Frank Floessel appointed new Head of ETH Entrepreneurship

Who would be better suited to lead ETH Entrepreneurship than a personality who has successfully founded various companies himself? "ETH Entrepreneurship embodies the entrepreneurial spirit at the university. We are thrilled to have Frank Floessel as the leader of this group," says Vanessa Wood, Vice President for Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations.

Frank Floessel is a serial entrepreneur who has had success with companies in the HR and digital currencies sectors. However, the ETH alumnus founded his first company at ETH Zurich - and for the university. Two years before his Master's degree at the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, he founded ETH Juniors in 1997 as President of the AMIV together with four colleagues and served as founding President of the student consultancy.

At ETH Juniors, students apply their knowledge in practice by carrying out projects for ETH departments, for nationally operating SMEs, but also for internationally active corporations. Floessel is still associated with Juniors today, as a member of the Board of Directors, which provides strategic advice to the students. And with the ETH Seniors he founded the alumni organisation of the student consultancy. Well-known companies such as GetYourGuide, Climeworks and Beekeeper emerged from this group.

From the beginning of June, as Head of ETH Entrepreneurship, he will be contributing his expertise even more broadly to ETH and will be responsible as a contact person in the area of entrepreneurship, for example for the joint initiative with UBS. In addition to promoting STEM subjects, this initiative aims to further promote entrepreneurial thinking and action at the university. A project group is currently working on a concept for the initiative and developing offers. "Frank Floessel is the right man at the right time," says Vanessa Wood.

But what motivates Floessel to return to his alma mater? "Thanks to the Juniors, I have never lost touch with ETH and have been delighted with the university's successes all these years," explains Floessel, adding:. "As Head of ETH Entrepreneurship, I now get to contribute my knowledge and skills to the institution that laid the foundation for my professional career and to which I am still very attached today."