Tim Stephan

IU (formerly known as IUBH) Alumnus Tim Stephan fulfilled his childhood dream to work in aviation: Today he manages a team at Cargolux Airlines International S.A. as Head of Business Analysis - Business Intelligence. It was already my dream as a child to have a career in the aviation sector. Today I am proud of having fulfilled this dream: As Head of Business Analysis – Business Intelligence at the largest European freight airline I have significant influence over the continued development of the Business Intelligence area.

Rise from intern to manager

Everything began with a six month internship at Cargolux in the Business Intelligence and Controlling area, which I did during my Aviation Management studies at IU (formerly known as IUBH). Towards the end of my Bachelor studies there was the opportunity to write my Bachelor thesis in cooperation with Cargolux on “Air Cargo Forecasting”. Following my Bachelor and then my Masters in International Business at Hult International Business School I received an offer to continue my career as Business Analyst at Cargolux. The next career step followed after two years with my promotion to Head of Business Analysis - Business Intelligence. I think there were many aspects which led to me being afforded more responsibility. The most important, which has always been my greatest source of enthusiasm, is my fascination for flying and the motivation to contribute to the airline industry. But also my analytical skills, my subject matter expertise in the Aviation Management area and my excellent IT knowledge, which I have continually developed since I founded my own IT company in 2009, played an important role. Amongst other things I developed a Management Dashboard which now provides important organisational management KPIs and analytical tools for all divisions.

Range of responsibility: from team leadership and corporate reporting to profitability analysis

Currently the primary element of my daily work is focusing on leading my team of five, prioritising tasks and managing projects. Alongside my responsibility for Corporate Reporting I also develop concepts for profitability analyses fur the various business areas at Cargolux. In addition my team and I prepare the annual budget for the Cargolux Group. Here I set, together with the Board, the global revenue goals and operating cost budgets for various business units. Furthermore I am responsible as System Administrator for the Corporate Dashboard, which provides focused information for all management levels worldwide at the right time and place. I find the wide range of my responsibilities and the insights my job affords me into all areas of the freight airline business especially interesting.

Aviation projects from my IU studies were very similar to my everyday work now

The study at the IU (formerly known as IUBH) prepared me well for my career by providing me with the foundation of knowledge needed for the aviation industry. As manager of the Finance Division of an airline the topics of Aviation Finance, Business Mathematics, Statistics, Air Cargo Management and Aviation Intelligence were particularly useful. The practical aviation projects which we took part in during our studies were very similar to my everyday work now. All in all the content of the Aviation Management studies at IU (formerly known as IUBH) provided me with very broad but nevertheless sufficiently in depth insights into the various business processes of an airline as well as of other key players. I would therefore recommend the IU (formerly known as IUBH) to anyone also wanting to pursue a career in the aviation industry.