Head of the week: "Ten years ago I had no idea about brands".
Jürgen Häusler has taken over as CEO of the Interbrand Zintzmeyer & Lux Group
Jürgen Häusler has taken over as CEO of the Interbrand Zintzmeyer & Lux GroupHead of the week "Ten years ago, I had no idea about brands"
Jürgen Häusler could also be a university professor today - professionally, the 46-year-old is already in his second life. As CEO of Interbrand Zintzmeyer&Lux, he has been running the business of one of the most successful brand consulting agencies since the beginning of May. And this despite the fact that ten years ago he had no idea about corporate identity or branding, as Häusler emphasizes.
At that time, he was at the zenith of an academic career: After working at German universities, he worked as a social scientist at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne. The only thing missing to crown his career was a professorship. But Häusler began to have doubts as to whether this was really the dream position: "Academic life in Germany is very much tied to rope teams. It irritated me that relationships count more than actual work." This was compounded by a lack of professional satisfaction: "The last time I worked on a book at university was for four years," Häusler recalls, "and maybe 40 people read it."
A friend at Zintzmeyer&Lux was of a different opinion and persuaded him to switch to the private sector. Häusler took the plunge into the deep end and has never regretted it. He can also make connections to his academic knowledge. One of his areas of research was the consideration of companies as political entities in which conflicts and compromises take place, strategic coalitions are formed and hierarchies are undermined. "I have dealt with such processes on a theoretical level," explains Häusler, "much of which I now encounter in my professional life." He can incorporate this knowledge into his consulting work, which is also about understanding the customer properly. "My academic knowledge helps me more than much of what you learn in business administration," the social scientist is convinced.
His success proved him right: around three months after entering the world of brands, he was already managing the German office of Zintzmeyer&Lux in Bonn and took over Deutsche Telekom as his main client. Further branches were added in Munich and Hamburg, which he managed as Managing Director. Today, nobody would accuse him of having no idea about brands.
Häusler moved to Zurich when he became CEO of the entire Interbrand Zintzmeyer&Lux Group. However, he still spends half the week in Germany. He has already become accustomed to commuting as Managing Director of the German offices. "The only thing that has changed," says the CEO, "is the direction of travel." Bruno Amstutz
Jürgen Häusler could also be a university professor today - professionally, the 46-year-old is already in his second life. As CEO of Interbrand Zintzmeyer&Lux, he has been running the business of one of the most successful brand consulting agencies since the beginning of May. And this despite the fact that ten years ago he had no idea about corporate identity or branding, as Häusler emphasizes.
At that time, he was at the zenith of an academic career: After working at German universities, he worked as a social scientist at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne. The only thing missing to crown his career was a professorship. But Häusler began to have doubts as to whether this was really the dream position: "Academic life in Germany is very much tied to rope teams. It irritated me that relationships count more than actual work." This was compounded by a lack of professional satisfaction: "The last time I worked on a book at university was for four years," Häusler recalls, "and maybe 40 people read it."
A friend at Zintzmeyer&Lux was of a different opinion and persuaded him to switch to the private sector. Häusler took the plunge into the deep end and has never regretted it. He can also make connections to his academic knowledge. One of his areas of research was the consideration of companies as political entities in which conflicts and compromises take place, strategic coalitions are formed and hierarchies are undermined. "I have dealt with such processes on a theoretical level," explains Häusler, "much of which I now encounter in my professional life." He can incorporate this knowledge into his consulting work, which is also about understanding the customer properly. "My academic knowledge helps me more than much of what you learn in business administration," the social scientist is convinced.
His success proved him right: around three months after entering the world of brands, he was already managing the German office of Zintzmeyer&Lux in Bonn and took over Deutsche Telekom as his main client. Further branches were added in Munich and Hamburg, which he managed as Managing Director. Today, nobody would accuse him of having no idea about brands.
Häusler moved to Zurich when he became CEO of the entire Interbrand Zintzmeyer&Lux Group. However, he still spends half the week in Germany. He has already become accustomed to commuting as Managing Director of the German offices. "The only thing that has changed," says the CEO, "is the direction of travel." Bruno Amstutz
