Growth, internationalization, entrepreneurship: these goals will shape as well as challenge Kühne Logistics University (KLU) in the coming years. To shape this next phase of KLU's development, we have recruited two experienced university managers as our new president and chancellor.
The internationally distinguished scientist and university manager Prof. Dr. Andreas Kaplan is the new president. He succeeded Prof. Dr. Strothotte, who stepped down at the end of 2022 after two terms, on May 1, 2023.
Prof. Dr. Kaplan, born in Munich in 1977, looks back on more than 15 years in leading positions in the European higher education sector. Previously, as rector and dean of studies at ESCP Business School, he was responsible for around 7,000 students and more than 30 study programs at the university's six campuses in Paris, London, Madrid, Berlin, Turin and Warsaw. Kaplan's research focuses on the digital transformation of society, particularly in the areas of social media, artificial intelligence and virtual worlds, as well as the future of education in times of digitalization.
Dr. Immo Schmidt-Jortzig, an experienced university manager, will join the Executive Board as the new Chancellor and Managing Director. As of September 1, he succeeds Fabian Berger, who is leaving the university after 13 very successful years.
Dr. Schmidt-Jortzig, a lawyer born in 1974, brings 16 years of experience in higher education. Most recently, as chancellor and managing director of the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA), he was responsible, among other things, for the development and implementation of six new degree programs and the management of 60 employees* in the university administration. During his tenure, HSBA doubled its student population and increased the faculty to as many as 33 professors. Under his direction, HSBA focused on sustainability and digitalization. Dr. Schmidt-Jortzig received his doctorate in public law from the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.