WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management
Learning from Competitive Sports: WHU Offers New Program for Business Leaders with Dr. Wladimir Klitschko
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Competing Under Pressure – The Klitschko Leadership Program to debut during the 2026 fall semester at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. The program will couple excellence in management with core competencies from the world of elite sports to help business leaders perform efficiently in stressful situations.
Learning from Competitive Sports: WHU Offers New Program for Business Leaders with Dr. Wladimir Klitschko
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is expanding its Executive Education portfolio with Competing Under Pressure – The Klitschko Leadership Program, offered in conjunction with Klitschko Ventures. The program will couple the academic excellence of a leading business school with the experience and the high-performance principles of long-time boxing champion and entrepreneur Dr. Wladimir Klitschko and aims to address the challenges that business leaders face in highly dynamic and intensely competitive markets.
“Today’s competitive environment is being reshaped by artificial intelligence, geopolitical shifts and saturated markets. Growth often comes from outperforming competitors and gaining market share. Leaders must move beyond reacting to change. This program strengthens their ability to anticipate disruption, think entrepreneurially and position their organizations proactively,” says Professor Sascha L. Schmidt, Director of the Center for Sports and Management at WHU. “Elite sports show that continued top performance is born when these tensions are consciously embraced and actively shaped.” Professor Miriam Müthel, Chair of Organizational Behavior at WHU, adds, “This is about maintaining one’s ability to act in times of crisis, providing direction, and smartly leveraging your mistakes as opposed to avoiding them.”
“Economic competition has become a permanent stress test. The blows come from everywhere: shifting markets, ever-changing technologies, relentless competitors. Knowing that the hardest opponent is sometimes yourself,” says Dr. Wladimir Klitschko. “I’ve spent my entire career learning how to perform and endure under pressure, and develop the right skills and routines from it. This program brings that knowledge directly to leaders—to manage their emotions, think clearly, and face their challenges. And yes, at the end of the day, to turn pressure into energy.”
Over the course of three three-day modules held at the school’s campus in Düsseldorf, the program imparts core competencies for effective leadership and mental strength. Participants learn to act with confidence in highly complex situations or when setbacks arise, even in the face of continued uncertainty. The program places emphasis on turning a crisis into a strategic advantage and innovation into a competitive advantage, as well as leading with clarity when under pressure. A high degree of practical relevance is guaranteed through the program’s case studies, interactive formats, and direct exchange with Dr. Klitschko and other prominent figures from the economic and sports sectors. An integral part of this program is the FACE the Challenge method, an approach developed by Dr. Klitschko that systematically combines focus, agility, coordination, and endurance in order to consciously improve one’s performance, resilience, and ability to self-manage for the long term.
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WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is an internationally oriented, privately financed business school with university status, located in Vallendar and Düsseldorf. At WHU, more than 60 faculty members research and teach in the fields of management, finance and accounting, economics, entrepreneurship and innovation, marketing and sales, and supply chain management. WHU’s high level of research competence is the result of a focus on three fundamental research principles: quality, internationality, and relevance for teaching and practice.
WHU’s strategy is based on four core values: excellence, entrepreneurship, strong cohesion, and a cosmopolitan culture. An atmosphere characterized by openness, curiosity, diversity, and equal opportunities is of utmost importance to WHU.
Further information is available at https://www.whu.edu/
Dr. Wladimir Klitschko
Dr. Wladimir Klitschko is internationally known as the longest reigning world heavyweight boxing champion. As an entrepreneur, he can count several different companies, as well as his own foundation, in his portfolio. Since the beginning of the aggression currently playing out on Ukrainian soil, Dr. Klitschko, operating out of Kyiv, has been on the side of his fellow countrymen by leveraging his global contacts to mobilize support for his community and his country.
Klitschko Ventures
Klitschko Ventures was founded in 2016 with a clear mission: help people and organizations successfully tackle their challenges. The FACE the Challenge method, developed by Dr. Wladimir Klitschko together with Tatjana Kiel and their team, is at the heart of their activities, rendering the former’s 30 years of experience in the world of elite sports more directly applicable to individuals, teams, and today’s companies. Klitschko Ventures carries out consultancy projects based on this approach, providing bespoke solutions for businesses, and offers innovative FACE coaching and educational programs. www.klitschko-ventures.com
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Kerstin Leitel Associate Director Public Relations WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management Campus Vallendar, Burgplatz 2, 56179 Vallendar, Germany Tel.: +49 261 6509-540; presse@whu.edu; www.whu.edu WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is the Business School of the WHU Foundation.