Cuno Pümpin (born 21 August 1939) is a Swiss economist, entrepreneur and consultant. He was born in Basel, Switzerland. Background Cuno Pümpin was the second son of Fritz Pümpin (born 1901 in Gelterkinden, died July 5, 1972 in Gelterkinden) and Rose Gerster. He is a citizen of Gelterkinden. Career Pümpin went to primary school and high school in the Canton of Basel. In 1955 he started a three year commercial apprenticeship. Later he studied economics and management at the Universities of Basel and St. Gallen. In 1966 he received a Master's degree as a commercial teacher and in 1968 he obtained his PhD. The title of his doctoral thesis is "Long Range Marketing Planning". Activities Professional Between 1965 and 1967 Pümpin was employed in the Corporate Development Department of J.R. Geigy AG (today a part of Novartis). In 1967 he joined the computer company Sperry Univac (today part of Unisys) where he became Vice President of Marketing in 1970. In 1970/1971 Pümpin wrote his professorial thesis (Habilitationsschrift) entitled Information and Marketing. In 1972 he became "Privatdozent" (formal lecturer) at the University of St Gallen and in 1973 he was appointed Extraordinarius (Professor and member of the Senate). At the same time Pümpin became CEO of the Center of Management at St. Gallen, a foundation related to the University. In 1977 Pümpin founded his own company specializing in strategy consulting. In the following years many Swiss companies with international operations became his clients. Pümpin was also appointed to many boards of directors, such as Ernst & Young Switzerland, Ems Chemie Holding AG, Liechtenstein Global Trust (LGT) AG, and Metro International, now a member of Metro Group. AG, and became a member of the international advisory board of the Blackstone Group, New York. As a member of the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation and an executive board member of LGT, Pümpin was closely involved in the international expansion of that Group. Pümpin was also a board member of several institutes at the University of St. Gallen, and Chairman of the Institute of Management. Since the 1970s Pümpin has been a well-known lecturer at international congresses and seminars such as the World Economic Forum, and the ISC in St. Gallen. He has also given frequent lectures in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and many other countries. In 1985, along with two other investors, Pümpin acquired a training company with over 1,000 employees,