Tom Rüsen

Prof Dr Tom A. Rüsen is a board member of the non-profit WIFU Foundation, which provides funding for the Witten Institute for Family Businesses (WIFU) at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Society at Witten/Herdecke University.

At the same time, he researches and teaches on core issues of family entrepreneurship and family business governance models that create "grandchildren ability" as part of his honourary professorship at WIFU.

Until 2024, he headed the Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU) at Witten/Herdecke University for 16 years. In addition to being a Visiting Professor at the University of Lucerne, he is active on various supervisory and advisory boards of family businesses, business families and non for profit foundations. He is also a member of the board of the International Family Business Research Academy (IFERA).

His research, teaching and publications focus on analysing conflict and crisis dynamics in families and family businesses and developing practical solutions for the development of longevity and resilience structures within business families.

As part of his coaching and counselling activities, he supports succession processes, conflict and crisis situations, the development of family strategies and family-internal (self-)management systems. He also designs and teaches in open and in-house programmes for the development of shareholder competence in business families.
 

Focal points:

• Succession in family businesses
• Family business governance
• Crisis and conflict dynamics
• Family strategy development and shareholder competence development
• Mental health in business families
• Long-lasting family entrepreneurship in Japan

2008 - 2024 
Managing Director of the Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU)

Since 2014 
Honorary Professor at WIFU, Faculty of Management, Economics and Society

2014 - 2025 
Director of the continuing education programme "ownership competence" at Witten/Herdecke University

• Fundamentals of family entrepreneurship (Bachelor course: "Understanding family businesses")
• Crises and crisis management in family businesses (Master's course: "Restructuring and reorganisation of family businesses")

• Challenges of family businesses (Stufu course: "Between emotion and business")

   

• All issues relating to family entrepreneurship, in particular succession
• Crisis and conflict dynamics
• Family business governance
• Supervisory and control bodies