Interview with Professor Hermann Simon
Our alumnus Professor Dr Dr h.c. mult. Hermann Simon is the founder of the management consulting firm Simon-Kucher. He has made a name for himself internationally as an expert in strategy, marketing and pricing, and is regarded as one of the most influential management thinkers of our time in the German-speaking world. He studied Economics and Business Administration at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne and at the University of Bonn, where he obtained his habilitation in 1979. He subsequently taught Business Administration at the universities of Bielefeld and Mainz, and served as president of the European Marketing Academy. In addition, international visiting professorships took him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Keiō University in Tokyo, Harvard Business School and Stanford University, among others. During this time, he coined the term ‘Hidden Champions’, which he defined in his 1996 book ‘Hidden champions: lessons from 500 of the world's best unknown companies’, which he updated in his 2021 released book ‘Hidden Champions in the Chinese Century’. After leaving academia in 1995 to focus entirely on management consulting, he served for many years as CEO of Simon-Kucher before becoming Honorary Chairman in 2018. Hermann Simon is the author of numerous books, the most recent of which, ‘Simon sagt! Was im Management wirklich zählt’ (‘Simon Says! What Really Matters in Management’), was published in 2025 and offers a retrospective on 50 years of management expertise. In our alumni interview, we spoke to him about the concept of ‘hidden champions’ in the global age, how he built Simon-Kucher into a leading international consulting firm, and why he advises young people not to listen to their parents when choosing a career.
Despite Donald Trump, you young people will be living in a globalised world. Globalisation is stronger than Trump and other politicians who try to fight it.
Dear Professor Simon, you studied Economics and Business Administration at the WiSo Faculty. What memories or formative experiences do you still associate with your time at WiSo?
I served in the Air Force for two years between finishing school and starting university. I had just turned 22 when I began my studies. This marked the beginning of my journey into the real world, and I was determined to complete my degree as quickly as possible. The Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne was larger than the corresponding department at the University of Bonn, and the professors were more practice-oriented. It was a very busy time, but after long days of study, I would often go to a pub on Bachemer Straße with a fellow student. There, we would have a beer and a Mettbrötchen. Overall, I have very fond memories of my time as a student in Cologne.
Following your academic career, you made the conscious decision to pursue a career in entrepreneurship and establish the management consultancy Simon-Kucher. What prompted this shift from a research- and knowledge-focused role to a more practical, consultancy-based one? And which skills from your academic background proved particularly helpful in this regard?
I spent 15 years working as a university professor, first at Bielefeld University and then at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. Throughout those years, I always aspired to have a practical impact. I then spent three years heading the University Seminar for Business at Schloss Gracht near Cologne, which was Germany’s largest executive education institute for senior managers and later became part of the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin. In 1985, together with my first PhD students, Eckhard Kucher and Karl-Heinz Sebastian, I founded the consultancy firm Simon-Kucher. In 1994, I decided to give up my professorship to run the company full-time. I did so for 15 years, until 2009. Our area of expertise was pricing. In this field, our in-depth academic training proved to be a solid foundation. Essentially, we applied scientific insights to practical situations. This approach became increasingly succesful.
Our area of expertise was pricing. In this field, our in-depth academic training proved to be a solid foundation. Essentially, we applied scientific insights to practical situations.
In the early days, the management consultancy at Simon-Kucher was characterised primarily by scientific methods. Today, Simon-Kucher is the global market leader in pricing and sustainable growth consultancy. What has your experience of Simon-Kucher’s 40-year success story been like? Were there any particular milestones that were especially significant for the company’s development?
We now have 2,200 employees working across 47 offices around the world. We are the undisputed global market leader in our specialist field. There have been several key milestones. When I joined the company full-time in 1994, for example, we drew up a strategy for the next ten years. One sentence in it read: “We want to become a global consulting firm.” As a result, we opened our second office in Boston, after Bonn. If you want to become a global consulting firm, you have to prove yourself in the American market, the lion’s den of the consulting world. An office in Vienna or Zurich won’t help you achieve that. Moving to America was a crucial step for us. It took us a long time to establish a proper business there. Today, we are bigger in America than in Germany. I am particularly proud of that. The office in America was the first step on our journey towards globalisation. Another important factor is our partnership model. Our ownership model is market-based; the firm is wholly owned by the partners. We handed over shares to young partners at an early stage. My goal, and that of the two co-founders, was to maintain the firm‘s independence and avoid selling it to a large consultancy. We have succeeded in that. Today, 230 partners own the firm. Expanding to America and establishing the partnership model have been the most important elements of our success.
