Where did you grow up ?
I grew up in the east of Austria, which is why I still have that Viennese accent.

What were your hobbies as a child ?
All sorts of things really: books and playing the piano, but also social activities like team sports, performances, and board games. And our school had great arts and crafts facilities, from pottery to film-making. I really enjoyed the variety.

Where did you go to University ?
I started out locally. The University and the Technical University of Vienna offered a joint program in Business Information Systems with specializations in AI and operations research, but also finance. At that time, several new chairs for finance were created. These new professors did fascinating research, which led me to pursue a PhD there with a thesis on risk. But I also attended courses abroad at places like LSE and did another degree at Cambridge.

Any anecdote or memory from your time as PhD ?
Probably everyone is a bit anxious before their first conference presentation, and so was I. Even more so after seeing that the session chair was one of the leaders in the field whom I had never met personally. I expected a tough grilling and making many beginner’s mistakes. But he turned out to be extremely constructive and supportive. Learning that those with the highest accomplishments give their comments in a most helpful and constructive way was a valuable lesson for future presentations – and, frankly, for a career in academia.

What is your main research focus ?
Computational finance, particularly specialized numerical methods and approaches in the context of investments and financial markets. Simplifying a problem can make it mathematically manageable or tractable with traditional numerical methods. But in practical applications, that is not always feasible and may result in excluding relevant aspects. Take portfolio optimization or risk management. Traditional optimization methods often cannot handle certain constraints, such as some institutional or regulatory requirements, or demanding stochastic properties. That is where more innovative computational approaches come into play. I particularly like those inspired by artificial intelligence or natural phenomena like evolution or swarm behavior. Likewise, machine learning can be very helpful not just for analyzing empirical phenomena, but also for applications like asset pricing or trading. Another fascinating area is simulation: whenever data is scarce or when we need to consider complex interactive behavior, computer models can be particularly useful.

What research are you working on right now that you are really excited about and why ?
Portfolio optimization has always been one of my favorite topics, and lately, I have become more interested in dynamic aspects. It is a highly relevant area for practical applications, but there are still many open questions, making it a perfect candidate for computational approaches. Another area is systemic risk. Having previously worked mostly from an investor’s point of view, it is nice to switch perspective and collaborate with colleagues from central banks and academia who are concerned with financial stability and analyze the banking system from a network perspective. I guess these topics will keep me busy for a while. 

What attracted you to Switzerland, your local university and SFI ?
The University of Basel is very open to new, promising research areas. They were amongst the first to introduce positions for computational sciences across several disciplines like physics, chemistry, or biology. And they created a full professorship for computational applications in business and economics, which I was more than happy to take on in 2008. But this spirit of innovation and openness is true for other Swiss universities, too, which makes Switzerland in general and Basel in particular such an exciting environment for research. And that is also what I find so great about SFI. It brings together many interesting and innovative minds from diverse backgrounds who share a common interest in advancing financial research.

What languages do you speak ?
German, English, and, on a good day, some basic French.

What do you do in your spare time ?
It’s a mix, much like the childhood hobbies. Listening to music, admiring art, going on cycling tours with friends. And travelling, meeting new people. 

What is your favorite holiday destination ?
I like cities. Interesting museums, great architecture, decent restaurants, and scenic landscapes nearby for daytrips – if it ticks at least two or three of these boxes, you can count me in.

What is your favorite quote ?
Virgil’s “felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas” – fortunate who understands the causes of things.