Looking Back on Nine Years WU Executive Academy with Barbara Stöttinger

On Barbara Stöttinger’s first day in office as Dean of the WU Executive Academy in fall 2015, the world was a completely different place. The relevant topics were more obvious, the challenges managers typically faced were more predictable, and the conditions in which management and leadership had to be realized were less precarious. “Today’s BANI world is characterized by permacrisis, shifts in the global order, and a rise in complexity,” Barbara Stöttinger finds. “Managing people has always been demanding, but never in such a multi-faceted way as these days.”

Barbara Stöttinger Shapes the WU Executive Academy: Responsible Leadership as a Central Tenet

Promoting responsible leadership in the WU Executive Academy’s programs, as well as practicing this kind of leadership herself has always been imperative to Barbara Stöttinger. For her, it is about “a sound grasp of both the direct and indirect consequences of my decisions as a manager. It’s about how these decisions impact my own team, the organization, and society when it comes to social and ecological challenges, i.e., anything revolving around sustainability or ESG topics,” she specifies.

From Vision to Practice: Responsible Leadership in Focus

This mindset has helped Barbara Stöttinger shape the WU Executive Academy into one of the leading business schools in Europe on the international educational landscape. “The most recent AMBA re-accreditation emphasized our responsible leadership focus”, Barbara Stöttinger says. Issues related to sustainability and purpose-oriented leadership for the benefit of both people and the planet (purpose, people, planet) can be found across all curricula of degree programs and courses. But it was not always easy to convey this holistic perspective to the students.

“At first, some students said, ‘What kind of nonsense is that; nobody needs that.’ But we never got tired of emphasizing that responsible and sustainable leadership and management will not merely be nice-to-haves in the future but essential if you want to stay on top of the competition for the sharpest minds, build a better society, and find a more sustainable way of living on our planet.”

Community at the Heart of All Things at the WU Executive Academy

In addition to subject-specific matters, Barbara Stöttinger was also invested in creating a strong student and alumni community. She herself forged strong bonds with students and graduates and tended to her networks. Asked about what she considers her biggest achievements, she does not point to the WU Executive Academy’s numerous internationally renowned accreditations and top rankings, the many new programs, or any of the other things she accomplished together with her team and would have every right to be proud of. What she cares about most is what she was able to do for the community of students and alumni.

“Having built this community is what’s perhaps going to have the most lasting and strongest impact. It is so incredibly valuable to be part of an international network of like-minded people who have been on the same learning journey and to be able to trust and confide in them throughout your entire professional life. We have supported this network through many initiatives in the past years. There’s, for instance, the Peer Mentoring Program, which gets alumni from various programs together to share their views on a wide range of questions. Participants’ feedback has been great; they tell us they are gaining such valuable experiences.”

Events and Networks: A Look at Alumni Initiatives

The Homecoming Days are another initiative that shows how important our community is to us. “Alumni from all over the world come together to connect and rekindle friendships many years after graduating from their programs. The Hub Reunions, which are regularly held in more than 15 locations by now, are also a testament to how close-knit the community has become.”

Then there’s the Female Leaders Network: “Studies have shown that female managers need two kinds of networks to discuss what’s on their mind: mixed and female-only networks. The synergetic power of the networks’ female leaders has given rise to many outstanding initiatives for the community: from the Female Power Hour during the pandemic to panel discussions and the Female Leaders Breakfast. What was key in all these initiatives was to keep them open and not insist on making them ‘female only’ in fact, very few events were limited to women. In the end, diversity and a multitude of perspectives will always trump homogeneity and a single view,” Barbara Stöttinger says.

Together through the Difficult Times of the Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic was also a turning point for the WU Executive Academy: on March 12, 2020, the Austrian government issued a directive requiring all companies to fully switch to remote work starting on March 15.

“I had never had to deal with anything like that in my career. In no way were we prepared to move online and handle everything in the digital sphere at such short notice. I was so impressed to see how well the WU EA management team collaborated and also at the resilience of the entire WU EA team. It showed us once again how important good relationships are: all of our lecturers helped us through this challenging time. Nobody quit when it got difficult. Managing this drastic shift so quickly was only possible because of our team’s close cooperation,” the Dean shares.

The End of an Era: Farewell to the WU Executive Academy

Having accumulated many impressive achievements as Dean, Barbara Stöttinger leaves the WU Executive Academy with deep gratitude and a sense of contentment. “Any success is a team effort,” she emphasizes. Barbara Stöttinger plans to continue to focus on promoting a community characterized by mutual appreciation, whose members know the value of sharing experiences and supporting each other in an increasingly polarized and complex world.

New Challenges Await Barbara Stöttinger at HEC Paris

In October 2024, Barbara Stöttinger will move to her favorite city to serve as a marketing professor and Dean of Executive Education at HEC Paris. “It’s a tremendous and exciting challenge, considering that the FT ranking places HEC Paris as the world’s No. 1 in this field,” she says. What is she going to miss about Vienna?

“The many committed colleagues, students, and alumni with whom I had the honor to work together; an ‘Einspänner’ coffee at Julius Meinl on Vienna’s Graben on an early Saturday morning. Such a luxury, which I always enjoyed with a sense of gratitude for having been born and able to live at this exact place in the world. But I am sure there will be a similar treat and view to be found in Paris: I have already begun with my research,” Barbara Stöttinger says with a smile.

We, the entire team of the WU Executive Academy, are very grateful for the many wonderful years we worked together and wish Barbara Stöttinger the best of luck for her future!

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