A vibrant entrepreneurial spirit is also evident at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne, as exemplified not least by our Professorship in Entrepreneurship and Management led by Professor Christian Schwens and his team, and the University of Cologne’s Gateway Excellence Start-up Centre. What advantages do you see in start-ups within a university context? And what might the German start-up ecosystem still be lacking?
Unfortunately, it must be stated that, there are far too few start-ups in Germany overall. This is not due to a lack of academic excellence, but rather a cultural phenomenon. In many cases, parents are likely to play a discouraging role. They would prefer their children to become civil servants or to work for a seemingly secure large corporation. For this reason, I advise young people not to listen to their parents when choosing a career. Thankfully, some professors, including those in Cologne, promote entrepreneurship and self-employment. Unfortunately, this is not generally the case, nor is it widespread. Perhaps this is because college or university professors often lack practical experience and tend to be focused on large corporations. The lack of start-ups has deep-rooted social and academic causes that I do not fully understand either.
The lack of start-ups has deep-rooted social and academic causes that I do not fully understand either.
You first wrote about ‘hidden champions’ in an essay in 1990 and then updated and refined the concept in your 2021 book ‘Hidden Champions in the Chinese Century’. You used this term to explain the success of the German export. Has the concept changed over the last 30 years? And how would you describe the current situation for German medium-sized enterprises in the context of the global economy?
In 1987, the renowned Harvard professor Theodore Levitt paid me a visit. Having popularised the term ‘globalisation’, he was interested in the competitiveness of nations. He asked me a simple question: ‘Why are the Germans so successful at exporting?’ The year before, we had become the world’s leading export nation for the first time. That question stayed with me. I commissioned master’s theses and doctoral dissertations on the subject, concluding that our export success does not depend on a handful of large corporations, but is rather driven by the broad base of small and medium-sized enterprises. We have many medium-sized world market leaders that remain unknown. That is why I call them ‘hidden champions’, a term which sounds like a contradiction.
In recent years, digitalisation and artificial intelligence have become increasingly important topics. These companies are highly innovative in this area, too. However, this is scarcely noticed by the general public, as most hidden champions are involved in industrial processes that the average consumer knows and understands very little about.
Two things have changed over the last 30 years. The first is globalisation. Companies now have subsidiaries all over the world. They often have more than 50 such subsidiaries, some more than 100 – for example, Kärcher has 170 and Würth over 400. The second major difference lies in innovation. Hidden champions innovate continuously, though this involves less in the way of breakthrough innovations and more in the way of constant improvements. In recent years, digitalisation and artificial intelligence have become increasingly important topics. These companies are highly innovative in this area, too. However, this is scarcely noticed by the general public, as most hidden champions are involved in industrial processes that the average consumer knows and understands very little about. For example: Apple has 767 suppliers in Germany alone.
Finally, could you please complete the following sentence: When I think back to my time as a student in Cologne, I remember...
… broadening my horizons in the areas of business and economics. I come from a small farm in the Eifel region, so had little exposure to business or economic knowledge. My studies in Cologne really helped me to make significant progress in this regard.
Per aspera ad astra: through hardship to the stars.
Is there anything else would you like to share with our current students? Do you have three tips for studying?
I have summarised my experiences from the past 50 years in my new Spiegel bestseller, ‘Simon sagt! Was im Management wirklich zählt’ (‘Simon Says! What Really Matters in Management’). Here are three suggestions. Firstly, don’t spend today planning where you want to be in 30 or 40 years’ time. Instead, focus on doing whatever you’re currently doing as well as possible. Opportunities will then present themselves. Secondly, try to gain international experience while studying, for example through work placements or exchange programmes. This was hardly an option in my day, but today there are plenty of opportunities in this regard. One thing is certain: despite Donald Trump, you young people will be living in a globalised world. Globalisation is stronger than Trump and other politicians who try to fight it. Finally, I’d like to leave you with my favourite saying: ‘Per aspera ad astra’. It means ‘through hardship to the stars’. You must have a vision and, above all, the ambition to achieve something. However, you should be aware that this goal cannot be reached on smooth paths; there will be obstacles and stumbling blocks. You must not lose sight of your goal, and you must overcome these obstacles with perseverance and patience. So: Per aspera ad astra: through hardship to the stars.
Dear Professor Simon, thank you very much for your time and for the interview.
Questions by Pascal Tambornino