Martin J. Eppler, Prof. Dr.

is a full professor of media and communication management at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), where he is also the managing director of the institute for media and communication management. He conducts research on knowledge management, knowledge visualization, and knowledge communication. He has been a guest professor at various universities in Asia and Europe. He has been an advisor to organizations such as the United Nations, Philips, UBS, the Swiss Military, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Swiss Re, Daimler and others. Martin Eppler studied communications, business administration and social sciences at Boston University, the Paris Graduate School of Management, and the Universities of Geneva and St.Gallen. He has published more than 100 academic papers (in journals such as Organization Studies, LRP, Harvard Business Manager, TIS, EMJ, IV, and others) and ten books, mostly on knowledge communication, management, and visualization.
Latest Book Publications: Werkzeuge des Wandels (2012), Sketching at Work (in German), Sketching at Work (in English; mcm, 2011) and Management Atlas (Hanser, 2011).

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Elitsa Alexander, Dr.

is a Post Doc researcher in knowledge visualization and intercultural communication at the University of St. Gallen, Institute for Media and Communications Management (=mcm institute). She has been an Assistant Professor at the American University in Bulgaria and a guest professor at the University of South Australia, with teaching experiences at the master, executive master and bachelor level. Elitsa earned her doctoral degree in 2009 from the Faculty of Informatics of the University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany. Her PhD research focused on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), in particular on user acceptance and diffusion of collaboration technologies. She has published several academic papers in journals such as Electronic Markets and the Journal of Euromarketing and has collaborated on research projects with faculty at international universities such as the Hagan School of Business in New York. She currently conducts research on the topic of interactive visual group communication.

Nicole Bischof, Dr.

holds a Ph.D. from the University of St. Gallen, Institute for Media and Communication Management. Her interdisciplinary NSF research project focused on the role of knowledge management as a part of dealing with natural hazards and risks in Switzerland, namely the knowledge communication between scientific research and  application. Educated in Cologne, Germany and Gothenburg, Sweden, Nicole holds a degree in Geography. Previously, she had worked seven years as a research scientist at ETH’s Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos, dealing with risk management of natural hazards. Nicole's work experience encompasses the co-ordination of EU-projects on integral risk management of extremely rapid mass movements as well as the organization of several scientific congresses and workshops. In her responsiblity as Cenat-coordinator she finalized and published the Swiss Virtual Campus project "Dealing with Natural Hazards and Risks" (www.nahris.ch), a module-based e-learning course.

Sabrina Bresciani, Prof. Dr.

is Assistant Professor at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) and Adjunct Professor at Franklin College Switzerland. She has been a visiting researcher at Harvard University (Boston), at the University of Cambridge (U.K., Darwin College) and at the National University of Singapore. She is/has been a guest professor at various universities worldwide. Sabrina’s research focuses primarily on inter-cultural management communication, knowledge visualization, digital communication, strategic communication in organizations, branding and entrepreneurship. Her research papers received the best paper award from the International Conference of Information Visualization in 2010 and the Carolyn Dexter Award nomination at the Academy of Management Meeting 2011. She lived in seven countries, travelled extensivelly in all continents and is developing social entrepreneurship projects in India [personal website]

Alice Comi, Dr.

is a Visiting Researcher at the Design Innovation Research Centre, University of Reading, where she is conducting a research project on "Visual Objects and Practices in Inter-Organizational Teamwork", funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Alice completed her PhD in Communication Sciences at the University of Lugano (USI), Switzerland, where she has also received her MSc in Communication and Economics with the mention summa cum laude (2008). During her doctoral studies, she has been a Visiting Researcher at the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge (2008) and at the Institute for Media and Communications Management, University of St. Gallen (2010). Her professional background includes a Teaching Assistantship at the Institute of Marketing and Communication Management (USI), a Public Relations internship at the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (RSI), and consulting projects for pharmaceutical companies such as Pharmaton (Boehringer Ingelheim) [personal webpage]

Friederike Hoffmann, Dr.

obtained her Ph.D at the University of St.Gallen, =mcminstitute, Institute for Media and Communication Management. She holds a degree in Political Science from Freie Universität Berlin. She also studied at Sabanci University, Istanbul, and worked as a research assistant at the San Francisco State University. After finishing her diploma thesis on agenda setting, she worked as a research assistant at the Herbert Quandt Foundation, Berlin, and later as a project manager for the Charité Foundation in Berlin. Her research focuses on the use of knowledge visualization tools in strategic management processes.

