New Administrative Director at the IÖW

Marion Wiegand (left) and Stefanie Freier have worked together for many years in the administration of the IÖW.

Stefanie Freier was appointed administrative director of the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) on 1 July 2025. She takes over the position from Marion Wiegand, who was part of the Institute's Board of Directors for almost 30 years and is now retiring. 

Thanks to her many years of experience as a finance and personnel expert at the IÖW, Stefanie Freier is excellently prepared to manage the externally funded institute. Thomas Korbun, Scientific Director of the IÖW, congratulates: “In Stefanie Freier, the institute's shareholders have made an excellent choice for this responsible position. Together with all the staff, I am very much looking forward to working with her.”

“Marion Wiegand has helped shape the IÖW for over four decades and, as administrative director, has put her heart and soul into it. On behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank her most sincerely for her tireless commitment, her high level of expertise and her almost limitless creativity, which made the impossible possible in both good and bad times,” Korbun continues. 

Stefanie Freier: “Looking forward to the challenge” 

The business graduate Stefanie Freier has known the institute and its administration for more than 20 years. She has been working at the IÖW in various roles since 2004 – with a five-year interruption – most recently as a consultant for personnel development and finance since 2014. In particular, she specialized in corporate health and training management, internal balance sheets, and controlling project finances.

“Managing a non-profit institute that is financed entirely by third-party funding from various institutions is no easy task. I am looking forward to take on the challenge because I very much support the goals of the institute and greatly appreciate my dedicated and motivated colleagues. It is important to me to provide the best possible support for research at the IÖW with a competent and efficient administration,” says Freier. 

Marion Wiegand: Retirement after 40 years at the IÖW

In 1985, the year the IÖW was founded, Marion Wiegand began working for the IÖW as a student assistant alongside her business administration and law studies. In the years that followed, she helped to build up the independent research institute and faced challenging financial framework conditions for such new scientific organizations. In 1996, the business graduate took over the administrative management of the institute. 

Marion Wiegand also led the IÖW through difficult budgetary years and, together with Thomas Korbun, managed the strong growth of the IÖW in the years from 2015 onwards. Her expertise and experience in administrative management, calculating acquisitions, contract and grant law, non-profit issues, human resources, and accounting were important factors in the success of the IÖW until its 40th anniversary in 2025. She will remain a shareholder of the IÖW.

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More information and contact to the Financial Director Stefanie Freier