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 Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences

16 DAX Executive Board members have degrees from the WiSo Faculty

Study by Horváth sees University of Cologne in first place

 

Auf dem Bild sieht man die WiSo-Fakultät der Uni Köln.

The Stuttgart-based management consultancy Horváth has analysed the educational backgrounds of more than 500 German board members of DAX, MDAX and SDAX-listed companies. The "Fact Check Executive Board Structures" revealed that 20 board members earned their highest degree at the University of Cologne, 16 of them are from the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences.


The study focused on the academic careers of executives, CEOs, CFOs and HR managers with German citizenship. 
85 percent of the board members have an academic background. Most of the German Chief Experience Officers (CXOs) graduated from the University of Cologne. This puts the UoC in first place among universities in Germany with 20 graduates. RWTH Aachen is in second place with 18 graduates, and the University of Mannheim is in third place with 15. 
The top 10 is made up of the following universities: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (15), Westphalian Wilhelm University of Münster (15), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (13), TU Munich (12), WHU Koblenz (11), Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (10), TU Darmstadt (10) and Leibniz University of Hanover (10). 
Internationalization and globality are more significant factors for management graduates. Among the over-54s, 10 percent of DAX executives earned their highest degree outside Germany. For those under 54, the figure is 18 percent. The USA and Great Britain are particularly popular for foreign degrees, with 28 percent each. 


Dr Oliver Greiner, head of the study, further states: "As the ranking of the universities placed in the top 10 shows, it is not the catchment area of the university that is decisive, but its academic quality and reputation. Although a good third of all German board members graduated from one of the top 10 universities, the other degrees are spread across more than 100 different educational institutions." 


Listing of graduates from the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences

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