The Export-Akademie Baden-Württemberg (EABW) was founded in 1983 by the State Government of Baden-Württemberg. Since 2008, it has been a private training, consultancy and research organisation, specialising in green technology transfer, global business development and digitisation. EABW provides training for executives in international business, builds international alliances for SDG-technology transfer and supports companies in developing new markets.
Together with partners world-wide, green projects are initiated and competence centers for green technology transfer and digitisation are established. In these initiatives, the EABW brings in its over 40 years’ experience for capacity building, including dual education programmes and establishing the SDG Technology Transfer University.
Methodological framework for consulting and leadership programs is the IMLead® Heptathlon concept for Integrated Management & Leadership. IMLead® brings together the different perspectives of green technology transfer and SDG management & leadership. We train project teams of our clients and partners in real project environments with job-integrated courses. A key educational programme is the course IMLead®TTP | Certified IMLead® Technology Transfer Professional.
To support green industrialization initiatives, “UNASTT United Alliance for Sustainable Technology Transfer” was launched by EABW in 2022. The core element of SDG technology transfer is the development of sustainable ecosystems, sustainable exploitation of raw materials and the development of local value chains.
Join our SDG Technology Transfer Alliance and be part of crafting a sustainable future, where collective action creates impact!
“Innovation in green technologies and digitisation are the key to successfully mastering the challenges of the future. With new green and digital technologies and a new management approach with our GreenIMLead® concept, new solutions and ways can be created to slow down climate change and to raise living standards in emerging countries.”
It’s the people who make the difference for us.
A visionary in research and teaching for corporate management and foreign trade
It is with great sadness and gratitude that we bid farewell to Rolf Pfeiffer. He passed away on March 7, 2025 at the age of 84.
Rolf Pfeiffer founded the Export-Akademie Baden-Württemberg at Reutlingen University in 1983 and was its director for over 20 years. With the Export-Akademie, he established Germany’s first MBA course with a focus on international marketing and built up partnerships with more than 50 universities worldwide. With his innovative foreign trade training programmes, he has helped many small and medium-sized companies successfully enter foreign markets.
The Export-Akademie Baden-Württemberg was privatized in 2008 under the management of Rolf Pfeiffer and Bertram Lohmüller. Rolf Pfeiffer worked there for many years as Managing Director and played a key role in its development. Today, the Export-Akademie is a leading company in the field of green technologies and a partner for the qualification of specialists and managers along the value chain for green hydrogen.
One country to which he felt particularly close and which he traveled to time and again was Argentina. There he was an honorary professor at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata and honorary director of the Escuela de Marketing International La Plata. The Export-Akademie still has a branch office there today.
Rolf Pfeiffer worked intensively on the core elements of successful corporate management. In the 1980s, he developed the IMLead® Heptathlon management concept for Integrated Management and Leadership together with well-known entrepreneurs from Baden-Württemberg. The IMLead® concept brings together the different perspectives of technology, digitalization processes, skills development and sustainable management & leadership and still forms the framework for all training and consulting projects at the Export-Akademie today.
In 1999, Rolf Pfeiffer was awarded the Baden-Württemberg State Teaching Prize for his special services and pioneering work in practice-oriented teaching in the field of corporate management, foreign trade and export.
His legacy extends far beyond the present day. It lives on in his books and publications, in the IMLead® Heptathlon management model and, above all, in the people he influenced and inspired as a professor and mentor.
The trainers at the Export-Akademie Baden-Württemberg provide consulting services and training worldwide. We accept the different cultural and linguistic challenges and professionally adapt our trainings to the current requirements.
With our national and international partners, we have a global presence and conduct seminars with local expertise. Selected institutions are listed below.
The experts at Export-Akademie Baden-Württemberg provide consultancy services and training worldwide. We embrace cultural and linguistic diversity, adapting our training programmes to meet current requirements.
Through our national and international partnerships, we have a global presence and deliver consultancy services and seminars with local expertise. Details of our partnerships with companies, associations and universities can be found under UNASTT United Alliance for Sustainable Technology Transfer.
In global and rapidly changing markets, companies must constantly adapt their strategies to shifting competitive conditions — and implement them effectively.
Three questions sit at the heart of this challenge: Which competencies do leaders and employees need? Which strategic approaches lead to success? How can a culture be built that enables change and unlocks new potential from within?
The IMLead® concept, developed by Export-Akademie Baden-Württemberg, was built to answer exactly these questions.
The IMLead® concept is implemented through systematic steps, each with clear targets and measurable results. Comprehensive tools and checklists support every stage. Through the establishment of a corporate leadership academy and the execution of concrete practical projects, a new culture of innovation is built from within the organisation.
The IMLead® concept is implemented through systematic steps, each with clear targets and measurable results. Comprehensive tools and checklists support every stage. Through the establishment of a corporate leadership academy and the execution of concrete practical projects, a new culture of innovation is built from within the organisation.
IMLead® is built around seven interrelated fields — the Heptathlon Management Model. It enables targeted, measurable development by systematically gathering and evaluating data, feedback, and insights from selected groups. Based on this analysis, a tailored learning and development programme is created with clear, verifiable goals.
The leader with the competencies needed to guide the company, business units, and teams.
Employees as the organisation’s most important resource — their skills must be actively developed, including collaboration with customers and partners.
The collection, analysis, and use of internal and external data through systematic information management.
Identifying and activating innovation potential to develop new products, services, and business models.
Designing effective production and business processes, increasingly linked with digital technologies — IoT, Industry 4.0, and AI.
The ability to continuously improve and adapt products, services, and processes in response to changing conditions.
Ensuring financial viability and aligning all activities within a coherent management system.
The IMLead® Heptathlon Management Concept
IMLead® Methodology
IMLead® Technology Transfer Cycle
We offer consulting and compact training formats to help your company implement the IMLead® model — whether you need strategic guidance or practical tools for day-to-day application.
Bertram Lohmüller, Ph.D.
Tel: 07071 / 549 99 21
Foundation of the ESB European School of Business by the main co-initiator Prof. Dr. Rolf Pfeiffer at the Reutlingen University
1980Foundation of the Export-Akademie Baden-Württemberg by Prof. Dr. Rolf Pfeiffer as a part of the Reutlingen University
1983Start of the first MBA program in Germany at the Export-Akademie. Major: International Marketing
1984Publication of the management concept for Integrated Management and Leadership by Prof. Dr. Rolf Pfeiffer
1984Implementation of the international computer management simulation INTOP® as a module in the master programme
1987Foundation of the Export-Akademie Argentina at the University La Plata by Prof. Dr. Rogelio Simonato and Prof. Dr. Rolf Pfeiffer
1989Foundation of GiMA consult Gesellschaft für integriertes Management mbH by Prof. Dr. Rolf Pfeiffer
1991Start of the benchmarking project International Best Factory Award in co-operation with the Cranfield University (UK)
1997Dr. Bertram Lohmüller becomes a partner in the company GiMA consult Gesellschaft für integriertes Management mbH
1998Acquisition of the Export-Akademie Baden-Württemberg by Dr. Bertram Lohmüller and Prof. Dr. Rolf Pfeiffer
2008Establishment of the first Centre of Excellence for Green Technologies and Green Energy in Hyderabad (India)
2016Publication of the management concept for the new organizational role of Hidden Chief Technology Officers
2017First international projects for integrated waste technology management and integrated green energy concepts
2018Further establishment of the Centres of Excellence for Green Technologies in Africa, Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe
2019Conducting of the Green Hydrogen Conference on 12 and 13 June 2023 in Frankfurt
2023