Speakers & Institutions

Alexander BaicAlexander Baic is Partner and Associate Director of the Social Impact practice area at Boston Consulting Group in Munich, where he works along nonprofits, government aid organizations, foundations and social entrepreneurs. He has collaborated with leading organizations to support the integration of refugees in Germany for example by supporting the development of a program helping teachers with the integration. Additionally, he supported a leading INGO in introducing its emergency intervention Child Friendly Spaces in Germany’s largest refugee accommodation, the Tempelhof in Berlin. In 2017, he authored the report How 300 Companies Integrated 2,500 Refugees into Germany’s Labor Market.
Alexander BettsAlexander Betts is Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs, and William Golding Senior Fellow in Politics at Brasenose College. Further, he is Associate Head of the Social Sciences Division at the University of Oxford, where he also currently leads the Refugee Economies Programme. His research concentrates mainly on refugee assistance, with a focus on Africa. He is author of over 10 books, his TED talks have been viewed by over 3 million people and he was named in the top 100 global thinkers of 2016. (more information)
Wilhelm BrunnerWilhelm Brunner is Head of International Markets and Managing Director of Austria of the Swiss ORS Group, which specializes in professional services for asylum seekers in Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Germany. In his 17 years of experience, his team had to face several big challenges such as the unexpected inflow of Chechen refugees, the so-called “2015 refugee crisis” or the “lock-down” in Austria during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Michael ClemensMichael Clemens is Director of Migration, Displacement, and Humanitarian Policy and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington USA. He also serves as a Research Fellow at the IZA Institute of Labor Economics in Bonn, Germany. His research focuses on the economic effects and causes of migration around the world. Mr. Clemens has published on migration, development, economic history, and impact evaluation in peer-reviewed academic journals and wrote the book The Walls of Nations, forthcoming from Columbia University Press. Previously, Clemens has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Population Economics and World Development and has been an Affiliated Associate Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University. (more information)
Angeliki DimitriadiDr. Angeliki Dimitriadi is Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Migration Program ELIAMEP. Her work focuses on irregular migration and asylum policies in the EU. Between 2015 and 2016, she was Visiting Fellow in residence on migration and asylum policy at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. Angeliki Dimitriadi holds a PhD in Social Administration Migration track, a MA in War Studies and a BSc in IR and History.
Marcus EnglerDr. Marcus Engler is a social scientist working for the DeZIM Institute since September 2020. His research focuses on refugee and migration movements as well as on German, European and global refugee and migration policy. He is member of the board of the “Netzwerk Fluchtforschung,” co-director of the “FluchtforschungsBlog” and co-founder of the “Arbeitskreis Aktive Aufnahmepolitiken.” In recent years, Dr. Engler has held various positions in migration research and policy consulting, most recently working as a freelance researcher and consultant for numerous organizations and research projects in Germany and abroad. Dr. Engler studied social sciences and economics at Humboldt University in Berlin and at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris. He, then, completed his doctorate in sociology at Humboldt University and at the Franco-German research center Centre Marc Bloch.
Mario GattikerMario Gattiker is State Secretary for Migration, Switzerland (SEM). Previously, he was head of the Directorate for Work, Integration and Citizenship and of the Directorate of Immigration and Integration at the Federal Office for Migration. Mr. Gattiker also was vice president and head of the Integration and Citizenship Division at the Federal Office of Immigration, Integration and Emigration. Additionally, he was head of both the Secretariat of the Federal Commission for Foreigners and the newly created Integration Section at the Federal Aliens Office. He graduated from the law department of Bern University in 1983 and worked for various Swiss charities and relief organizations after he earned his degree. (more information)
Eduard GnesaDr. iur. Eduard Gnesa was special Ambassador for International Migration Cooperation at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) from 2009 until his retirement in 2017. Before his Ambassadorship, he used to be Director of the Federal Office for Migration, which corresponds to today’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). Today, he is a lecturer on Swiss and international migration policy at the University of St. Gallen and a member of various international expert committees on migration and refugee issues. Mr. Gnesa is also a speaker and expert on migration issues and works for several foundations. (more information)
Herbert G. GrubelHerbert G. Grubel is Professor of Economics (Emeritus) at Simon Fraser University and a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute in Vancouver. He earned his PhD in Economics from Yale University in 1963 and had teaching and research positions at numerous universities including Yale, Stanford, Oxford and Bologna. He has published numerous books, peer-reviewed articles and opinion pieces covering issues in international monetary policy, international trade, fiscal policy, immigration and regulation. Additionally, he was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in Ottawa from 1993 to 1997, serving as the Finance Critic from 1995 to 1997. 
Peter GrünenfelderDr. Peter Grünenfelder is the Director of Avenir Suisse. Previous positions were, inter alia, state chancellor of the Canton of Aargau and president of the Swiss State Chancellors’ Association. Furthermore, he is a lecturer for public governance at the University of St. Gallen as well as frequent visiting lecturer at universities in Switzerland and abroad.
Dominik HangartnerDominik Hangartner is Associate Professor of Public Policy at ETH Zurich and the London School of Economics and Political Science and Co-Director of the Stanford – Zurich Immigration Policy Lab (IPL). He combines field work and statistics to study the effects of migration policies and electoral institutions. His research has won several awards and has been widely covered by the media. He has also published numerous articles in leading scholarly journals. After pre-doctoral fellowships at Harvard University, Washington University in Saint Louis, and the University of California, he received his Ph.D. in Social Science from the University of Bern in 2011. In the same year, he joined the London School of Economics as Assistant Professor and was promoted to tenured Associate Professor in 2013.  (more information)
Anja KlugAnja Klug currently heads the UNHCR Office for Switzerland and Liechtenstein in Bern. She is a lawyer by training, specialized in international human rights and refugee law. During her close to 25 years with UNHCR, she has worked in different European countries and in UNHCR headquarters in Geneva. Among her special areas of interest is the interface between refugee protection and international migration.
