President and Professor of Business Administration , Institut for SME Research (IfM) Bonn and University of Siegen

• 1993 to 2006: Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Essen (RWI), most recently deputy head of the competence area “Start-ups and Business Development, Crafts, New Technologies”
• 2005 to 2008: University of Siegen, Professor of Management SME & Entrepreneurship
• 2007 to 2009: President, European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ECSB)
• 2008 to 2013: Jönköping International Business School/Sweden, Professor of Entrepreneurship; Vice Dean for Research
• 2015 to 2022: Chair of the expert group “Validation of the technological and social innovation potential of scientific research - VIP+” at the BMBF
• Member of the SME Advisory Board at BMWK
• Member of the Executive Editorial Board of the journal “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice”, Associate Editor from 2009-2014
• Chairwoman of the EXIST Expert Advisory Board at the BMWK
• Member of the North Rhine-Westphalia SME Advisory Board of the MWIKE
• Member of the Expert Commission for Research and Innovation (EFI)
• Member of the Advisory Board of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)