IFPM - Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management - University of St.Gallen

What IFPM - Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management - University of St.Gallen does

IFPM (Institut für Führung und Personalmanagement) is an academic research institute within the University of St.Gallen (HSG), founded in 1998 by Prof. em. Dr. Rolf Wunderer and directed since 2001 by Prof. Dr. Heike Bruch. The institute operates as a non-commercial academic unit on the HSG campus at Dufourstrasse 40a, St.Gallen, with a core team of approximately 12 people including faculty, research associates, and administrative staff. Its mission is the interdisciplinary study of leadership, organizational energy, healthy high performance, New Work, and human resource management, producing peer-reviewed research, longitudinal trend studies, and applied frameworks for executive practice.

Name

IFPM - Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management - University of St.Gallen

Legal name

Institut für Führung und Personalmanagement IFPM-HSG (Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management)

Website

https://ifpm.unisg.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Academic research institute at the University of St.Gallen specializing in leadership and human resource management, offering executive education certificates, longitudinal DACH trend studies, and practice cooperations with major enterprise partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

St.Gallen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Executive Education Programs: Certificate programs (CAS St.Galler Leadership-Zertifikat, CAS St.Galler Leadership & Transformation Zertifikat, DAS Excellence in General Management) and seminars generating tuition-based revenue from participants
2. Research Studies and Reports: Trend-Barometer studies and youth studies sold or distributed to companies and organizations (People Management 2035 with PwC, Trend studies with zeag GmbH)

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IFPM-HSG is an academic institute within the University of St.Gallen that delivers executive education certificate programs (CAS, DAS) and seminars on leadership and HR management, conducts proprietary research published as Trend-Barometer and Youth Studies, and operates corporate practice cooperation programs such as the Pioneering consortium, Top Job employer attractiveness award, and St.Galler Leadership Award.

Product overview

IFPM is an academic institute at the University of St.Gallen offering a portfolio of executive education programs (including CAS/DAS certificates and seminars), research publications (Trend-Barometer studies, Youth Study), and practice cooperation initiatives (Pioneering consortium, Top Job award, Leadership Award). The executive education offerings include leadership certificates (St.Galler Leadership-Zertifikat, St.Galler Leadership & Transformation Zertifikat), seminars focused on AI and leadership transformation (KI – Leadership Impact & Transformation), energy-based leadership (Führung mit Energie und Fokus), and the flagship annual St.Galler Leadership-Tag mit Nacht event. Research activities produce trend studies and employer attractiveness research. The practice cooperations connect academic research with corporate practice through the Pioneering consortium of partner companies and the Top Job employer award program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pioneering: Corporate consortium focused on 'Creating a Humanized New World of Work' - a practice cooperation network with partner companies including Porsche SE, Mobiliar, Hilti Group, Swiss International Air Lines, and others to develop leadership concepts for the future of work.
• Top Job
• St.Galler Leadership Award
• St.Galler Leadership-Zertifikat (CAS)
• St.Galler Leadership & Transformation Zertifikat (CAS)
• Excellence in General Management (DAS)

Products and services

• St.Galler Leadership-Zertifikat CAS Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) program providing foundational leadership competencies based on St.Gallen management principles for mid-career and senior managers.
• St.Galler Leadership & Transformation Zertifikat CAS Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) program focusing on leadership transformation and change management in organizational contexts.
• Excellence in General Management DAS HSG Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) program providing comprehensive general management education.
• KI – Leadership Impact & Transformation Seminar Compact seminar exploring AI disruption's impact on organizations, future jobs, and requirements for empathetic, value-oriented leadership in the digital age.
• Führung mit Energie und Fokus / Leading with Energy and Focus Seminar focused on organizational energy and effective leadership approaches, covering transactional and transformational leadership principles.
• Leadership für neue Führungskräfte Program designed for newly appointed leaders to develop essential leadership and HR management skills.
• St.Galler Leadership-Tag mit Nacht Annual flagship event featuring keynotes and workshops on leadership topics, culminating in the St.Gallen Leadership Award ceremony.
• Pioneering Corporate Consortium Corporate consortium bringing together leading companies to collaboratively develop leadership concepts for a humanized future of work through bilateral research projects and exchange events.
• Trend-Barometer: People Management 2035 Comprehensive research study on the future of HR work examining AI, cultural transformation, and strategic gaps in people management across Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, developed in cooperation with PwC.
• St.Gallen Youth Study 2025 Research study investigating how Generation Z works, thinks, and feels, based on written survey of 3,000 Swiss individuals aged 16-65 and 20 qualitative interviews.
• Trend Study 2024 (Success Factor Sustainability) Study on ecological and social responsibility in companies, examining sustainable leadership and diversity climate impacts on employee satisfaction and corporate success, developed with zeag GmbH.

