As of 1 April 2026, Prof. Dr rer. pol. Dipl.-Wirtschaftsingenieur Henning Werner will assume the position of Rector of EBS Universität, completing the leadership team alongside EBS President Günther H. Oettinger and Managing Director Dr Dorothée Hofer. Prof. Dr Werner will bear overall academic responsibility for research and teaching. In addition, he will lead the strategic development and further profiling of the university.

Return of an experienced academic leader

Prof. Dr Werner was selected following a multi-stage process. Upon recommendation by the search committee, the University Council made the appointment, which was subsequently confirmed by the Senate of EBS Universität. The term of office is six years.

Prof. Dr Werner is no stranger to EBS Universität: from June 2020 to May 2021, he served as Chair of the Presidential Council, leading the university’s academic affairs together with the council during a key transitional period. During this time, he was involved in setting important strategic directions for the university’s future development.

“EBS Universität stands for academic excellence, responsibility and an entrepreneurial mindset. I would like to contribute to educating leaders who are able to succeed and provide orientation in an increasingly dynamic environment. Together with students, staff, alumni and partners, as well as SRH as the sponsoring organisation, I aim to continue, consolidate and further develop the successful progress of recent years and to position EBS strongly for the future,” says Prof. Dr Henning Werner.

“With Prof. Dr Henning Werner, EBS Universität is gaining an accomplished academic leader with extensive experience in academic governance and institutional development. He combines academic excellence with strategic thinking and has a deep understanding of both the challenges and the strengths of EBS. I look forward to working with him and to continuing the successful development of the university together,” says Günther H. Oettinger, President of EBS Universität.

“Prof. Dr Henning Werner brings academic excellence, extensive leadership experience and a deep understanding of the strategic challenges facing modern universities. He stands for responsibility, stability and further development. I am convinced that he will sustainably strengthen the successful development of EBS Universität and I look forward to working with him,” says Patrick Mombaur, member of the Management Board of SRH, the majority shareholder of EBS Universität.

About Prof. Dr Henning Werner

Prof. Dr Henning Werner brings significant experience both as an entrepreneur and as an academic within the education and healthcare group SRH, of which EBS Universität is part. He is currently Professor of Transformation, Restructuring and Turnaround Management at the School of Business and Law at SRH University in Heidelberg and Director of the IfUS Institute based there. The institute offers continuing education programmes for professionals in transformation and restructuring and promotes knowledge transfer between academia and practice. With Prof. Dr Werner’s move, the IfUS Institute will also be relocated to EBS Universität.

Werner is editor of the standard reference work Modernes Sanierungsmanagement (Vahlen Verlag) and author of numerous publications on transformation, restructuring and turnaround management. He is a member of the advisory board of the restructuring division of the BDU – the German Association of Management Consultants, a member of the Turnaround Management Association Germany, and editor of KSI – Journal for Crisis Prevention, Restructuring Advisory and Insolvency Management.

For more than 16 years, Prof. Dr Werner served as Dean of the School of Business and Law at SRH University (until 2024 known as the Faculty of Business at SRH Hochschule Heidelberg). He was also a member of the Accreditation Committee of the German Science Council for over ten years. Prior to his academic career, he held positions including Chief Financial Officer of a technology company and member of the executive management team of a first-tier automotive supplier.