1969 marks an important year for the University of Muenster for multiple reasons: Not only has it been the year in which the Muenster School of Business and Economics was founded, but also the year in which Professor Heribert Meffert was appointed professor and founded the first marketing chair at a German university. On April 1, 1969 Professor Meffert took on his new role in Muenster and initiated a successful development of marketing education and research that is still omnipresent today. The MCM has recently celebrated this 50^th anniversary and acknowledged the outstanding commitment and great achievements in research, education and business cooperation. The Dean of Faculty, Professor Theresia Theurl honored Professor Meffert’s accomplishments, emphasizing that he has substantially contributed to the development and reputation of the faculty in which he has unfolded a major influence on multiple generations of students. Further, he has successfully mentored and motivated many researchers of the Muenster School of Business and Economics. According to Dean Theurl, it is of great pleasure that Muenster has always been the first choice of Professor Meffert.

Heribert Meffert was born in Oberlahnstein in 1937. From 1956 until 1961, he studied business administration in Munich and completed his dissertation in 1964. After having completed his habilitation entitled “Die Flexibilität in betriebswirtschaftlichen Entscheidungen“, he accepted an appointment from the University of Muenster. In the same year, the faculty of law and political economics was split into the faculty of law and the faculty of business and economics. Professor Meffert founded and led the first marketing chair in Germany at the Muenster School of Business and Economics. In 1999, Professor Meffert together with Professors Dieter Ahlert and Klaus Backhaus founded the MCM. To honor Heribert Meffert’s life achievements, the MCM library got named after him. During his time at the University of Muenster, he has been first supervisor of more than 100 doctoral students. Despite several offers from national and international universities, Professor Meffert remained loyal to the MCM.

Because of his pioneering work in the field of marketing, he has even been named the “Pope of marketing”. The recognition of Meffert’s achievements got manifested in numerous prizes, medals and honorary doctorates. Heribert Meffert also got involved in various activities to promote the importance of economic and social responsibility. In 2006, the city of Muenster awarded Professor Meffert the “Paulusplakette”, the second highest recognition for this long-standing commitment to the community.

The MCM is very proud to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Institute of Marketing and Professor Heribert Meffert in 2019. His successor, Professor Manfred Krafft is grateful for the various activities that his predecessor still performs today, and for his continuous contributions to the development of marketing research and practice.