Quantifiable outcome

• Studied decline in New Work elements between 2022-2025 affecting organizational culture
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Frauke von PoliercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Chief People Officer and member of Executive Board of Viessmann Generations Group. Appointed to IFPM Advisory Board bringing People & Culture expertise. Named CHRO of the Year 2022 by HR magazine.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2025Cooperation on the 'Trend-Barometer: People Management 2035' study examining HR transformation in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. PwC co-author Till R. Lohmann contributed to research on AI implementation and strategic HR gaps. Study based on survey of 256 HR experts.
• Martin SeilercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Board Member for Human Resources and Legal Affairs at Deutsche Bahn AG. Joined IFPM Advisory Board 2025 bringing expertise in large-scale HR transformation.
• Center for Employer Attractiveness (zeag GmbH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 September 2024Annual cooperation on TOP JOB Trend Study examining employer attractiveness, sustainability, and diversity in organizations. Joint research on ecological and social responsibility factors in companies.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Personalführung (DGFP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Long-standing cooperation on People Management studies: People Management 2025 (155 HR experts), Trend-Barometer People Management 2030 (315 HR experts), and subsequent studies.
• Viessmann Generations GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021New Pioneering partner contributing Gen AI Enablement approaches and AI-based Leadership Assessments. Frauke von Polier (CPO) joined IFPM Advisory Board October 2025.
• Porsche SEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Pioneering consortium partner since 2016. Collaboration on Future Leadership and Work research. Hosted Pioneering Exchange 2025 at Stuttgart Zuffenhausen. Focus on challenges in leadership during transformation and charismatic leadership.
• Hilti GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Pioneering consortium partner contributing insights on Culture Journey spanning nearly three decades. Research collaboration on resilience and high performance during pandemic.
• MobiliarcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Pioneering consortium partner collaborating on Future Leadership and Work initiatives.
• Swiss International Air LinescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Pioneering consortium partner working on New Way of Working transformation. Hosted Pioneering Exchange 2021. Focus on sustainable high performance balancing performance and wellbeing.
• Franke GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Pioneering consortium partner with representation on IFPM Advisory Board (Beat Sigrist, Chief HR Officer). Contributions to leadership transformation seminars.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hult Ashridge Executive Education: Leadership-focused executive education provider with a strong research and consulting heritage (Ashridge). Comparable to IFPM in combining thought leadership research with executive leadership development programs.
• London Business School Executive Education: Premium European business school with leadership-focused executive education and research outputs. Comparable to IFPM in combining research-based content with executive certificate programs targeting senior leaders.
• ESMT Berlin: German-based business school with leadership and management executive education programs. Comparable to IFPM in targeting DACH executives with research-backed leadership development offerings.
• INSEAD Executive Education: Global business school with a substantial leadership and organizational behaviour executive education portfolio. Comparable to IFPM as a high-end provider of research-backed leadership programs to senior executives.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): US-based non-profit focused exclusively on leadership research, assessment, and executive education. Comparable to IFPM in combining proprietary leadership research with executive program delivery to corporate clients.
• WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management: Top-ranked German business school offering executive education programs including leadership and transformation tracks. Comparable to IFPM in serving DACH executives with certificate-level leadership programs.
• Mannheim Business School: German executive education provider affiliated with the University of Mannheim. Comparable to IFPM as a university-affiliated provider of leadership and management executive programs in the DACH market.
• IMD Business School: Swiss-based business school with a strong executive education portfolio in leadership and organizational development. Closely comparable to IFPM as a premium Swiss executive education brand serving DACH and global senior executives with leadership programs.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte Human Capital: Global consulting practice focused on workforce, leadership, and organizational transformation. Comparable to IFPM in addressing leadership and HR transformation topics, though delivered as part of a much broader professional services portfolio.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with significant leadership development and HR advisory practices. Comparable to IFPM's advisory and leadership research themes but at much larger scale and as part of a broader talent consulting portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ifpm-unisg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IFPM - Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management - University of St.Gallen