Hermann Simon

Hermann Simon

The Global Authority on Pricing Strategy and Creator of the ‘Hidden Champions’ Framework

Core Intelligence Domain: Business Strategy
Location: Germany | Languages: English, German
Representation: Represented globally by PSpeakers Global Intelligence

Hermann Simon is widely recognised as the world’s foremost expert in pricing strategy and the visionary architect behind the highly influential “Hidden Champions” economic framework. As the Founder and Honorary Chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners, the world’s leading pricing consultancy, he has fundamentally reshaped how global corporations approach profitability, value creation, and market leadership. Continually voted as one of the most influential management thinkers in German-speaking countries, and a prominent inductee into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame, Professor Simon’s proprietary methodologies offer C-suite executives unprecedented strategic foresight in navigating inflation, margin compression, and global competition.

With an exceptional academic and consulting pedigree, Hermann Simon has served as a visiting professor at the world’s most prestigious institutions, including Harvard Business School, Stanford, London Business School, INSEAD, Keio University in Tokyo, and MIT. His transition from rigorous academia to elite strategic consulting enabled him to build Simon-Kucher & Partners into a global powerhouse with thousands of employees across dozens of international offices, advising Fortune 500 companies and medium-sized enterprise leaders alike.

Simon’s definitive concept of “Hidden Champions”—mid-sized, highly specialised, and globally dominant companies—has become a cornerstone of modern economic study, shifting the focus from high-profile conglomerates to the silent engines of the global supply chain. A prolific author, he has published over 40 books translated into more than 30 languages. His landmark titles, including Hidden Champions of the 21st Century, Confessions of the Pricing Man, True Profit!, and Beat Inflation, serve as essential playbooks for CEOs and boardrooms seeking to defend margins and drive sustainable growth.

Core Speaking Themes & Proprietary Frameworks

• The DNA of Hidden Champions: Uncovering the leadership, innovation, and strategic focus of unknown mid-sized market leaders, and how large corporations can adopt their agile methodologies.
• Mastering Pricing Power: Why pricing is the most effective lever for profitability, and how to transition from cost-plus pricing to sophisticated, value-based models.
• Beating Inflation: Strategic blueprints for passing on rising costs, protecting margins, and avoiding the destructive cycle of price wars in volatile macroeconomic environments.
• True Profit vs. Market Share: Challenging the modern obsession with volume and market share, redirecting executive focus toward sustainable, profit-oriented business models.
• Globalisation in Transition: Analysing how shifting geopolitical landscapes, nearshoring, and supply chain realignments are transforming global trade dynamics.

Major Achievements & Industry Accolades

• Founder and Honorary Chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners, universally acknowledged as the pre-eminent pricing consultancy globally.
• Inducted into the globally prestigious Thinkers50 Hall of Fame for his lifetime contribution to management science.
• Consistently voted the most influential living management thinker in the German-speaking world since the passing of Peter Drucker.
• Author of over 40 influential books, shaping corporate strategy in over 30 languages worldwide.
• Recipient of numerous honorary doctorates and lifetime achievement awards from international business schools and economic forums.

Key Takeaways

• Value Dictates Price: Audiences learn to dismantle archaic cost-based pricing systems and replace them with agile, value-driven models that directly increase enterprise profitability.
• Focus Drives Market Leadership: Executives acquire the strategic blueprint of “Hidden Champions,” learning how extreme specialisation and global reach outperform broad diversification.
• Inflation Resilience: Boards and C-suite leaders gain immediate, actionable frameworks to navigate inflationary pressures without sacrificing long-term customer loyalty or profit margins.
• Sustainable Growth Architecture: Organisations are empowered to pivot their corporate goals away from vanity metrics, aligning entirely around sustainable, defensible profitability.