HWZ realigns department and bundles executive education
The HWZ School of Business Zurich is sharpening the profile of its Department of Management & Leadership. From May 2026, the department will be called Strategic Management & Leadership and will be headed by Dr. Frithjof Müller. At the same time, the HWZ is strengthening its Executive Education and will bundle it independently in future.
With the realignment of the former Department of Management & Leadership, the HWZ is further developing its profile. Under the new name Strategic Management & Leadership, existing programs will be sharpened and new formats will be developed. The move represents a clear shift in content - from management to strategic leadership, according to the HWZ. Today, strategic foresight is required instead of purely operational management, it continues. The combination of strategy and leadership as well as the strengthening of strategic decision-making skills will take center stage.
New Head of the Department of Strategic Management & Leadership
Dr Frithjof Müller, a leader with proven expertise in strategic management and organizational development, will take over as head of the newly named department from May 2026. He brings with him many years of experience in teaching, research and practice and will further develop the department's profile. Among other things, he has been a lecturer at the ZHAW School of Management and Law since 2015 and has taught at Bachelor's, Master's and executive level on topics including leadership and human capital management. His research and consulting activities focus on strategic leadership, organizational development, transformation and leadership in a wide variety of ecosystems - from start-ups to established large companies.
The new head of department is looking forward to his new role: «Today, leadership means more than just operational management. It requires strategic foresight and clear long-term positioning. It is precisely this combination of strategy and leadership that we want to further strengthen in the Strategic Management & Leadership department and expand with a view to the future.»
Executive education is bundled
As part of the realignment, the HWZ is bundling its Executive Education into an independent division, which will now be structurally established and clearly responsible. Peter Statz, Deputy Rector and former Head of the Department of Management & Leadership, and Dr. Meike Wiemann-Hügler as Deputy Head will take over the management. With this step, the HWZ is positioning itself as the first university of applied sciences in Switzerland with an independently managed Executive School. While corresponding structures are already established at Swiss universities, the HWZ is thus creating new organizational clarity within the UAS landscape. The aim of this new area is to strategically develop experienced and prospective managers with entrepreneurial responsibility and to transfer academic excellence into corporate management practice.
Source: HWZ
