Welcome to the Chair for International Management - Liebherr/Richemont Endowed Chair

The "Chair for International Management - Liebherr/Richemont Endowed Chair" at the University of Fribourg/Switzerland has been established in September 2007. It has been made possible by generous donations by the multinational companies Liebherr and Richemont.

The chair is responsible for the "Master of Arts in European Business" (click here for a detailed description of the programme). The chair focuses on research and teaching in the fields of International Management, in particular European Business.

The holder of the chair is Prof. Dr. Dirk Morschett.

Some Highlights of the Past Years

In addition to the regular lectures, the chair has organised a number of special events, like excursions or guest lectures. Some of them are presented below.

Executive Talks by Coop and Nestlé
In the lecture on distribution strategies and retailing, two top-executives of a Swiss consumer goods manufacturer and a Swiss retail company gave presentations to the students.In November 2010, Roland Frefel, responsible for the Category Management of Basic Foods and Beverages at Coop, explained the complex business of Switzerland’s largest retail company.He discussed the different distribution channels and their development with the students. In particular, the developments in the merchandise mix (e.g. the strategies with regard to store brands) were treated as well as the category management process.
					In December 2010, Alessandro Rigoni, Commercial Director at Nestlé Switzerland, a close business partner of Coop, talked to the students about the particularities of the Swiss distribution landscape and how the global market leader in consumer goods – Nestlé – adapts to the local market conditions. The developments in the retail market, e.g. concerning the development of brands and store brands, were discussed with the students and the strategies of Nestlé to cope with those developments.
Presentation by Erwin Kälin, Geberit, on the International Distribution of the Company
The first executive talk of the fall semester 2010 was given by Erwin Kälin, Area Sales Manager of Geberit for the markets of the Near East and Africa. In November 2010, he explained to our students – using the example of South Africa – how Geberit enters foreign markets, how the company establishes pull- and push-activities in these markets and how it adapts its activities to the specific national conditions. In this business, it is crucial to train the middleman about the product usage and Geberits helps its national distributors in this task. Furthermore, Mr. Kälin pointed to the high relevance of large projects (e.g. building hotels, soccer stadiums, etc.) as one major pillar of Geberits business in many foreign countries. In South Africa, the FIFA world cup in 2010 lead to many of these projects being developed in the previous years.					up
Presentation by Jean-Marie Ayer, Dartfish, on the International Management of the Company
					Dartfish is a company in the field of digital imaging technology. The company that started in 1998 quickly grew and became well known for its innovative digital image enhancements in the sports broadcast world. Today, its technologies and know-how are widely recognized for exclusive televised broadcast footage and breakthrough training applications for sports, education, healthcare and more. Dartfish has its headquarters in Fribourg and offices in Atlanta, USA, Sophia-Antipolis (France), Sydney, Tokyo, and Seoul.Jean-Marie Ayer, co- founder and a member of the board, explained the student the challenges and pitfalls in the fast internationalisation process of thecompany and the management of the international company network.
Focus on Chinese Business
Chinese business is of crucial importance for European companies: First, China is a very important market and production location for European companies. But furthermore, Chinese companies have started their internationalisation process and it is very likely that Chinese MNCs will become important actors in European Business as well. Therefore, we invited Prof. Aoyu WEI as visiting lecturer to give a block course on Business in China. Prof. Wei is Chinese and he received his PhD from the renowned Fudan University in Shanghai. Since the mid-1990s he lives in France. He is teaching cross-cultural management at the HEC in Paris and he consults companies like EDF and PSA Peugeot-Citroën concerning their activities in China. Thus, he knows the particularities of Chinese business from an academic and a practical experience.
					Topics like the Chinese culture, the legal environment, human resource management, Marketing, business negotiations in China as well as mergers & acquisition activities of Chinese companies were described and analysed in the course. In addition, an expert from an American university, Prof. Marc Fetscherin, gave a presentation on the globalisation of Chinese brands within that lecture, focussing on examples like Haier or Lenovo.
Visit to the Headquarters of Richemont in Geneva
In April 2010, a group of 40 students from the MA in European Business were invited to visit the HQ of Richemont in Bellevue, Geneva. The Group HR Director, Mr. Thomas Lindemann, welcomed the group and gave them intensive and detailed insights into the luxury					business. In a very interactive manner, the basics of this business were discussed but also recent developments such as different developments in international markets or the changes in the distribution strategies. The discussion was continued in the course of a business lunch on invitation of Richemont.
Presentation by Dr. Heribert Knittlmayer and Roger Schaerer, Swiss Export Risk Insurance SERV
In May 2010, two experts from the Swiss Export Risk Insurance SERV, an institution of the Swiss Confederation, gave the students an overview on exports risks in general and detailed					insights intothe possibilities for companies to manage export risks. In particular, the different instruments that SERV provides were explained.
Presentation by Ralf Balzer, European Patent Office
					The European Patent Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation which currently has 38 memberstates, including Switzerland. It provides a uniform application procedure for individual inventors and companies seeking patent protection across Europe. In May 2010, Ralf Balzer from the European Patent Office talked to the students about “Patents as a Mean to Protect Intellectual Propoerty”. He explained the relevance of patents for the economy in general, the European Patent System and the different ways for inventors to apply for a patent in a specific nation or across Europe.