Sebastian Kernbach

is a PhD candidate in communication sciences. He holds a masters degree in Communication and Economics from the University of Lugano, with the
mention summa cum laude. His doctoral research focuses on the role of knowledge visualization and knowledge communication in the context of brand management.
His professional experience includes management responsibilities for a startup company, for XEROX as Marketing and Communication Manager in Germany,
Switzerland and in global projects. He has studied in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark (Copenhagen Business School).

Lawrence McGrath

is a PhD candidate at the University of St. Gallen Institute for Media
and Communications Management (=mcm institute). He holds a masters
degree in Marketing from Monash University , Australia (Dean's Honour
List). He has also studied at the University of Cambridge, the
University of Adelaide and at the University of Canterbury, New
Zealand. He has worked as an entrepreneur, teacher, and editor, and he
has experience in strategic planning, vertical market support, and
innovation management. His research objective is to analyze and
enhance creative collaboration in management teams through visual
knowledge communication.

Jeanne Mengis, Prof. Dr.

Jeanne Mengis is currently a senior researcher at the Warwick Business School, Warwick University, and assistant professor at the University of Lugano, Faculty of Communication Sciences. Previously, she was a post-doctoral visiting fellow at Boston University, School of Management.  She is part of the Research Unit on Innovation, Knowledge and Organizational Networks (IKON) at the University of Warwick. She gained her PhD in February 2007 from the University of Lugano (awarded with a summa cum laude). Her PhD was an integral part of a 3-year long research project on the integration of knowledge in decision making, of which she was co-project manager. In her research, she aims to develop a communication approach to the management of knowledge in organizations. In particular, she focuses on knowledge-intensive conversations, the use of visual language and methods in the co-construction of knowledge, on knowledge integration and the role of boundary objects and boundary spanning practices. From 2003 to 2006, she was co-project manager of a three-year research project on the integration of expert knowledge in decision making. During 2004/2005, she was a doctoral visiting fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Jeanne has teaching experiences at the master, executive master and bachelor level, thaught at the universities of St.Gallen, Lausanne, and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. She further conducted executive training for organizations as - among others - the United Nations, the Chamber of Judges and Attorneys of Ticino, UBS, or the St.Gallen Cantonal Bank. She has several publications in well regarded international journals and contributed chapters to books on knowledge management and knowledge communication.

Roland Pfister, Dr.

obtained hisPh.D. at the University of St. Gallen, =mcminstitute, Institute for Media and Communication Management. He holds a degree in business for small and medium sized enterprises from the University of St. Gallen. After finishing his diploma thesis on human resources management, he worked for two years as an IT consultant in the field of core banking applications for Accenture, a major consulting company, and another two years as a Senior Business analyst for Credit Suisse. In his research, he examines the impact of (quantitative) visualization on communication in management processes.

Andreas Schmeil, Dr.

has a doctorate from the University of Lugano, Faculty of Communication Sciences. He holds a German Master's degree in Computer Science from Ulm University and has a strong background in Human-Computer Interaction, especially in the field of Collaborative Virtual Environments and Augmented Reality. After finishing his Master's project at Fraunhofer FIT he worked as a freelancing software engineer, as a research associate at Fraunhofer IAO and most recently as a research assistant at the Human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand, HIT Lab NZ. His research focuses on Visual Collaboration and Learning Practices in Virtual Environments. He aims to help improve remote team collaboration through visual knowledge communication and e-learning. He has published several academic papers at leading conferences in the field of Human-Computer Interaction.