New at HNU: Prof. Dr. Claudia Fritz

After graduating from high school, I decided to go abroad and completed my Bachelor in International Business Administration at RSM, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and my Master in International Business at HEC Paris. With a keen interest in leadership, I did my PhD in this field at the Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM) at Erasmus University and also published. I started my professional career as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company and worked on numerous international strategy and organizational projects. Topics included the adaptation of international organizational structures and the establishment of new organizational units, the introduction of balanced score card logics as management, performance assessment and compensation tools as well as international organizational transformations, accompanied by effective change management. I then joined the fashion company ESACADA as Strategy & Business Development Manager and drove the company's international development. Since February 2025, I have been part of the HNU team as Professor of Business Administration, in particular Human Resource Management and Organization.

As part of my research, I deal with the question of how the organizational environment (such as the organizational climate or the behaviour of managers) influences the leadership ambition of employees. As part of my teaching, I try to get students excited about the exciting range of topics in the areas of organization and HR management and also focus on current topics such as agile organizations or digital and sustainable HRM.

Three reasons were decisive for me. (1) Meaningfulness: A professorship offers the opportunity to accompany young people on their professional path, to prepare them for the challenges of their career and to inspire them for the extremely important topics of personnel management and organization and thus, as well as through applied research, to make a positive contribution to society. (2) I enjoy imparting knowledge: Even during my career in business, I always really enjoyed formats in which I was able to impart knowledge or develop it together with other people (e.g. as part of strategy workshops or leading training measures for colleagues). What I enjoyed most were the interactive courses and the exchange with students as part of my previous teaching assignments. (3) Variety and self-determination: I am also very motivated by the fact that being a professor offers a lot of variety and self-determination. As a professor, you can set your own priorities in teaching and research and also take on exciting tasks in self-administration.

In my courses, I want to get students excited about the wide range of topics within the fields of organization and HR management. My aim is not only to discuss important theories together using practical examples, but also to provide students with “tools of the trade”, such as dos and don'ts for going through their own application and HR processes or practical tools for the good functioning of teams and their own work in organizations as employees and later as managers.

Apart from the complete closure of the highway before my very first lecture at HNU, which almost made me late for my first day (luckily not!), the first days and weeks at HNU were very inspiring and positive. I really enjoy the interactive teaching with the students and I also feel very welcome by my colleagues at HNU. Many thanks at this point!

HNU is a very successful and constantly growing university that can look back on a thirty-year success story. For me, it was very exciting to accept a professorship at a business school in order to be able to examine practical topics in depth with the students. In addition, I think that it is currently a particularly dynamic time at HNU due to the right to award doctorates, new transfer centers and new degree programs, among other things. I also really appreciate the fact that HNU is a family university with an appreciative culture and a very strong team spirit.

I enjoy spending time with my children and my husband, skiing in the Tyrolean mountains in winter and at the Bavarian lakes in summer. I have also enjoyed traveling since my school and university days (previously with a backpack and round-the-world ticket) to discover new countries and cultures.