About StGallen imt Business School
StGallen imt Business School combines integrated management, technology, and practical knowledge into a holistic continuing education approach. Its goal: to empower leaders at all levels to master complex challenges, actively shape change, and ensure sustainable success.
The foundation is the St. Gallen Integrated Management Framework – a proven thinking model that creates clarity, promotes strategic alignment, and enables companies to act effectively and with future orientation. In a world full of dynamics and uncertainty, it combines operational excellence with innovation capability.
In the programmes, sound theory, international best practices, and real challenges come together. Participants – whether aspiring talents, experienced executives, or entrepreneurial leaders – reflect on their leadership style, expand their perspectives, and develop practical solutions. They are accompanied by excellent instructors with extensive leadership experience.
A strong, lifelong network of professionals, companies, and alumni creates space for exchange, inspiration, and new opportunities.
Excellence in Management and Technology
Forward-thinking continuing education at the intersection of management and technology – for leaders who shape change.
Executive Council
A selected body of experienced leaders from academia, entrepreneurship and executive education supports the strategic development of StGallen imt Business School.
Prof. Dr. (HSG) Christian Abegglen
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Piotr Bula
Dr. Christopher Pawlak
Dr. Ulrich von Bassewitz
Anastasiia Kolesnikova
Dr. Jan Roy Edlund
Prof. Dr. Martin Westphal
Milestones of StGallen imt Business School
Discover the most important developmental stages of our management school – from the first systemic approaches to today's excellence in management and technology.
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Origins in St. Gallen Management Thinking
StGallen imt Business School is rooted in the unique management understanding of the 1960s in St. Gallen.
StGallen imt Business School is unthinkable without the "St. Gallen Management Concept": From the 1960s onwards, a new approach to management education developed in St. Gallen. Pioneers like Hans Ulrich propagated a holistic, systems-theoretical understanding of companies. The "St. Gallen Model" became a trademark far beyond Switzerland.
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The St. Gallen School – Navigating Complexity
The St. Gallen School represents management as the art of navigation in turbulent times – beyond trends and recipes.
What is management really? Not just planning or control – but the sovereign handling of complexity. The St. Gallen School provides the theoretical framework for this. Particularly in times of upheaval, this school of thought is in demand – and StGallen imt Business School as one of its transfer centers.
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Hans Ulrich – The Systemic Visionary
Hans Ulrich laid the foundation of the St. Gallen School with his cybernetic understanding of companies.
Prof. Dr. Dres. h.c. Hans Ulrich (1919–1997) revolutionized teaching: Not one-dimensional tools, but thinking models for complex realities. In 1965, he founded the "Institute for Business Administration (IfB)" – the nucleus of the St. Gallen School. With "The Enterprise as a Productive Social System," he shaped a new view of corporate management.
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The St. Gallen Management Model
The original St. Gallen Management Model: a systemic framework for leadership in complex worlds.
From the 1960s onwards, Hans Ulrich established the "St. Gallen Management Model" – a new understanding of management: Companies are not machines, but social systems – open, dynamic, networked. The model integrated systems theory and cybernetics into business administration.
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Knut Bleicher – The Architect
Bleicher translated Ulrich's systems approach into a practice-oriented architecture: the Integrated Management Concept.
Prof. Dr. Dres. h.c. Knut Bleicher (1929-2017) was appointed to St. Gallen in 1984 as Hans Ulrich's successor. He further developed the St. Gallen Management Model into the "Integrated Management Concept" as an application framework for practice.
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The St. Gallen Integrated Management Concept
Knut Bleicher's work: a robust management framework for turbulence – the Integrated Management Concept.
What Hans Ulrich established as systemic thinking, Knut Bleicher developed into a practice-suitable architecture: the "Integrated Management Concept" (1991). He linked the three management levels – normative, strategic, and operative – into a holistic framework.
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Milestones of the St. Gallen Concept
A six-volume publication series documents the development path of the Integrated St. Gallen Management Concept.
From 2005 onwards, Christian Abegglen published the six-volume series "Milestones on the Path to Integrated Management." It shows the evolutionary development of the concept. The last volume from 2017 honors Knut Bleicher's life's work and summarizes decades of research.
