International Business

Prof. Ralf Hafner, PhD

Area of expertise:  Corporate Finance, Business Valuation, Mergers & Acquisitions, Management Accounting
Thematic Track: 
International Business

Ralf Hafner graduated from Universität zu Köln – University of Cologne where he was also awarded his PhD in Business Administration in 1988. From 1989, he worked as a Corporate Finance/M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) adviser and held management positions at several banks and consulting companies. In 2012, Dr. Hafner returned to academia and became a professor at HTW Berlin one year later. He teaches Finance and Accounting in our International Business programmes, both at the Bachelor’s and the Master’s level.
Contact details in staff directory

Prof. Michael Jaensch, PhD

Area of expertise:  Contract Law, Company Law, European Law, International Private Law
Thematic Track:  International Business

Having studied Law at Universität Passau and King’s College London, Michael Jaensch was awarded his PhD by the Universität Bonn. Prior to his professorship at HTW Berlin in 2001, he was legal counsel in renowned law firms in Berlin, New York and Düsseldorf practicing in the field of merger and acquisition. Apart from his main role as a professor in Business Law focusing on Comparative Contract Law in the HORIZON programme, Dr. Jaensch also serves as the primary link between the Business School, the University Board and the International Office in all matters concerning the international exchange at HTW Berlin. He teaches abroad on a regular basis, e.g. at partner universities in Belgium, Finland and Vietnam.
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Prof. Martin Klaffke, PhD

Area of expertise:  Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Strategy and Corporate Management
Thematic Track:
  International Business

Martin Klaffke studied European Business and Industrial Psychology at Universität Bamberg and holds a PhD in Economics. He started his career in top management consulting and has worked for several leading edge consulting companies for almost a decade, for example for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Dr. Klaffke is a visiting scholar at the University of Sydney. He has conducted research at University of California, Berkeley and has taught in graduate and executive management programmes of various top European Business Schools, such as HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management and Universität St. Gallen. At HTW Berlin he teaches in his field both at the Bachelor’s and the Master’s level.
➜ Contact details in staff directory

Prof. Tilo Wendler, PhD

Area of expertise:  Data Science, Statistics, Business Mathematics, IT-Based Data Management
Thematic Track:  International Business

Tilo Wendler is the Programme Director of International Business and Vice-Dean of the Business School at HTW Berlin. He studied Mathematics, Physics and information Technology and was awarded his PhD by the Universität Klagenfurt in Austria. Prior to his professorship in 2010 first at Technische Hochschule Wildau, since 2013 at HTW Berlin he was responsible for data analyses processes in the banking sector with specific focus on Rating Methodologies and Risk Management. Based on his expert knowledge in consolidating, managing and analysing data, Dr. Wendler provides the students with tested know-how in Quantitative Methods.
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Manuela Zappe, PhD

Area of expertise:  Communications, Conflict Management, Culture, Linguistics
Thematic Track:
  International Business (course is open for all tracks)

As a lecturer at HTW Berlin since 2009, Manuela Zappe focuses on intercultural communication. She has lived, worked and studied in the United States, Argentina, France, and Italy. With her dissertation on ethnic conflicts, she was awarded a PhD by the FU Berlin Freie Universität Berlin. Her research and professional work as a conflict manager led her to create an intercultural seminar programme for international and domestic students which enables the participants to develop a deeper understanding of cultural patterns and their own personal identities. Dr. Zappe's seminar includes excursions to places of special intercultural interest.
Contact details in staff directory