Five Questions for Dr. Rebecca Winkelmann

1. Rebecca, you have been working at WHU for more than 20 years and are an alumna of the school yourself. For roughly two months now, you have been serving as WHU’s new Head of Administration, becoming the first female graduate to occupy this role in the school’s forty-year history. Did you ever imagine occupying such an important position for Germany’s top business school?

Never in my wildest dreams! In 2007, I took a student assistant job offer in the Dean’s Office to complement the work on my Ph.D. thesis at home. My task back then was to assist with our initial AACSB accreditation. While researching for data and compiling the report, I got to understand a bit better what business schools in general and more specially WHU are all about. And I had a moment of realization that “Business School Administrator” is a job profile I could become very passionate about! Since then, I have had the opportunity to look into and take responsibility for very different areas of our WHU. Interestingly, many of them had to do with “building something up”—compiling the initial AACSB report, establishing the first Dean’s Office, heading our Part-Time MBA development project team, establishing our Düsseldorf campus, launching an Executive Education Open Programs portfolio.

2. How was it for you to transition into this role?

This transition is still underway! You oftentimes read about the famous first 100 days in office, and I now understand quite well that it takes that amount of time to onboard and market that transition, so I’m about half-way there! But to your question: The past six weeks have been very busy for me, but also tremendously enriching for three reasons: First and most importantly, I have been welcomed and onboarded with open minds and hearts, have experienced great support, and have come together with highly committed teams and individuals. What has impressed me most is the high degree of resilience I have observed, and the willingness to adapt and change.

Secondly, I am transitioning into the “Head of Administration” role, but I am first and foremost becoming a part of the School’s Core Leadership Team. I have experienced how well this team works together. I am grateful for everyone’s welcoming support. On the administrative side of the management team, I am thrilled to closely work and lead together with two fellow WHU alumni—Eva Kohl (Assistant Dean Strategy & Transformation) and Steffen Löv (Deputy Head of Administration & Assistant Dean Programs). 

Last but not least: my predecessor Peter Christ has been tremendously supportive in onboarding me. With his experience of more than a decade in the role, he has given me plenty of valuable advice.

3. How do you prefer to start your workday?

Colleagues who work closely with me know that I am an early bird. My workdays typically start very early, as I enjoy a quiet start to the day. Most commonly, I work through emails, prepare meetings, or work on things that require a lot a brainpower and creativity.

4. Sustainability—for WHU especially and business schools in general—is a crucial topic for the future. How important is this topic for you personally?

Sustainability is much more personal to me than one might expect: My sister is a researcher in climate change. So for more than fifteen years, this topic has been part of our conversations. This has, of course, impacted my awareness of and actions toward carbon footprint reduction. I am very happy that we have launched our WHU Sustainability Management Center and am highly supportive of the multitude of initiatives we have focused on reducing our school’s carbon footprint.

5. Outside of your hard work and advocacy for WHU, what are you passionate about?

Many colleagues know this: I have become an avid gardener in the past decade and grow most of the vegetables we consume at home. Manual, outdoorsy labor for me is like meditation, and nature teaches me a great deal about patience, failure, success, and being resilient. My passion is growing produce from heirloom seeds and designing my gardens with the goal of increasing biodiversity, as my humble “backyard” contribution to a more sustainable agricultural approach.