboldt University Berlin, contributing to the development of economics programs. His global academic engagements included visiting professorships in Afghanistan, Sweden, South Africa, the U.S., Spain, Japan, and Finland.

Educations: Studied Business Administration, Economics, and Law at the University of Cologne. Habilitated in Business Administration in 1960.

Research & Advising: Advised the German Government on economic policy for ~40 years via the Ministry of Economics’ council. Served on boards of Deutsche Bahn AG, Dresdner Bank, Mercedes Automobil Holding GmbH, and ProLogis European Properties Fund. Founded institutions like the European School of Management and Technology and restructured the Institute for SME Research in Bonn.

Awards: Recognized with Germany’s highest honor, the Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern (2001), and became the first business economist inducted into the Pour le Mérite Order (2000), serving as its Chancellor until 2009.

Labs/Teams: Co-founded the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management and the German-Russian Management School in Moscow.