Dr. oec. HSG Albena Björck

Dr. oec. HSG Albena Björck

Dr. oec. HSG Albena Björck

ZHAW School of Management and Law
International Management Institute
Theaterstrasse 17
8400 Winterthur

+41 (0) 58 934 49 32
albena.bjorck@zhaw.ch

Work at ZHAW

Position

  • Senior Lecturer and Researcher
  • Dr. Albena Björck is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher. She is the leading lecturer in the flagship program, MSc International Business (Financial Times Top 50). Her research focus lies in the context of corporate purpose and global purpose-driven organizations and the domains of strategic management, change, foresight and longevity. Albena’s interest lies also in interdisciplinary research and teaching. She is affiliated with Stanford University Center for Design Research and holds a PhD from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) in Strategic Management. In recent years, she is developing strategic corporate-academia collaborations with leading multinational companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Logitech, Clariant, ASMPT, Deloitte etc. for education and research projects.
  • Albena has teaching experience in all university levels - bachelor, master, executive (MBA, MAS BA, CAS) as well as corporate custom education. She has supervised more than 130 theses. 2020 she, as a member of the MSc International Business faculty, was awarded the Best Teaching Award of the ZHAW School of Management and Law.
  • Björck has a wide professional and academic network. 2021 she was elected as member of the management team, and from 2024 as a Chair of SIG “Strategic Management” at the European Academy of Management and manages her own track “Purpose-driven Strategies”. Since 2022 is she Expert of the Swiss Innovation Agency – InnoSuisse. She is Board Member of the initiatives Go Circular in Life Sciences. Since 2023 is she founding and board member-at-large of the International Crisis and Risk Communication Association, based in the US.
  • Prior to Academia, Dr. Björck spent around twenty years in international business practice. Half of the period she has spent in Senior Leadership in the Swiss financial industry. She has a track record of establishing and managing successful organizational functions in a dynamic and demanding environment. Furthermore, she has unique experience and direct management involvement in fast-paced corporate branding, transformational and crisis management, and communications. In the last ten years, Dr. Björck is a consultant and executive coach for more then 500 start-ups, established organizations and governmental agencies.
  • Head of Corporate Education (2015-2018) : Development and project management of corporate universities and other customized executive programs. Full responsibility for the acquisition, set-up, and delivery of two custom corporate programs targeting C-level and high potentials for a leading multinational steel manufacturer (Budget ca. 500K). Coaching and advisory in international skills development and organizational learning. Didactic design of organizational topics, leadership and transformational skills and simulation games.

Teaching

  • MSc International Business
  • Master of Business Administration
  • MAS Business Administration

Professional development teaching

Experience

  • Management consulting, independent advisory, and sounding board to executive management and board of directors, focusing on: strategic communication, branding, change and crisis management and communications, marketing management. Industries of current focus: education, financial industry, healthcare, telecommunication, retailtech.
    diverse
    2013 - today
  • Lecturer and Executive Coach: Strategic Change, Employee Engagement and Crisis Communication
    MAZ, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
    2013 - 2013
  • National and International Media Relations for President of the Swiss Private Bankers Association & Chair of the Board of the NZZ Media Group.
    diverse
    2008 - 2013
  • Leiterin Kommunikation und Medienbeauftragte während der gerichtlichen Auseinandersetzung und des Vergleichs mit den US-Behörden - Leiterin Corporate Communications (inkl. Gründung, Verkauf an Raiffeisen Schweiz und Positionierung der Notenstein Privatbank) - Leiterin Marketing & Corporate Identity & Quality Management
    Wegelin & Co. Private Bankers
    2000 - 2013
  • Research Associate and associated PhD-candidate
    University of St. Gallen, Institute for Marketing & Retail Management,
    2000 - 2006

Education and Continuing education

Education

  • Design Thinking & Creativity for Business / Design Thinking, Innovation processes
    INSEAD
    2020 - 2020
  • CAS Higher and Professional Education / Didactics
    ZHAW School of Management and Law
    2015 - 2016
  • Dr. oec. HSG (Strategic Management) / Strategic Management
    University of St. Gallen (HSG
    09 / 2000 - 09 / 2006
  • Studies of Business Administration, Strategic and Marketing Management. / Strategic and Marketing Management (BWL)
    University of St. Gallen (HSG)
    09 / 1999 - 09 / 2000
  • MSc International Relations - Studies of Economy and Diplomacy. / International Relations
    University of National and World Economy, Sofia/Bulgaria:
    09 / 1993 - 09 / 1997

Network

Membership of networks

ORCID digital identifier

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8408-3808

Awards

  • Best Paper Award Strategic Management General Track
    SIG Strategic Management European Academy of Management
    06 / 2024
  • Best Paper SIG Strategic Management General Track
    European Academy of Management
    06 / 2022
  • 3rd place for Best Conference Paper
    International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference
    03 / 2021
  • Best Teaching Award MSc International Business (FT Ranked)
    ZHAW School of Management and Law
    10 / 2020
  • 2nd Place for Best Conference Paper
    International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference
    03 / 2020

Social media

www.linkedin.com/in/dr-oec-hsg-albena-bjorck

Media presence

Projects

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