Prof. Reinhold Geilsdörfer

Since February 2016, Reinhold Geilsdörfer has been CEO of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation (DSS), which supports a wide range of future-oriented programmes in the fields of education and science, and is responsible for the foundation’s entire higher education sector. As the CEO of Germany’s largest foundation in the field of education, Prof. Geilsdörfer is one of the most important persons in the education sector.

Previously, Prof. Geilsdörfer spent 35 years in various roles at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW), and was President of the university from 2010 to 2016. During his tenure, he opened the DHBW Heilbronn campus, which was later expanded to include the Centre for Advanced Studies.

Prof. Geilsdörfer studied mechanical engineering and physics at the University of Stuttgart and then worked for the Ministries of Labour and the Environment of the state of Baden-Württemberg before accepting the position as professor at the Mosbach University of Cooperative Education (later DHBW) in 1981.