Study Trip to Bangkok in July 2009
					The Chair for International Management has organised a summer school in Bangkok in cooperation with a leading local university, the CMMU. With a mix of lecturer from academics, presentations of practitioners and company visits, e.g. at Colgate and Liebherr, students had the unique opportunity to collect own experience in this country. Sufficient time was also given to experience the culture, e.g. with traditional dinners, touristic visits and a bike tour through Bangkok. Additional information can be found here. up
Presentation by Ulrike Spang-Lessnow, Deputy Retail Manager, IKEA Switzerland
In May 2009, the deputy retail manager of IKEA Switzerland gave us insights into the international management and coordination of a highly successful multinational company – IKEA. She explained the division of labour and decisions between the headquarters (or, in this case, the different superordinate units) and the local subsidiary in Switzerland.
Presentation by Thomas Pletscher, Member of the Executive Board, Economiesuisse
			In April 2009, one of the members of the executive board of economiesuisse, gave a speech on parallel imports into Switzerlandthe application of the Cassis de Dijon principle – a highly topical issue for Swiss companies. economiesuisse is the largest umbrella organization representing the Swiss economy. It has the support of more than 30,000 businesses of all sizes, employing a total of 1.5 million people in Switzer-land.
Excursion European Business to Brussels and Rotterdam
In the spring semester 2009 (as already in the spring semester 2008), the chair has organised an excursion to Brussels and Rotterdam for 4 days. The group visited the EU commission and the Swiss Mission to the EU. We then had the opportunity to meed with the Director General of the JAMA (Japanese Automobile Manu facturers’ Association) in Brussel. After driving to Rotterdam, the group visited the logistic service provider Broekman Group that manages the Rotterdam Car Terminal. Another full day was dedicated to the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest logistic and industrial hub. Additional information can be found here.
Day Trip to Logistic Centres and Production Sites
						In May 2009, the Chair for International Management has organised a day trip with visits to some of the most sophisticated logistic centres in Switzerland. Students of the MA in European Business, in addition to a group of students from the Europa-Institut, Saarbrücken, Germany, have participated. After an early morning departure by bus, the programme started with a visit of the Bell Production and Logistics Centre in Oensingen. There, Bell produces directly for McDonald’s and both logistics sites are directly co-located (in a concept called “foodtown”). After a presentation by McDonald’s on the sustainability strategy and from HAVI Logistics (the third party logistics service provider that takes over all logistics activities for McDonald’s in Switzerland, the McDonald’s Logistics Centre was visited. In the afternoon, the group went to Wangen, were the national distribution centre of Coop is located. From there, Coop coordinated the logistics for its nonfood products. Again, a comprehensive visit to the distribution center was supplemented with intensive presentations on the concept.
Day Trip to Aldi Suisse and WAGO
In November 2009, we visited the distribution center of Aldi in Domdidier where the managing director Beat Pahud gave us a tour and explained the main principles of the discounter and of the logistics concept. Aldi Suisse has entered the market in 2005 and has about 100 outlets now. The new and up-to-date distribution centre in Domdidier receives and distributes the articles for a major part of that store network. After a lunch break in Avenches, we visited the Production Site of WAGO in Domdidier. After an introductory presentation, a guided tour through the facilities offered us insights into the production of the electrical connecting system products. Wago, with its headquarter in Minden, Germany, is a worldwide operating company with subsidiaries or agencies on every continent and production sites in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, China, India, the USA and in Japan. It is a leading company in innovative connecting technology.
Presentation by Bruno Wiederkehr, Sales Director, Warner Bros. Home Video
					Warner Bros. is a fully integrated entertainment company and a global leader in all forms of entertainment and their related businesses.  With distribution in 90 international territories Warner Home Video commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace.  Internationally, Warner is the No. 1 studio with 16% world market share. In December 2009, Bruno Wiederkehr gave a comprehensive presentation on the implementation of Warner Bros.’ global marketing and sales strategy in the Swiss market.
Presentation by Katalin Dreher, Consultant, OSEC Business Network Switzerland
OSEC Business Network Switzerland is working on behalf of the Swiss government. One of its main tasks is the support of Swiss companies in their export activities. In November 2009, Katalin Dreher shared insights into the Swiss foreign trade in general, the forms of internationalization and the mandate of OSEC, in particular explaining the « step-by-step » concept to exporting which it provides to Swiss firms. A strong focus was on the market opportunities in Eastern European countries.
Presentation by Beat Pahud, Managing Director, Aldi Suisse Domdidier In November 2009, Beat Pahud explained the international management activities within the Aldi group as well as the relationship between Aldi Suisse and its parent company in Germany. Aldi is the World’s largest harddiscounter. In 2005, Aldi has entered the Swiss market, a very particular retail market. The presentation gave the students insights into the necessary activities when entering a new country market.
Presentation by Dr Beat Brechbühl, Partner, Kellerhals Attorneys at Law on M&A in Europe
						Also in November 2009, Dr. Beat Brechbühl gave a detailed and comprehensive presentation on Mergers & Acquisitions in Europe. He explained the necessary steps in preparing and executing a buy-side M&A process and highlighted his explanations by presenting a specific case study of a recent M&A case which his company supported with its legal expertise. up