Newsletter Fall 2009 - Munich Business School

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10 Skateboards for Afghanistan Social involvement is also very important at Titus. The foundation Skate Aid supports national and international projects which carry out humanitarian projects for children and young people via skateboards. The means to this end are fund-raising events for individual projects, the collection and pass-ing on of skateboards and accessories free of charge, the bundling and utilization of know-how, manpower, and contacts in the skateboard world, as well as pub-licity and the providing of information. Two tons of skateboards and clothing were collected recently for setting up a skateboard school in Kabul. Ups and Downs of a Company The successful entrepreneur and skateboard pioneer Titus Dittmann visits MBS In April, the entrepreneur and skateboard pioneer Titus Dittmann visited the MBS together with his son Julius. In the context of the lecture series 'Family businesses and corporate succession' and in cooperation with the student initiative U2B e.V., they talked about the varied history of their company, social involvement, and questions of succession. Titus and Julius Dittmann A teacher becomes a skateboard entrepreneur In 1980, the secondary school teacher Titus Dittmann discovers skateboarding – until then unknown in Germany – and introduces it into physical education. For this purpose, he imports cheap skateboards from the USA. In 1984, he quits his teaching job and starts importing skateboards full-time together with his wife. By 1988, the company and the Titus brand have developed magnificently, there are no competitors to speak of, and the market share is at times 95%. But Titus has always wanted to be more than a mere trading company. It is also one of Titus' goals to build up and support the skateboarding scene. Part of the earnings therefore flows continuously into skate parks and social and youth work. This is also obvious on the company's website, which is at the same time online catalog and portal for all topics regarding skateboarding. It also serves to quiet the bad conscience plaguing the entrepreneur, who is making good money with his passion. Everything gambled away By 1998 the company has become large and difficult to manage. Former partners want to go public with his idea. Titus Dittmann wants to beat them to it and is already preparing an IPO. Investors get on board, an AG is founded, and retail sales through buy-ups rise from 70 to 90 million euros in 2000. In 2001 the bubble bursts and the IPO is canceled. The investors try to save what can be saved and Titus Dittmann and his wife lose the power in the company. Consultants develop recovery plans, banks send interim managers, but the crisis persists. The company that was once so accustomed to success is losing money. Anyone else would have given up At the end of 2006, the Dittmanns decide to stake all they have in order to get their company back. They buy back the company, take over operative management, and change the AG back into a GmbH. By now, Titus GmbH is once again making a profit. Julius Dittmann is just as passionate a skateboarder as his father and also an entrepreneur. He broke off his apprenticeship in his parents' company during the crisis and went into business for himself with a skateboard wholesale company. This company is now so successful that he was able to support the buy-back of Titus with a credit. Now father and son are preparing the succession of generations at Titus together. It was a given that Julius and Titus Dittmann didn't stand in front of the students wearing suits. They not only sell skateboards, fashion, and accessories, but they also live their style and their passion. The audience experienced living company history that can be copied, and after their lecture, Titus and Julius Dittmann were inundated with questions. We would like to give special thanks to U2B e.V. for organizing this exciting event.
“At McKinsey, I've Come Full Circle” MBS alumna Friederike Voswinckel recruits consultants in France and Singapore for global service in reputable strategy consulting Personnel and marketing – these have always been the two departments which interested Friederike Voswinckel the most. And these were also the focal points she selected for her business administration studies when she enrolled, back then still with her maiden name Friederike Koch, at Munich Business School after finishing her hotel management training at Steigenberger in 2000. It was a very deliberate decision. “I wanted a compact course of studies and not lose any time. I wanted to gain experience abroad and learn foreign languages. And I also didn't want to lose touch with work in real life while studying.” The course of studies fulfilled these expectations. Friederike successfully completed internships for Volkswagen in Mexico and for Escada in New York, and in addition to her English, she also perfected her Spanish and French skills. She chose a personnel topic for her degree dissertation: At Infineon, she dealt with the question of how one could motivate employees for service abroad. Unfortunately, she could not be taken on, since Infineon had to implement drastic job reductions at that time. With her career entry, Friederike Voswinckel's focus shifted from one area of interest to the other. As Channel Representative, she supervised from the start international markets for the software company Sybari. “The international experiences and knowledge skills I was able to gain at MBS paid off right at the beginning of my career,” says Friederike Voswinckel. When Sybari was taken over by Microsoft, all employees worldwide were given notice. Friederike changed to the communication and consulting firm PACT, where her areas of responsibility were marketing and sales topics, for example with projects for sales increases of mobile telecommunications products on the German market. “I did this for two years and liked it – but at some point I started to miss the personnel aspect. I wanted to work directly with people again.” Then came the job advertisement from McKinsey. Friederike Voswinckel applied and mastered the multi-stage selection process – here, too, her international experience and command of several foreign languages were an advantage. Since then she has been looking for consultants for global service in strategy consulting – not only for Germany, though, but for offices around the world. “Together with Harvard, INSEAD is the most important international recruiting source – and I am looking both in Fontainebleau and on the INSEAD campus in Singapore for MBA graduates who are suited for working at McKinsey.” Exciting work, in the opinion of the MBS alumna. “Every day I deal with highly-qualified and motivated people who exude optimism and want to achieve something. And since the recruiting process includes both marketing and personnel aspects, I can fully enjoy both passions – in a way, at McKinsey, I've come full circle.” 11 MBA Program Starts With Record Enrollment In March 2009, the new class of the part-time MBA program General Management started with 24 students. This significant increase compared with the previous year's start shows that the program is more interesting and valuable for companies than ever before. MBS has already reacted to the increased demand: The next course of studies starts already in September. MBA Team Cooking Event 2009 In order to make the entry into the MBA program easier for the students, MBS invited them to a team cooking at the Eisenherz culinary school in Seefeld castle. While preparing the ingredients and cooking, the participants soon got to know each other and the evening was concluded with the culinary pleasure of a selfprepared four-course meal at festively set tables. Whether it was due to the quality of the dinner or the fun of getting to know their fellow students, the participants were delighted and gave heartfelt thanks to the organizers for a successful start to the MBA program.
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Newsletter Fall 2009 - Munich Business School

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