Profile

Alexander Haentzschel is a Profes­sor of Media and Commu­ni­ca­tion Studies at SRH University, a communications consultant, and an educa­tio­nal coach — with many years of leader­ship experi­ence, exten­sive management exper­tise, and a cross-cultu­ral perspective.

Teaching and Research

As a profes­sor at SRH University in Heidelberg, Alexander Haentzschel teaches in the Media and Commu­ni­ca­tion Management (B.A.) and Strate­gic Commu­ni­ca­tion & Leader­ship (M.A.) programs. His research focuses on the develo­p­ment of media in Europe and Asia. In addition, he explo­res the poten­tial of genera­tive artifi­cial intel­li­gence in eLearning.

Most recently, a research semes­ter took him to Asia for several months. As a visiting profes­sor at the Graduate Insti­tute of Journa­lism at Natio­nal Taiwan University, he conduc­ted research on the early develo­p­ment of media in East Asia — supported by Heidelberg University, SRH University, and the German Acade­mic Exchange Service.

Consulting and Coaching

Along­side his acade­mic work, Alexander Haentzschel works as a communications consultant. In 2013, he founded a science commu­ni­ca­tion network that supports acade­mic insti­tu­ti­ons in strate­gic develo­p­ment, online commu­ni­ca­tion, corpo­rate publishing, and media relati­ons. For more than a decade, one of his key partners has been the Insti­tute for Global European Studies at the University of Basel.

He is also active as an educa­tio­nal coach. As part of his training in Syste­mic Coaching at the EBS University for Business and Law, he coaches students, docto­ral candi­da­tes, and young profes­sio­nals in matters of perso­nal and profes­sio­nal development.

Leadership Experience

Earlier in his career, he was Head of Press and Public Relati­ons at the Cluster of Excel­lence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context” at Heidelberg University. As a team leader at the Solid­Ground Group, he coordi­na­ted digital communications for a multi­na­tio­nal corpo­ra­tion across the German-speaking region. In addition, he estab­lished a network for young journa­lists and develo­ped a web direc­tory for media profes­sio­nals, which he later sold to a publishing house.

Management Expertise

In 2024, Alexander Haentzschel comple­ted an inten­sive execu­tive educa­tion program at Harvard Business School, Harvard University. The Program for Leader­ship Develo­p­ment included both virtual modules and on-campus sessi­ons in the United States.

Previously, he was selec­ted to parti­ci­pate in the Execu­tive Develo­p­ment Program of SRH Holding, where he contri­bu­ted to a project aimed at develo­ping a group-wide innova­tion management frame­work.

Alexander Haentzschel holds a Double Degree Execu­tive Master of Business Adminis­tra­tion (MBA) from Mannheim Business School, University of Mannheim, and Tongji University in Shang­hai. Follo­wing his studies, he published a book on German-Chinese business networks with Sprin­ger.

International Experience

Alexander Haentzschel repor­ted on and from Asia as a journa­list, contri­bu­ting to outlets such as Frank­fur­ter Allge­meine Zeitung, Das Parla­ment, and the Swiss Sonntags­Zei­tung. He advised the PR agency Story­ma­ker on commu­ni­ca­tion projects in Asia, prepared execu­ti­ves for assign­ments in East Asia with Eidam & Partner, and analy­zed consu­mer trends in China for Trend­buero Hamburg.

Supported by the Founda­tion of German Economy, he studied Cultu­ral Studies/Aesthetics and Southe­ast Asian Studies and earned his docto­rate at Humboldt University of Berlin with a disser­ta­tion on news flows in Singa­pore. His study and research stays took him to the University of Hong Kong, the Natio­nal University of Singa­pore, the School of Orien­tal and African Studies at the University of London, the UNESCO Archi­ves in Paris, and the Asian Media Infor­ma­tion and Commu­ni­ca­tion Center at Nanyang Techno­lo­gi­cal University in Singapore.

He has parti­ci­pa­ted in numerous inter­na­tio­nal confe­ren­ces, inclu­ding the Harvard Project for Asian and Inter­na­tio­nal Relati­ons, the Asia Future Leaders Forum, the Asia-Europe Young Leaders Sympo­sium, the World News Media Congress, the Inter­na­tio­nal Media Confe­rence, and the Asia-Pacific Confe­rence of German Business — some of them supported by organiza­ti­ons such as the German Research Founda­tion.

Travels Across Europe, Asia and the United States

Exten­sive travels through Europe, Asia, and the United States have also shaped Alexander Haentzschel’s perspec­tive. He feels a special connec­tion to the media metro­po­li­ses of Berlin, Singa­pore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and New York City, which have become important points of reference and sources of inspi­ra­tion for his work.