Bled and Hangzhou, China, March 28, 2021: Zhejiang University, one of Asia's leading research universities has named Prof. Danica Purg the chairwoman of the Academic Board for International Research Center for Hidden Champions.
The concept of »Hidden champions« was first defined and studied by prof. dr. Hermann Simon, a world-renowned expert in strategy, marketing and pricing, who is considered the most influential thinker in the German-speaking world after Peter Drucker. Prof. dr. Hermann Simon was appointed Honorary Director of the Academic Board for International Research Center for Hidden Champions.
The »Hidden Champions« are highly innovative and specialized small and medium-sized companies, which are also leaders in their niches internationally. In 2011, a survey prepared by IEDC and CEEMAN found that Slovenia had the highest number of Hidden Champions per million inhabitants (followed by Estonia). The same was shown in the continuation of the survey conducted by IEDC and CEEMAN in 2018 and 2019. The novelty of this survey was that it was extended to other CEE and SEE countries and China, a total of 24 countries. The results of the first survey were published in a book in 2013, while the second is in preparation and will be published by the German publishing house Springer this year.