CV

Hermann Simon is the founder and Honorary Chairman of Simon-Kucher, global market leader in pricing and growth consulting with 47 offices and 2,200 employees worldwide. He is an expert in strategy, marketing and pricing and an internationally sought-after consultant and speaker. Simon is the only German in the “Thinkers50 Hall of Fame”, the world’s most important management thinkers. He has repeatedly been voted the most influential German management thinker. Cicero magazine ranked him among the 100 leading German intellectuals. In China, the Hermann Simon Business School is named after him.

In his “first” life, Professor Simon taught at the universities of Mainz(1989-95) and Bielefeld (1979-88) as well as at leading universities such as Harvard Business School, Stanford University, London Business School, INSEAD, Keio University Tokyo and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1985 to 1988, he directed USW, Germany’s leading executive institute, now the European School of Management and Technology, Berlin.

Among his more than 40 books in 30 languages are his bestsellers on Hidden Champions, a term he coined in 1990. Hidden Champions in the Chinese Century was published in 2021. His most recent book, published in 2022, is Beating Inflation. He describes his life in Two Worlds, One Life–A Remarkable Journey from Farmhouse to the Global Stage. Simon has served on the editorial teams of numerous journals. As a board member, he gained experience in monitoring organizations. He co-initiated the first special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on a German stock exchange. He also co-initiated the first German search fund.

Hermann Simon studied economics and business administration at the Universities of Cologne and Bonn. He completed his doctorate and habilitation at the University of Bonn. He is the recipient of numerous prizes (Prize of the Markenverband, Erich Gutenberg Prize, Georg Bergler Prize, Prix de l’Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques). Simon holds honorary doctorates from universities in Germany, Poland, and Slovenia. He holds Honorary Professorships of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and of the Wenzhou University of Technology. Simon served in the German Air Force and is a reserve officer. His hometown awarded him and his wife Cecilia honorary citizenship.

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