Executive Leadership Accelerator

Prof. Dr. Eric Kearney

Eric Kearney has been Professor of Leadership, Organizational Behavior, and Human Resource Management at the University of Potsdam since 2014. He has taught at numerous German and international universities and business schools and regularly teaches leadership courses at Mannheim Business School. His research on leadership and teamwork has been published in leading scientific journals (e.g., Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Organizational Research Methods, Organization Science, Leadership Quarterly, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes). In his talks, keynotes, and workshops, he shows how scientific findings can be highly useful for organizations in their efforts to promote performance and satisfaction. Eric Kearney's research focuses on the leadership of individuals and teams. He is particularly interested in visionary and empowering leadership, as well as how we can leverage the potential of team diversity.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Armbrüster

Prof. Thomas Armbrüster heads the research group Knowledge Management, Human Resources and Leadership at the University of Marburg and regularly holds courses in leadership, employee management, corporate culture and change management at Mannheim Business School. He has been supporting numerous managers at all hierarchical levels in their professional development as a senior executive leadership trainer and leadership coach for more than 10 years.

Prof. Armbrüster holds a degree in industrial engineering from TU Berlin. He spent several years working in management consultancies before completing his doctorate at the London School of Economics and Political Science and habilitating at TU Berlin. This was followed by research stays at the European University Institute in Florence, Stanford University and Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, among others. After several years at private universities, some of them in management positions, he was appointed Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Erfurt in 2012 and has been Professor of Knowledge Management and Human Resource Management at the University of Marburg since 2015. His research interests also include management consulting, human resources management, and leadership.

Guest Speaker: Britta Alisa Layendecker

Britta Alisa Layendecker is the CFO of Voith Paper Fabric & Roll Systems, the product and service business of the Voith Paper division within the Voith Group. She heads the Supervisory Board & Advisory Board of Voith Austria GmbH and is a Member of the Supervisory Board of Voith Paper Fabrics in Malaysia and of the Board of Commissioners of the joint venture company Voith Paper Rolls Indonesia.

She started her career at the global technology company Voith Group as Financial Analyst Europe/Africa in 2008. She went on to hold various management positions in Finance & Controlling within the company in the US and Germany. From 2016 to 2019, she served as Vice President IT Controlling at Voith Digital Ventures, after leading a major restructuring project of the administration functions for the Voith Group.

Although she has spent most of her career in Germany, she has always worked in European or global roles, leading across borders and functions. She has also worked in different constellations, directly leading international teams vs. being a project leader in a high-stakes transformation project, leading from headquarters vs. being in the operational business, so she has a broad view of leadership and its pitfalls.

Britta Alisa Layendecker completed the Mannheim Executive MBA in 2017. She is passionate about digitizing and transforming the "old" industry into a new workplace.

Guest Speaker: Uwe Raschke

Uwe Raschke joined the German technology company Bosch in 1984 and worked there for 37 years. Among other things, he was CEO of Bosch Power Tools and later of BSH Household Appliances. From 2008 to 2021, he was a member of the Bosch board of management, initially responsible for business development in Asia for the entire Bosch Group, before assuming responsibility for Bosch's global consumer business and the coordination of Bosch's business in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa. Uwe Raschke is a member of the advisory board of Heraeus Holding, teaches at the Hasso-Plattner-Institute in Potsdam, and provides consulting services.