ETH Board appoints EPFL's new leadership team

This announcement comes a day after Prof. Fontcuberta i Morral presented the nominees to the members of the ETH Board, who then had a chance to speak with those individuals. Four of the nominees are new to their position, while two others have had their terms renewed. The vice presidents will form, together with Prof. Fontcuberta i Morral, EPFL’s leadership team.

Following this announcement, we spoke with the vice presidents about their goals and motivations in this role.

Ambrogio Fasoli, Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPA)

“I’m really looking forward to working closely with Anna as EPFL’s provost. Together we will help our community achieve excellence in all its academic endeavors – which is the core of our School’s mission. If we’re to overcome the challenges that lie ahead, we will need to innovate in various ways, and this includes by trying out new forms of collaboration. For example, some VPA team members will also work for the office of the president.”

Françoise Bommensatt, Vice President for Finances (VPF)

“Research and education budgets are coming under increasing pressure these days, which makes it more important than ever before to find innovative and pragmatic ways for our School to keep pursuing its mission. This means continuing to meet our community’s needs while adapting to the complex environment in which we operate. I’m confident we can do that by engaging all stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue based on mutual understanding.”

Edouard Bugnion, Vice President for Innovation and Impact (VPI)

“I intend to further EPFL’s efforts to forge links with the business world and society at large. That will help anchor our School’s – and Switzerland’s – position in a world where it’s crucial to remain at the cutting edge of technological innovation. Every innovation has an impact, and our task will be to ensure that our impact on society will be positive going forward.

Matthias Gäumann, Vice President for Operations (VPO)

“My job entails running and cultivating smart, sustainable campuses where our community can study, research and innovate effectively, safely, and with the benefit of top-notch facilities and support – including our buildings, IT systems and food services. I take my responsibility towards our community very seriously. We have some major construction, renovation and digitalization projects in the works, which will make our campuses even better equipped to confront the challenges we’ll face in the coming years.”

Stéphanie P. Lacour, Vice President for Support to Strategic Initiatives (VPS)

“Investing my energy in a new vice presidency, the VPS, is a way of giving back to EPFL after all the opportunities it has given me since I arrived in 2011. I have a dynamic team, and we will work to support strategic, cross-cutting initiatives with an impact on major issues affecting society, the economy, science and the environment, such as in the areas of health technology, data science, artificial intelligence and sustainability. I’m excited to do that with our researchers and students, in close cooperation with Anna, Ambrogio and Edouard.”

Marianne Wannier, Vice President for Human Development (VPH)

“EPFL created the Vice Presidency for Human Development in order to bolster its commitment to meeting our community’s diverse needs. We will put people at the center of our work, seeking to provide them with a healthy, stimulating and inclusive environment. We want every single member of our community to feel valued and to be able to fully contribute to our School’s mission. Our efforts will be aimed at managing human resources fairly by promoting well-being, equal opportunity and skills and career development, among other things. I’m looking forward to getting started!”