WHU Foundation Appoints New Chairman

At its most recent meeting on January 14, the WHU Foundation (Stiftung WHU), the supporting body of WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, agreed on a change in leadership, with Dr. Dr. Christoph Glaser taking on the position of Chairman of the Board. This step had already been prepared last summer  under the guidance of the former chairman, Dr. Toni Calabretti, who will continue to serve the WHU Foundation as a member of the board. 

“I had the privilege of helping to shape the development of WHU over many years as Chairman of the WHU Foundation, and I look back on this time with great gratitude,” said Toni Calabretti, who has represented the interests of the Beisheim Foundations as Chairman of the WHU Foundation since 2013. “Christoph Glaser is, in my view, the appropriate successor, as his diverse experience positions him well to drive the further development of WHU. I wish him every success.”

“Education is a topic close to my heart,” said Christoph Glaser. “Education is the key to the future, viability of our economy and society. WHU combines entrepreneurial thinking and action with academic excellence and social responsibility. In keeping with Otto Beisheim’s tradition, the WHU Foundation has made a decisive contribution to this endeavor over many years. Continuing to help shape this path is both an incentive and a commitment for me.”

Christoph Glaser is supported by Annette Heuser, who has been a member of the Board of the WHU Foundation as a representative of the Beisheim Foundations since July 2024. This continues the close collaboration provided to the university by several representatives of the Beisheim Foundations.

Toni Calabretti assumed the chairmanship in 2013 from Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Erich Greipl. A few months prior to Greipl’s passing, Professor Dr. h. c. Otto Beisheim had died. “For WHU, as well as for me personally, working with Toni Calabretti and his colleagues at the Beisheim Foundations has been and continues to be a great asset. Without his commitment, WHU would not be the excellent business school it is today. I look forward to continuing this development together with Christoph Glaser,” says Professor Christian Andres, Dean of WHU.

Christoph Glaser is a board member of the German Beisheim Foundation, which, alongside its Swiss counterpart of the same name, is the principal supporting foundation of the WHU Foundation, and Managing Director of Beisheim Holding GmbH in Baar, Switzerland. A native of Munich, he studied medicine and philosophy in Erlangen and Munich, as well as internationally in China, India, and South Africa. He earned doctorates in clinical neurophysiology and in modern German literature. Dr. Glaser initially worked at university hospitals in Germany and abroad before joining BMW AG as Communications Officer to Chairman of the Supervisory Board Eberhard von Kuenheim. Together with von Kuenheim, he started the Eberhard von Kuenheim Foundation, today known as the BMW Foundation. He later co-founded Phorms Education SE, where he served as Managing Director, and subsequently worked with the Reimann family of entrepreneurs, where he was responsible for international social business and served on the boards of both profit and non-profit organizations.