Staff

Professor Maurits van Rooijen is the Chairman of GISMA’s Board of Governors, Chief Academic Officer (CAO) of Global University Systems, and Rector of the University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Germany. In addition to these roles, he is the Board Chair for IBAT College Dublin, Ireland. He was awarded the Constance Meldrum prize for Vision and Leadership from the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and the Insignia d’Ouro of the Universidad Santiago de Compostela.

Claudia Wittman teaches Corporate Reporting and Academic Writing. After studying in Mannheim and Kiel in Germany, Iceland and California, she obtained a master’s degree in the US and has taught in Germany, Japan, the US, Mexico, and New Zealand. Previously, she worked as a Lecturer at the Berlin School of Economics and Law (Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht) and her academic focus lies in Business Administration and Finance. Her professional work has seen her spend time in Iceland, Germany, Central America and the USA.

Prof. Dr. Peter Konhäusner, Professor of Digital Entrepreneurship, at GISMA Business School University of Applied Sciences. By profession, he is a consultant and managing partner in a PR & marketing company in Berlin. Having been an entrepreneur for more than 20 years, he now enjoys transferring practical experiences to students through presenting interesting methods and theories. Dr. Konhäusner’s main research topics include entrepreneurship and business administration, marketing as well as digitisation. Besides teaching, reviewing exams and supervising bachelor and master theses, Dr. Konhäusner works as an independent consultant internationally. Especially assisting start-ups and SMEs in growing more prominent, finding the right marketing strategy and overcoming difficult times. Being a managing partner in the PR & marketing agency BC Communication enables Dr. Konhäusner to put his extensive expertise in a corporate context to work, as the agency’s main topics include crowdfunding campaigns and digitization of companies. The small team works together with many expert freelancers who are hired on an on-demand basis. Before teaching, the GISMA Professor finished his studies at the Economics and Business Administration University in Vienna as well as at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, and ran a media publishing house for over 15 years.

Klaus G. Kammermeier creates and conducts immersive, collaborative learning and innovation experiences in the form of workshops, learnshops, and online courses. He teaches international students, innovators, and business leaders in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, marketing, and leadership. He has extensive experience in technical-commercial leadership roles in global corporations, in consulting startups and globally recognised brands to achieve sustainable innovation leadership, and in education with Technical University Berlin and a number of competitive international business schools. Klaus studied Engineering, Economics, and Management at Munich University of Applied Sciences and completed executive education programs at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire and Columbia University Business School, New York City, USA. He created new formats of working together, one of which is NanoLabs®. He lived for 10 years in the UK and the United States and resides in Berlin, Germany now. 

Yannis Salavopoulos is a University Lecturer at GISMA Business School alongside at other German Business Universities. Moreover, he has given seminars, lectures and workshops at other Business Universities in Germany, UK, Switzerland, Greece (e.g. Imperial College London, York University, Geneva Business School and etc.). Yannis is the Founder and Managing Director of CAPITALS Circle Group (CCG) GmbH, a Berlin-based internationally active market, data-driven advisory and service provider for the digital economy and tech industry focusing on public relations / corporate communication / IR growth & digital transformation strategy, governance, risk & compliance. The company offers training and workshops in the field of expertise. The company serves corporates, banks, investors, and start-ups. Yannis Salavopoulos is the Managing Director of Global Sustain GmbH & Group Head International Affairs (part of Global Sustain Group, with presence in Berlin, London, Athens, Nicosia, Cairo), an international consulting firm with a focus on sustainable finance, sustainable investments, sustainability strategy, sustainability reporting, etc. It services and cooperates with international banks, investors, multinational corporates. Before entering the private sector, he had spent a few years working as a lawyer with expertise in corporate & commercial law. He then served as the Economic Diplomat, representing Greece at diplomatic posts at various Embassies abroad (e.g. UAE, Germany). Yannis holds an Executive MBA in International Management (from Anglian Ruskin University Cambridge & from Berlin School of Economics & Law) and an Executive Master of Sciences in Law & Economics (ALBA Graduate Business School, Athens, top-ranked in Financial Times). He holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki. He completed one year of his bachelor studies at the Freie University Berlin.

Prof. Dr. Varun Gupta is a Professor at GISMA University of Applied Sciences, Potsdam, Germany. He also serves as the Head of the Multidisciplinary Research Centre for Innovations in SMEs (MrciS) at GISMA. He has maintained various associations with Universidad de Alcalá in a number of capacities, most notably as a Postdoctoral Researcher, Researcher, and Co-Director of a master’s degree in Innovation Economics, Management, and Technology. He was also a visiting Postdoctoral Researcher with the Software Engineering Research Group (SERG), Department of Computer Science, Lund University, Sweden.

Peter has vast experience as a non-executive director, general manager, and strategy consultant, having worked with firms such as KPMG and Boston Consulting Group. He became Vice President and General Manager of a media company after a decade of consulting. Additionally, Peter has started a few businesses in management consulting, advertising, and mobile marketing. Since 2012, Peter has been a lecturer at the London School of Business and Finance and an independent director of the board of SNG Romgaz SA. He focused on improving good corporate governance practices and sustainability at Romgaz SA, leading him to complete his doctoral thesis in Corporate Governance and board effectiveness in 2020 (cumulative GPA: 3.8 out of 4). He is currently a Principal Lecturer at the London School of Business and Finance and a visiting professor at EDHEC Business School (France), SKEMA Business School (France), and GISMA Business School in Berlin. Peter specialises in areas such as corporate governance, ethics, strategy, sustainable business development, marketing, and M&A. He has published academic papers and articles on board effectiveness and sustainable business development and is an active member of the Romanian chapter of the Association of Independent Directors (AAI) and Chapter Zero.

Professor Dr. Stefan Stein currently serves as the President of Gisma. He also represents private universities in the state of Brandenburg through his role as a speaker within the association of private universities VPH. Previously, he held the position of Rector at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences where he worked in various roles, including Professor of Finance and Asset Management, Pro-Rector for teaching, and founding Dean of the Department of Economics. His expertise encompasses contributions to studies conducted for federal ministries, banks, and insurance companies. With a doctorate in economics, he spent over 13 years as the Managing Director of the prestigious Institute for Banking and Finance at Ruhr University Bochum. Additionally, he serves as a member of the supervisory board at Moore Stephens Naust AG, a prominent consulting firm.

John joined GISMA Business School in October 2019 as Head of Marketing. Prior to joining GISMA, John has held various marketing, product, and project focused roles in corporate healthcare and banking organisations in the UK. John holds a Master’s in International Marketing from The University of Law Business School. He is now based between Berlin and London, working closely with both the campus teams and corporate teams at Global University Systems.