New Dean for the ESB Business School

ESB Business School has a new Dean and a new leadership team. From 1 March 2024, Professor Dr Markus Conrads will take charge of the Dean’s Office for the Reutlingen University faculty. He replaces Professor Dr Christoph Binder who held the office for four and a half years. The management team of the ESB Business School will also be restructured as of 1 March.

Professor Dr Markus Conrads studied law at the University of Münster. In 1997 he received his ‘Dr. jur.’ doctorate, which was followed by twelve years of practical work as a lawyer. In 2009 he was appointed to Reutlingen University. Since then, Professor Dr Conrads has held the Chair of German and International Business Law at the ESB Business School.

For his mandate as Dean, Professor Dr Conrads has a clear ambition: “Students want a first-class education, employers want excellent graduates. The ESB Business School has been living up to this promise for decades and I want to ensure that it continues to do so.” This does not in any way mean standing still, but an enthusiastic engagement with cutting-edge issues, as the Dean adds: “We must introduce our students to new technologies. Artificial Intelligence will have a lasting effect on their working lives. So we must prepare them well to use the opportunities of AI successfully and responsibly. The working lives of students in international management will differ fundamentally from what we have known.” Just last year, Professor Dr Conrads was the co-author of a published research paper on the use of AI to resolve problematic legal cases.

The outgoing Dean, Professor Dr Christoph Binder and his management team look back on a period of unparalleled challenges, especially during the pandemic: “We were only able to overcome these challenges and at the same time tackle other important issues affecting our faculty thanks to the dedication of all those involved. We wish the best of luck to the new team at the Dean’s Office, and plenty of strength and success with the many tasks they will face in the coming years.”

The new Dean of the ESB Business School will be assisted in his duties from 1 March 2024 by the newly elected faculty board: Prof. Dr. Jörg Büechl (Deputy Dean of ESB Business School and Vice-Dean Research), Prof. Dr. Jörg Naeve (Dean of Studies), and Prof. Dr. Anna-Lena Kotzur (Vice-Dean Finance and Controlling).