Hermann Simon is one of the best-known and most distinguished management thinkers. Thanks to his renowned publications and his consulting work he also enjoys an international reputation. After studying economics and business administration in Cologne and Bonn and completing his habilitation, Hermann Simon (born 1947) taught business administration and marketing at the University of Bielefeld from 1979 to 1989 and thereafter at the University of Mainz. Due to his outstanding academic and economic experience, Hermann Simon received various guest professorships and research stays abroad, including at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, Keio University in Tokyo, Insead in Fontainebleau, Harvard Business School, and London Business School. In 1985, Simon founded Simon Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants and turned it into one of the leading management consultancies in Germany. In 1995, he became Chairman of the Board of Simon Kucher and thus has become the world’s foremost expert on pricing strategy. The strategies he develops are aimed at increasing value through customer benefits and competitive advantages. Simon assists clients with market introduction, positioning and, in particular, price management. Simon regularly writes articles and columns for Handelsblatt, manager magazine and many others. Simon is also the author of more than 30 books, which have been published in 26 languages. His books on price management have become standard works worldwide. He has dealt particularly iwith medium-sized global market leaders otherwise known only to experts, for whom he coined the term "hidden champions". Hermann Simon has already received numerous awards for his work, including the Erich Gutenberg Prize 2009 and, together with Martin Fassnacht, the Georg Bergler Prize for Sales Management. In 2012, he received the Business-to-Business Service Award in the Lifetime Achievement category and was named 'Science-Oriented Entrepreneur of the Year 2012'. Simon holds honorary doctorates from the University of Siegen, the IEDC-Bled School of Management in Slovenia, the University of Foreign Economics and Trade in Beijing and Kozminski University in Warsaw.