22 September 2020

New Dean of Research: Maria Besiou

Professor Dr. Maria Besiou took office as the new Dean of Research at Kühne Logistics University (KLU) on September 1, 2020. The new Dean, a Full Professor of Humanitarian Logistics, is among the faculty who have contributed to the impact KLU has had on academics since the institution’s early years. Besiou has taken over from Professor Jan Fransoo, who returned to his home country to take up a research professorship at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

“It is great for our institution that we were able to secure Maria Besiou for this role,” said Professor Dr. Thomas Strothotte, President of KLU. “Having joined us in 2012, she knows this university in a profound way, giving her the best conditions to further shape our research profile with a strong logistics management focus.” Professor Strothotte added, “Not only does Maria Besiou stand for excellent and multiple award-winning research in her own field of humanitarian logistics, she is also known for her decisive support of young scientific talents at KLU.”

The Dean of Research leads all research-related issues at KLU, including the structured Ph.D. program. Professor Besiou stated, “My vision is to expand the university’s outreach by having KLU's research recognized by practitioners and academics across the world for its high standard and sustainable impact. KLU is already on this path and I hope to be able to contribute to that even more.”

Professor Besiou’s research focuses mainly on humanitarian logistics. Her research has appeared in several case studies and peer-review international journals like Production and Operations Management (POM), Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (MSOM), Journal of Operations Management (JOM), California Management Review (CMR), and European Journal of Operational Research (EJOR). She currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management (JHLSCM), as a Senior Editor of the Disaster Management Department (DMD) of Production and Operations Management (POM), and as an Associate Editor in Decision Sciences.

Get to know Professor Maria Besiou in this video: