Prof. Dr. Prof. h.c. Ralf Schellhase

Academic Director

Dr. Schellhase, Academic Director of the MBA program, is Professor of Marketing at h_da and Honorary Professor at XUPT, Xi ́an, China. He received his academic education at the University of Mannheim. His fields of expertise are international marketing, intercultural management and business ethics. He serves as a member of numerous editorial and executive boards. Dr. Schellhase has written the German edition of Kotlers‘ Principles of Marketing and has published over 40 articles in leading marketing journals. He has taught and presented around the globe for both academic audiences and management groups.

Dr. Thomas Sassmann

Using AI in Management - Opportunities and Challenges

Thomas Sassmann’s „profession and passion“ at Darmstadt Business School  is „Business Information Management/ Systems/ ERP“, „SAP“, „General Business Management“ and „Artificial Intelligence“. Before joining h_da, he completed his Ph.D. in the field of Computer Science and Business Administration („Business Intelligence for Investment Management Companies“) at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen and worked more than 25 years in leading positions for global technology companies in various industries – mainly in the financial and public sector. His main research interests are „Information Management“ and „Artificial Intelligence“.

Christian Camin

Strategy and Leadership

Mr. Camin received his academic education at Freie Universität Berlin. Having worked for more than 20years as Marketing-, Sales- and General Manager for national and international FMCG companies, he started in 2009 his own business as consultant and management trainer focusing on his key competencies: market-management and (re-) structuring of companies, departments and processes. In numerous challenges he has proven the ability to develop and execute successful business strategies. His lectures at h_da combine theoretical knowledge with practical and experiential learning activities.

MBA, M.Eng Gaurav Sinha

Cyber Security & Risk Management

Dr. Pritima Chainani-Barta

Diversity, Communication
and Negotiation

Pritima Chainani-Barta is a research associate in charge of cultural diversity at the Fulda University of Applied Sciences. Additionally, she works as a guest lecturer for international higher education institutions in Europe and Asia. She is a qualified professional intercultural coach and consultant accredited by the EMCC as a senior practioner. The focal point in her work and lectures is cultural diversity. Her expertise comes naturally to her due to her native Indian background. She completed her Ph.D in German language and literature from the University of Mumbai and gained working experience in India before she moved to Germany more than 20 years ago. Drawing from her longstanding experience as a corporate coach and consultant, she prepares her students in building professional skills to deal with the potential challenges of an increasingly dynamic and internationally diverse work culture. Learning outcomes of her seminars and lectures develop from students’ critical analysis of scientific theories and application of practical skills and professional competencies to interactive and experiential learning exercises.

B.Eng, PMP, MBA Evgenia Döring

Project Management

Ms. Döring completed her first degree in Business Administration and Engineering in Karlsruhe. During a one-year stay abroad in Belgium, she managed the implementation of an SAP module in a Financial Shared Service Center. After her return to Germany, she started her career as an auditor at Deloitte.
She continued her project work  in a collection agency as a project manager in the accounting department before she dedicated herself completely to project management. She passed her PMI project certification with above-average success in 2014 and managed the economic side of large projects, such as the warehouse construction for Amazon and Leclerc, at the headquarters of an interlogistics group for many years. She received her MBA with distinction from Darmstadt Business School. 

Prof. Dr. Gernot Schmitt-Gaedke

Global Responsibility

Dr. Gernot Schmitt-Gaedke studied law and international business law in Erlangen, Frankfurt und Parma. He earned a PhD for his research work on the history of Italian merchants’ law. As an IP lawyer Gernot represents medium-sized and large companies in matters of trademark, competition, patent, media, design and copyright law. In addition to teaching his students the theoretical basics, one of his main course objectives is to convey the skills required for effectively dealing with legal counsels in practice. His courses focus on case studies, on the basis of which the students develop concrete measures for solving the respective conflicts.

Prof. Dr. Omid Tafreschi

Digital Leadership

Omid Tafreschi is professor for Information Systems at Darmstadt Business School. Before joining h_da, he completed his Ph.D. in field of Computer Science at the Technische Universität Darmstadt and worked several years as a senior consultant and project manager in the IT industry developing innovations for international customers in the energy market. His main research interests are information management, software engineering and IT security.

Prof. Dr. Shyda Valizade-Funder

Creating Value by Marketing

Professor Shyda Valizade-Funder has earned her PhD at the University of Mainz (D) and the Columbia Business School, New York (USA). She specializes in Strategic Marketing, International Marketing Management, Market Research and Shopper Marketing. She is an experienced Marketer and is noted as a senior industry influencer with respect to brand management and strategic marketing.  She has spent more than 10 years of professional experience at companies such as Unilever, Coty Inc. or Nobilis Group where she held senior brand and sales management positions. Her research topics are Shopper Marketing, Consumer Trust, Luxury and New Technologies. Her lectures at h_da combine theoretical knowledge with case studies and practical learning activities.