Hanken's Rector Karen Spens will be the new Rector of BI Norwegian Business School

“I am very grateful for my time at Hanken and very proud of the work we have done together to make Hanken the internationally recognised university level business school it is today. I also look forward to working with Hanken in the future. Hanken School of Economics will always be close to my heart even though I am now moving on towards new challenges”, Karen Spens said.

Professor Karen Spens has been Hanken's Rector since 2015. Hanken is a triple-crown business school in Helsinki and Vaasa with programmes offered in Swedish and English. Karen Spens is very interested in student learning and university pedagogy, as well as the wellbeing of faculty and staff. As a professor, Spens has developed her subject supply chain management and social responsibility, with a particular emphasis on humanitarian logistics.

“On behalf of the Board of Hanken, I would like to warmly congratulate Karen on the appointment. This is a loss for Hanken, but at the same time a recognition of Hanken's good reputation, also internationally, says Christoph Vitzthum, chair of the Board.

The Board of Hanken will start the process of appointing a new rector as soon as possible.

BI Norwegian Business School (Handelshøyskolen BI) is the largest business school in Norway and the second largest in all of Europe. The university has more than 900 employees and over 20 000 students. Karen Spens will be the first female and the first international rector of BI.