Dr. Martin Koers is Professor of Marketing at the SZTU Business School. He holds a Ph.D. (Dr. rer. pol.) in Marketing from the University of Münster (Germany) and earned his Master’s degree in Business Administration from the same institution. He completed academic studies at Edinburgh Napier University in the United Kingdom and in the United States.

Dr. Koers brings more than 25 years of experience in the automotive sector, spanning academia, industry, and economic policy. Prior to his current transition into academia, he held senior leadership roles at the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), most recently as Managing Director, representing more than 600 companies across the automotive and mobility ecosystem. In this capacity, he was responsible for the strategic management of the association as well as the further development of the IAA mobility platform. During his time at the VDA, he was extensively engaged in global policy dialogue, including in China. Earlier in his career, he held management positions at Ford of Europe, focusing on brand management, sales and marketing, and dealer network strategy.

His research and teaching focus on marketing and brand management, digital transformation, disruptive brands, and strategic change, with a particular emphasis on the automotive and mobility industries. He has published on marketing management and automotive-related topics and has taught continuously at universities in Germany and internationally, including as Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA). He serves as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Rostock and at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Dr. Koers has a strong academic interest in China’s dynamic market environment and rapid industrial transformation.

Selected Recent Research：

Disruptive Brands – New Challenges in a Digital Era, in: Abstract Book of 11th International Scientific Symposium "Economics, Business & Finance" 2025, IRIS-ALKONA, p. 52-65 (conference proceedings; ISSN 2500-9737)

Shaping the future of mobility sustainably (German original title: Die Zukunft der Mobilität nachhaltig gestalten), in: Sustainable Marketing Management, editor H. Meffert, P. Kenning, M. Kirchgeorg, 2nd. edition, Stuttgart 2026 (in print; chapter in editoral book ISBN 978-3658469252)