Jacob Eskildsen leaving Aarhus BSS
Jacob Kjær Eskildsen, head of the Department of Management, is leaving Aarhus BSS to become head of SDU Business School. Associate Professor Hanne Kragh has been appointed acting head of department for the time being.
After 13 years as a member of the faculty leadership team at Aarhus BSS, one of its most experienced leaders is stepping down on 1 April to continue his career as new head of SDU Business School in Odense.
“The department is in really good shape, financially and in terms of its leadership. “Throughout my time as head of department, I‘ve been supported by a highly capable leadership team, talented administrative staff and strong researchers, and I would like to thank each and every one of them,” he says.
“That’s why I personally feel it’s the right time for somebody else to take over. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed a truly excellent working relationship with the various faculty leadership team members, and it has been both exciting and rewarding for me to be involved in the development of Aarhus BSS,” says Jacob Eskildsen.
He also emphasises that it is a desire to try his hand at something new that is the main driver behind his decision to accept the new position as head of SDU Business School.
Furthermore, Jacob Eskildsen believes that he is leaving the Department of Management in excellent shape.
“The department is in really good shape, financially and in terms of its leadership. “Throughout my time as head of department, I‘ve been supported by a highly capable leadership team, talented administrative staff and strong researchers, and I would like to thank each and every one of them,” he says.
Jacob Eskildsen has headed the Department of Management since 2015, and looking back on the past just over ten years, he sees several results that he is proud to have contributed to.
“The Department of Management has significantly improved the quality of its research. “This is evident from the fact that we are getting far more scientific articles accepted in journals that rank highly in the Academic Journal Guide (an international ranking of business journals, ed.), and also from our advancement in the Shanghai Ranking in the field of business research,” says Jacob Eskildsen, adding proudly:
“And we’ve roughly quadrupled our external funding, a trend that looks set to continue. All of this is thanks to the department’s immensely talented team of researchers.”
Jacob Eskildsen will only get to spend a little over two months in his new office in University City following the relocation of the Department of Management from the Fuglesangs Allé campus in January. In fact, most of Jacob Eskildsen’s career has revolved around this campus address. He did his Master’s degree in Business Administration there and has worked there since 1997, with a brief stint as head of the Department of Business Development and Technology in Herning in 2013–2014.
Jacob Eskildsen does not rule out the possibility of one day returning to research.
“In the final years of my career, I may well return to research, but right now I’m passionate about management and about developing organisations,” says Jacob Eskildsen.
On Jacob Eskildsen leaving Aarhus BSS and the Department of Management, Dean Thomas Pallesen says:
“I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Jacob for his many years of service at the Department of Management and Aarhus BSS. Jacob has made a very significant contribution to the development of both the department and the faculty, and personally I have greatly appreciated our constructive and trusting collaboration over the years. Jacob has been a key driving force behind the development of MGMT, and his efforts have made a clear impact. “We wish him all the very best in his new role.”