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35 Years of Integrated St. Gallen Concept
For over three decades, the Integrated Concept has shaped management education – practical, systemic, and future-oriented.
The Integrated Concept has been continuously developed under Christian Abegglen since the 2010s. The 10th edition (2021) contains concrete implementation guidelines for the first time. StGallen imt Business School uses this concept as its central orientation framework.
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The St. Gallen Management HOUSE
With the St. Gallen Management HOUSE, the concept becomes tangible: a metaphor for securing corporate success in the long term.
The further development of the Integrated Concept culminates in Christian Abegglen's work "Reinventing the Enterprise." The nine fields of the St. Gallen Concept are visualized as a Management HOUSE – a powerful metaphor for systematic leadership.
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Founding of Private Management Schools
From the 1980s onwards, numerous privately organized institutes emerged – as spin-offs from the university.
From the 1980s onwards, consulting and continuing education activities were spun off from the university with the support of Hans Ulrich and Knut Bleicher. This led to successful institutes like MZSG, BSG, SCG, Malik Institute – the "Management Valley."
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The Management Valley St. Gallen
St. Gallen became a "Management Valley" – a knowledge landscape for management with international reach.
The transfer from university to practice created a unique ecosystem: the "Management Valley St. Gallen." A network of institutes, companies, and experts that has made St. Gallen synonymous with excellent management education worldwide.
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Christian Abegglen – The Systematic Developer
Christian Abegglen: systematic developer of the Integrated Concept and architect of its practical implementation.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christian Abegglen is the systematic developer of the Integrated Concept. Since 2005, he has published the complete series "Milestones on the Path to Integrated Management" and made the concept applicable in practice. His work forms the foundation of StGallen imt Business School.
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Founding of StGallen imt Business School
2023: Christian Abegglen founds StGallen imt Business School as a synthesis of management excellence and technology.
In 2023, Christian Abegglen founded StGallen imt Business School. The vision: to combine the excellence of St. Gallen management education with the requirements of the digital age. From the beginning, the school stood for Integrated Management and Technology – "imt."
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Building the imt Ecosystem
Development of a comprehensive ecosystem: from executive education to corporate consulting and research.
StGallen imt Business School has built a comprehensive ecosystem since its founding: Executive education programs, corporate consulting, research projects, and an international network. The goal: holistic support for leaders and organizations at all levels.
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Proven Knowledge
The foundation: 60 years of St. Gallen management research and proven practical application.
StGallen imt Business School builds on six decades of management research and practice. The foundation is solid: proven concepts, tested methods, and a wealth of experience from thousands of leaders who have applied the St. Gallen principles successfully.
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Innovative Didactics
Combination of proven St. Gallen tradition with modern learning methods and digital technologies.
The didactic approach combines the best of both worlds: proven St. Gallen methods with modern learning technologies. Interactive formats, case studies, simulations, and digital tools create an optimal learning environment for today's leaders.
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Management meets Technology
Unique positioning: the systematic integration of management excellence and technological innovation.
StGallen imt Business School occupies a unique position: it systematically connects management excellence with technological innovation. This is not about technology for technology's sake, but about the intelligent integration of both worlds for sustainable success.
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AI and Management
Pioneering work in the intelligent combination of artificial intelligence and management practice.
StGallen imt Business School is pioneering the integration of artificial intelligence into management practice. Not as a replacement for human leadership, but as an intelligent tool for better decisions and more effective management.
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Integrated Management Strategy
Development of an integrated management strategy that combines normative, strategic, and operative levels.
The core of the school's approach is the Integrated Management Strategy: a holistic approach that connects values, vision, and concrete actions. This creates sustainable competitive advantages and long-term success.
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Global Network
Building an international network of leaders, companies, and academic institutions.
StGallen imt Business School has built a global network of leaders, companies, and academic institutions. This network enables exchange of experience, joint projects, and lifelong learning in an international context.
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StGallen imt Today
Today: A leading business school for integrated management and technology with international recognition.
Today, StGallen imt Business School is a leading institution for executive education at the intersection of management and technology. With innovative programs, excellent faculty, and a strong network, it shapes the leaders of tomorrow.