Prof. Prof. h.c. Dr. Richard C. Geibel, Head of E-Commerce Institute

Prof. Dr. Richard C. Geibel Cologne IU Campus

“Scientific excellence and practice-oriented digital transformation are at the heart of our work at the E-Commerce Institute in Cologne. We build the bridge between academic research and the digital economy.”

Abstract: Prof. Dr. Richard C. Geibel

Prof. Dr. Richard C. Geibel Cologne is the Director and Managing Director of this scientific institute. He holds a professorship in Business Administration and Scientific Methodology at IU International University of Applied Sciences in Germany. He works in the “Dual Studies” department at the IU Cologne campus, which is the largest university in Germany with over 140,000 students from more than 180 countries, over 250 degree programs, and 15,000 practice partners.

His research focuses on Social Commerce, E-Commerce, digital transformation, and particularly Digital Health. In 2023, he was awarded the title “Professor Honoris Causa (Prof. h.c.)” by East European University (Tbilisi); furthermore, he has held the title of “Guest Professor” at Changchun University (China) since 2019.

Academic Leadership and International Expertise

Prior to his work at IU, he served as a Professor of Business Administration, specifically Management and Entrepreneurship, for over 10 years. In 2015, he designed and founded the Master’s programs “Digitales Management” (German) and “Digital Management” (English) at Hochschule Fresenius. As Academic Director, he was responsible for 10 degree programs with more than 20 professors and 50 lecturers.

As an alumnus of the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Cambridge, USA, he regularly collaborates with researchers at the Sloan School of Management. He earned his doctorate (Dr. rer. pol.) in 1991 from the University of Cologne (lecturer until 2005) and previously studied Computer Science at RWTH Aachen University (Diploma in Computer Science, 1986).

Engagements & Appointments

Honorary Commercial Judge at the District Court of Cologne (1st and 8th Chambers for Commercial Matters).
Board Member of the association “Web de Cologne” for over 10 years.
Member of the Industrie-Club Düsseldorf e.V. since 1993 (Advisory Board since 1998).

International Research (ISPC)

Since 2020, he has organized the ISPC conference series:
ISPC 2024 Cologne (over 130 authors from 11 countries, 75 presentations at the Gerling-Quartier),
ISPC 2025 New York (175 scientists from 30 universities), and the upcoming
6th ISPC 2026 Switzerland (Sept 10-11, 2026, in Brugg). He also initiated the first “IU Students Symposium” on May 22, 2026, in Cologne.