Thomas Kirchmaier, lecturer in strategy, Manchester Business School.
Advertised in The Times Higher , January 14, 2005
Thomas Kirchmaier took up his post at Manchester Business School after a two-year spell teaching strategy at the London School of Economics. But with his family still based in the capital, he regularly faces a long-distance journey. "The two-hour trip is really quite pleasant now that you can plug in your laptop and do some work," he said.
He studied economics in Germany as an undergraduate and then spent two years working in consultancy.
A PhD on mergers and corporate performance set the theme for the research interests he has pursued over the past three years. He continues to do consultancy work for companies.
"Corporate strategy as a discipline is in the process of renewing itself.
With the old strategy lectureships burnt out there is so much to do, and we need to underpin it with good data," he said.
"There are big questions linked with globalisation and what is happening with information technology. What does corporate structure look like in this new environment and how should companies migrate into it?"
At Manchester, Dr Kirchmaier will combine traditional lectures with classroom simulations. "I like to use simulation games as a teaching aid.
Small groups of people play out roles such as the CEO of a firm and have to decide where to merge, when to sell, how to build storage and make money," he said.
He is due to publish a book on corporate governance in October, with Sir Geoffrey Owen, and he is in the process of interviewing company chairmen for it.