Steinbeis mourns the death of honorary Senator Josef Pfeffer, who passed away on September 25, 2021 at the age of 83. From 1985 to 2004, he accompanied the Steinbeis Network as honorary Deputy Chairman of the Steinbeis Foundation Board.
Josef Pfeffer was an entrepreneur through and through, not only in his highly successful career at the helm of technology companies and their alliance networks, but especially in his numerous voluntary and social ventures. Everything he undertook was approached with an air of reliability and commitment, marked by a brand of modesty that initially concealed his extensive competence and extraordinary success. Anyone who ever met Josef Pfeffer, and especially worked with him, sensed that he never felt he was the important person – the person opposite him was important. They also very quickly noticed his extraordinary perceptive powers and his extensive problem-solving abilities.
In 1985, Josef Pfeffer was elected honorary Vice Chairman of the Steinbeis Foundation for Economic Development. This was preceded by a meeting with the then full-time Chairman of the Board and government commissioner for technology transfer in Baden-Wuerttemberg, who at the time had been in office for two years. This led to his proposed election to the board and a long-standing partnership of synergies.
As a member of the board of directors, Josef Pfeffer mostly worked in the background, but did so extremely successfully and, wholly committed to the Steinbeis model, always remained loyal to people supporting Steinbeis – especially under difficult circumstances. He also supported the establishment of a full-time board and was always an enthusiastic and valuable Steinbeiser – even after stepping down from the board.
Josef Pfeffer will be sorely missed. Our deepest condolences go to his family.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Johann Löhn
Chairman of the Steinbeis Foundation Board (1983 – 2004) | Government Commissioner for Technology Transfer (1983 – 2006) | Honorary Trustee of the Steinbeis Foundation
Prof. Dr. Michael Auer | Manfred Mattulat
Steinbeis Foundation Board of Directors
Senator e. h. Josef Pfeffer