Pascal LagoPascal Lago has been working as a researcher at Avenir Suisse since August 2018. He has a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Zurich and a master’s in international relations from the University of St. Gallen. Prior to joining Avenir Suisse, he worked for the Swiss National Bank and Economiesuisse, and as a tutor at the University of Zurich’s Department of Economics.
Cornelia LüthySince 2016, Cornelia Lüthy is Vice Director of the State Secretariat for Migration, Switzerland (SEM), Head of Immigration and Integration Division and a member of the Board of Management. Her areas of responsibility include entry/border regulations, naturalization, residence and work permits, the Free Movement of People with the EU and integration policy. Cornelia Lüthy is a Doctor of Law and completed an Executive Master of Public Administration at the London School of Economics, where she is now also involved as a guest lecturer. Before joining the SEM, Cornelia Lüthy worked at the Federal Office of Justice, as a lawyer in various law firms and at the Directorate of Education in the Canton of Zurich. (more information)
Peter MaurerPeter Maurer is the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which carries out humanitarian work in over 80 countries. His priorities for the presidency include strengthening humanitarian diplomacy, engaging States and other actors for the respect of international humanitarian law, and improving the humanitarian response through innovation and new partnerships. Previously, Maurer was Switzerland's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and worked as appointed ambassador and permanent representative of Switzerland to the United Nations in New York. Also, he was elected chairman of the Fifth Committee and chairman of the Burundi configuration of the UN Peacebuilding Commission by the UN General Assembly. This after entering diplomatic service in 1987 and holding various positions in Bern and Pretoria. (more information)
Mehrdad MehreganiMehrdad Mehregani is Project Manager at Bertelsmann Stiftung working on migration policy. He is in charge of the initiative “Making Asylum Systems Work in Europe” and the foundation’s involvement in the resettlement project “Neustart im Team.” Before that, he was responsible of the Fellowship Programme of Stiftung Mercator and researcher at the International Labour Organisation. He holds an MSc in EU Politics from the London School of Economics.  (more information)
Céline NeuenschwanderCéline Neuenschwander began working for Avenir Jeunesse in May 2018. Since 2020, she has been working for Avenir Suisse as Manager of the Support Foundation and Secretary of the Foundation Committees ad interim as well as a researcher Smart Government. Prior to that, she worked as a political risk analyst at Soliswiss and a student assistant at the Professorship for International Relations and International Political Economy at the University of Zurich. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Zurich.
Nathalie RamelNathalie Ramel is Egon Zehnder’s Head of Research for Financial Services in Switzerland. Prior to joining Egon Zehnder, Nathalie worked with Credit Suisse in Corporate Banking and was an Economist with Novartis and Credit Suisse. During her PhD studies, she further served as a Research and Teaching Assistant with University of Basel and as a Research Associate with ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Her academic research focused on the fiscal effects of the new immigration in Switzerland. 
Marco SalviDr. Marco Salvi, Senior Fellow and Head of Research “Equal Opportunity Society,“ is responsible for topics such as job-market, fiscal policy, gender equality and regional policy of the latin part of Switzerland. He studied economics and econometrics at the University of Zurich and holds a Phd from the EPFL in Lausanne. Furthermore, he is lecturer for economics at ETH Zurich.
Michael SpindeleggerMichael Spindelegger was appointed Director General of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in January 2016. He has extensive experience in international relations through his work in the Federal Government of the Republic of Austria, where he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2013 and as Minister of Finance from 2013 to 2014. Additionally, he was Vice Chancellor and leader of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) from 2011 to 2014.
Marcel SuterMarcel Suter is Head of the Office for Migration and Civil Law of the Canton of Grisons and President of the Association of Cantonal Migration Authorities of Switzerland. Previously, he was the Chief of Staff at the Police of the Canton of Grisons and Head of Legal Services at the Civil Engineering Office of the Canton of Grisons. He holds a law degree from the University of Berne.
Matthieu TardisMatthieu Tardis is a Research Fellow at the Center for Migration and Citizenship. His research expertise includes asylum, integration and international migrations and their impact on European policies. Previously, he worked in a French refugee assisting organization where he was involved in the enhancement of the expertise on migration policies in France, Europe and Tunisia through study activities and European and international projects. Mr. Tardis graduated from the Institute of High European Studies in Strasbourg. He also studied at the law Universities of Bordeaux and Oslo.
Axel van TrotsenburgAxel van Trotsenburg is the World Bank Managing Director of Operations. He brings deep experience in regional operations and finance, drawing on his experience as currently the longest serving Vice President at the Bank, with two tenures in the Finance Complex and two in Operations. A Dutch and Austrian national, he was Acting World Bank CEO in 2019 and served as World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean. In this latter position, he led relations with 31 countries in the region and oversaw a portfolio of ongoing projects, technical assistance and grants worth more than $30 billion. Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked at the OECD in Paris. He holds a master’s and a doctorate degree in economics and a master’s degree in international affairs.
Shona WarrenShona Warren is Head of the Migration Programme at Agora Think Tank, a grassroots, foreign policy Think Tank based in London. She also works as a Public Affairs Consultant. Shona Warren has a background in community outreach and migrant rights policy, having spent several years in the NGO sector in Australia and Nepal. She holds a Masters of International Relations, specializing in security studies, and a Bachelor of Arts in French and Politics from the University of Melbourne.
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