Professorship at Faculty I newly filled: Prof. Dr. Stefan Rech started in October as Professorfor Business Administration, in particular Controlling and Information Management
On October 1, 2023, Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Stefan Rech, born in 1970, started as Professor of Business Administration, in particular Controlling and Information Management at the Department of Management, Controlling, HealthCare. Prior to this, the business administration and industrial engineering graduate, who holds a doctorate from the Chair of Corporate Management and Controlling at the University of Bamberg, held various positions at SAP AG in Walldorf from 2005. Most recently, he held the position of Chief Operating Officer with power of attorney for the Global Cloud Services division. Prof. Dr. Stefan Rech gained his first teaching experience in 2021 as a lecturer for investment and financing on the Digital Business Management degree program at DHBW Karlsruhe.
Here Stefan Rech introduces himself in an interview:
You have been a professorof business administration, in particular controlling and information management, at HWG LUsince October 1. Have you had a good start?
I actually started at HWG LU a little earlier. In the summer semester of 2023, I took on a teaching assignment on cost planning with ERP systems in the Master's degree program in Controlling. This allowed me to get to know some of the students and employees at HWG and gain some initial experience of the university's processes.
What tasks does your new position involve?
As a professor of business administration with a focus on controlling and information management, I will be giving lectures in the winter semester 2023/2024 on the topics of controlling concepts, integrated profit and financial planning, operational controlling instruments and IT-supported controlling in the Bachelor's degree program in Business Administration with a focus on Management, Controlling and Information (BMC). I also taught the course Cost Planning with ERP Systems in the Master's degree program in Controlling (MCO). Further courses on accounting and long-term contract manufacturing are planned for the 2024 summer semester.
What excites you most about the new position?
The teaching assignments at the DHBW in Karlsruhe and the HWG LU have made it clear to me that I really enjoy working with and developing young people who are at the start of their professional careers. The professorship also offers the opportunity to take an integrated view of controlling and information management. In times of digitalization and sustainability, this seems important to me. As my professional background is also in controlling and information management, I hope to be able to impart practically applicable knowledge to students.
What are the first goals you have set yourself?
My initial focus is on preparing, designing and delivering the course modules. Due to the new appointment, there are numerous lectures to be designed, revised and further developed. In the medium term, I would also like to become involved in research and university organization.
A particular challenge is the change in the job profile of controlling. Companies still have a high demand for controllers. Nevertheless, it should not be overlooked that the requirements profile of the next generation of controllers is changing. With this professorship, I would like to make a contribution to this process of change and prepare students as well as possible for the future requirements of professional practice.
What did you do professionally before taking up your post in Ludwigshafen?
Most recently, I was Chief Operating Officer (COO) and authorized signatory for the Global Cloud Services division. The Global Cloud Services division operates the IT infrastructure (servers, storage, networks, virtualization, backup) for all SAP cloud solutions in SAP's own data centers or in data centers operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). However, I spent most of my professional life working in Controlling at SAP.
Why did you choose HWG LU?
During my time at SAP, I worked with many former HWG LU graduates. My memories of this professional collaboration are consistently positive. In Controlling, I was even personally involved in the recruitment of former HWG LU graduates.
My technical and professional background is in both controlling and information management, but especially in the interface between the two areas. The professorship offers me the opportunity to combine education and research in these two fields.
Thank you very much!
