Prof. Dr. Lucina Odoi lectures in International Marketing at Furtwangen University
“I’d actually always considered a career in academia,” says Prof. Dr. Lucina Odoi when asked about her decision to switch from an international career to teaching. Even while earning her degree in business administration at the University of Mannheim, she knew this could be an exciting career path. “At first, I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to pursue an academic path or start out in the business world,” she recalls. So she applied for both − and was offered both positions. “I was just as clueless as before,” Odoi laughs. “But I then felt that I wanted to apply my marketing knowledge in the business world first.”
Lucina Odoi embarked on a career that she was able to take in an international direction very quickly. For the Beiersdorf Group, she was put in charge of marketing for the NIVEA brand − “a jackpot,” as she still raves about it today. Her team developed the first men’s campaign, featuring then-national team coach Jogi Löw as the brand ambassador. “That was so much fun. We often met for meetings at the stadium and watched a game afterward − my husband loved that, too,” the professor laughs. From Hamburg, she then took on global responsibility for NIVEA Face Care Essentials, learning a great deal about the very different needs and requirements for women’s cosmetics around the world. “I worked in product development and gained some very interesting insights into the question, ‘What does facial care mean to women?’” she explains. Her next step was joining Beiersdorf’s key account management team, where she was responsible for Beiersdorf’s largest client in Germany, the dm drugstore chain. “I even did an internship at a dm store to really understand the customers,” she reports.
When the time came for her and her husband to move from Hamburg to Munich, she re-entered the international consumer goods industry in her new home − this time as a marketing manager at Wrigley’s, part of the Mars Group. Here, too, the company was quick to entrust her with international responsibilities. Most recently, Lucina Odoi served as a director at Mars, responsible for the market launch of the BE-KIND brand in the DACH region. During her ten years at Mars, Lucina Odoi also had her three children − and during her respective parental leaves, she reflected on the desire that had been dormant within her all along − her PhD. “I’m often asked how I managed to do it all at the same time,” she says, shaking her head. “To be honest, I don’t know myself. But I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else either.”
Thematically, Odoi took a completely new approach for her dissertation, “I think becoming a mother changed me,” she reflects. “I was searching for meaning and spent a lot of time exploring sustainability. Ultimately, I wrote about the ‘zero-waste’ movement,” she says.
While balancing her job, family life and her dissertation, Odoi had also begun teaching, and when a professorship in International Marketing was finally advertised at Furtwangen University, she knew it was time for a change. “I’m extremely grateful that I was able to start at HFU initially as a visiting professor. That allowed me to finish writing my dissertation, and now that I’ve been appointed, I’ve truly and permanently settled in here.” She now lives with her family in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, where she grew up, and commutes to the university.
Odoi strides confidently into the lecture hall. About 70 students are waiting for her here, from all degree programmes and various semesters at the HFU Business School. “This is my favourite lecture,” she announced at the start of the class − because it focuses on linking the topic of sustainability with marketing. “It’s wonderful to combine my two passions and also pass on values to the students,” she says. Lucina Odoi focuses on “challenge-based learning,” which means her students get to work on their own specific projects for several weeks. The course leaves plenty of room for students’ own ideas, and lively discussions take place in English, the language of instruction. The goal is to link sustainability and marketing − one group wants to try a vegan diet and then report on it on social media. Saving electricity, upcycling, reducing waste or even doing without AI − the ideas are diverse. Professor Odoi beams, “I think it’s great how seriously the students are approaching the assignment and reflecting on their own consumption habits.” The fact that she has already won two HFU Teaching Awards proves that, conversely, the students also find their professor’s engaging style inspiring. No wonder − she’s a marketing pro.
Spotlight on Profs:
In this series, we introduce the renowned scholars who lecture and conduct research at Furtwangen University. HFU is a university of applied sciences; as a result, its professors have many years of practical experience. We present these fascinating personal and professional stories in no particular order.