Staff

Tilmann Lindberg studied management at Hohenheim University in Stuttgart as well as at the University of Potsdam, where he also completed his PhD on business creativity and design. He held a PhD scholarship from the Hasso Plattner Institute in the field of design thinking research. After completing his PhD, he moved to Ghana where he joined as a lecturer the faculty of Lancaster University’s Ghana branch campus in its foundational years, being involved in building up the business studies program and the Lancaster University Ghana business department. During this time, Tilmann gained specific interest in the management education of international students, especially with a focus on developing countries. After his return to Germany, he worked for a group of family companies in Hamburg. In 2020, he joined SRH Berlin University of Applied Science as Professor for International Business Administration and was entrusted with the academic build-up of SRH’s newly founded Campus in Hamburg. In January 2022, Tilmann relocated to the Berlin-Brandenburg area working now as Professor for International Business Management at GISMA Business School in Potsdam.

Mostafa Hussein is a Visiting Lecturer at Kingston University Business School with over 10 years of international experience in Global Financial Markets, Consulting and Advisory Services. He has taught a variety of modules in Finance, Banking, Accounting, and Business Administration at UG and PG level across different Business Schools in the UK and Germany. Mostafa’s teaching and research interests lie in the areas of Finance, Corporate Finance, M&A, Financial Analysis, Financial Reporting, Banking, Risk Management, Investment, Capital Markets, Data Analytics, FinTech, Business and Management. Outside of the University, Mostafa provides consulting and advisory services to a range of large, high-profile public, private and charitable organisations in the UK, Germany and abroad. He has worked with some of the top 25 global banks as well as some of the fast-growing international payment providers, boutiques and FinTechs, across different global markets such as EU, North America, MENA, Australia, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Dr. Dariya Afanasyeva is the Senior Registry Officer at GISMA University of Applied Sciences. She is originally from Ukraine and holds a diploma in Applied Psychology from Dnipro National University, as well a Master’s and a Ph.D. degree in Cultural Heritage Studies from Brandenburg University of Technology (Cottbus-Senftenberg). Dr. Afanasyeva’s personal research interests lie in the fields of intercultural communication and conflict resolution. Parallel to teaching and scientific research, Dr. Afanasyeva has extensive administrative experience as a coordinator for a range of international postgraduate programmes across higher education institutions in Berlin and Brandenburg.Dr. Dariya Afanasyeva is the Senior Registry Officer at GISMA University of Applied Sciences. She is originally from Ukraine and holds a diploma in Applied Psychology from Dnipro National University, as well a Master’s and a Ph.D. degree in Cultural Heritage Studies from Brandenburg University of Technology (Cottbus-Senftenberg). Dr. Afanasyeva’s personal research interests lie in the fields of intercultural communication and conflict resolution. Parallel to teaching and scientific research, Dr. Afanasyeva has extensive administrative experience as a coordinator for a range of international postgraduate programmes across higher education institutions in Berlin and Brandenburg.

After graduating in Management Engineering at Politecnico University in Milan, Nicolò Augusto Manica worked in the USA and China benefitting from a global advantage. He also obtained two master’s degrees in International Management at Esade Business school in Spain and International Business at Queen’s University in Canada. He began his entrepreneurial journey during university as a digital marketer and used the profit towards the payment for his master‘s degrees.   After university, he evolved into the E-commerce world where he excelled in success. The ability to generate numerous successes in digital marketing benefited him to become an influencer in the digital marketing industry with thousands of young European entrepreneurs following his guidance and motivation.

Prof. Dr. Phungmayo Horam is a resource economist, and his work focuses on the application of economics and management science for providing solutions for sustainable business practice and innovation. He completed his PhD at Humboldt University Berlin and has several years of experience in designing sustainable cities for the Future-Megacities project sponsored by BMBF and advisory work for technology and knowledge transfers in India, Germany and the UK. He takes great pleasure in working with students and sharing his experience to develop independent and innovative thinking. In his free time, he enjoys playing badminton, cycling and facilitating discussions on a sustainable future through various formal and informal forums.

Deepak Trivedi is a global executive in the sports industry and has held international responsibilities at high-profile events including Grand Slam tennis tournaments. He consults on important event aspects such as the fan experience, international marketing, volunteer engagement and diversity and inclusion. He has held leadership positions at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic games and currently holds a senior leadership position for the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo. Deepak prides himself on the power of connection in relationships through influence and communication. Courses: Leadership and Management Development (MSc Leadership and Human Resources) and Performance Management and Reward (MSc Strategic Business Management).Deepak Trivedi is a global executive in the sports industry and has held international responsibilities at high-profile events including Grand Slam tennis tournaments. He consults on important event aspects such as the fan experience, international marketing, volunteer engagement and diversity and inclusion. He has held leadership positions at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic games and currently holds a senior leadership position for the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo. Deepak prides himself on the power of connection in relationships through influence and communication. Courses: Leadership and Management Development (MSc Leadership and Human Resources) and Performance Management and Reward (MSc Strategic Business Management).

Eloise Capet has held different roles in leading French universities over the last 20 years. In her last position, she headed the Teaching and Learning Lab at Paris-Dauphine University where she improved learning experience by implementing learner-centric approaches for faculty, online or in classroom. She rolled out pedagogical innovations, like active learning, virtual coach, peer grading, to transition from passive lecture mode to interactive one. It included numerous collaborations with start-ups to drive these innovations.    Eloise Capet also ran the Executive Education department of the Communication School of the Sorbonne University. She extended the scope of partnership with global flagship companies, including BNP Paribas, Michelin, Orange, Renault, by delivering impactful tailored training programs. Eloise has a skillset in cross-cultural communication and used to be a lecturer at ESCP, Charles University at Prague, and Paris-Sorbonne University.

Prof. Dr. Sara Ravan Ramzani joined GISMA in October 2022. Sara has several years of experience as a principal lecturer, programme team leader and postgraduate director at international universities in Berlin, Malaysia and Singapore. Sara teaches on a variety of modules in the areas of management, business and accounting. She studied at University Putra Malaysia, where she received her PhD in Economics and Information Systems in 2015. Sara has published 89 papers to date and received the ‘Best Innovative Paper Award’ from the Sydney International Business Research Conference in 2018. She has published several articles on financial economics, monetary economics, marketing, HR and business management. Sara is also the Chief Executive Editor of the Journal of Development Economics, Horizon Journals from 2019 -2024. She has led and collaborated in various international research projects, notably from the United Nations, Measuring Up 2.0 (SDG 9 & SDG 16). Sara has supervised 24 Ph.D. students, primarily in the fields of project management, business, and finance. In her personal life, Sara is passionate about badminton, taking long walks, food and hiking around the Scottish Highlands.

Prof. Dr. Ralf Frank is a Professor of Organisational Transformation at GISMA. He started his professional career in Marketing and Business Development at Case International Harvester in 1992. He has been Managing Director and Secretary General of DVFA, German Society of Investment Professionals and a renowned training school for investors and financial analysts in Frankfurt, for more than 15 years. Dr. Frank has extensive experience in organisational transformation, sustainability and digitalisation. Dr. Frank received his Doctorate of Business Administration from Universität Hamburg. He holds an MBA from Sheffield Hallam University, and an MA in English, Communicational Sciences and Politics from Universität Essen. He is a trained Systemic Therapist & Consultant.