The CEMS Alumni of the Year is a joint campaign by the CAA in close collaboration with the CEMS Student Board, which gives the CEMS community the opportunity to learn about CEMS alumni on a monthly basis and vote for the favorite candidate as the CEMS Alumni of the Year.
Meet Robert Hackl, the January candidate for the CEMS Alumni of the Year 2017 election.
Robert graduated from CEMS in 1994 from WU (Vienna University of Economics & Business) with his exchange at HEC Paris. He also holds an MBA from Kellogg and a PhD from the University of Vienna both specializing in marketing. After starting as CXO, he is currently the Senior Vice President of Leasing at Sprint in Overland Park Kansas, United States. His previous roles include: COO at Vodafone in Germany, Senior Vice president of Channel Management at T-Mobile in Seattle and CEO of Tele2 in Austria.
1. How would you describe yourself in a tweet?
Passionate driver of significant change to improve people's lives.
2. What are the three most important things that have personally shaped you?
- Turnarounds: Tele2 from EBIDTA negative to CF positive, T-Mobile from losing 2m yearly to Customer Growth
- Instilled Customer DNA into Vodafone DE leading to number 1 operator NPS and doubled NPS at Sprint within 9 months
- Realized personal passions: Published management cook book ("Erfolgsrezepte", i.e., success recipes) and produced a song with the band Sugarwave ("Never be alone" on iTunes).
3. How did the CEMS network contribute to your professional achievements?
The CEMS network has always inspired me because of the value of different cultural approaches to create impact. It has also helped me to foster relationships across the globe.
4. What advice would you give current CEMS students?
- Be bold to follow your passions and beliefs
- Be persistent in driving for impact despite obstacles
- Always act with respect and stay humble
- Invest enough time into listening to others and crafting outstanding communications
- Drive for excellence in what you do and never stop getting better every day
The voting for the Alumni of the Year 2017 will take place in the end of October among the CEMS community in our social media communication channels and the winner will be announced in November.
