After 14 years as chairman of the House of Finance’s (HoF) Board of Trustees, Otmar Issing will be retiring at the end of this year. He will be succeeded by economist and Board of Trustees member Axel A. Weber.
As of January 1, 2023, Prof. Dr. Drs. h.c. Axel A. Weber will take over the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the House of Finance. He succeeds Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Otmar Issing, who held the position since the HoF’s inauguration in 2008 and played a key role in establishing the House of Finance as a place for interdisciplinary, finance-related cutting-edge research, policy advice and continuing education.
Axel A. Weber was elected his successor at a Board of Trustees meeting on November 8, 2022. His scientific career and work are a perfect fit for the dialogue between science, politics and financial practice, as lived by and in the House of Finance.
After studying economics at the University of Constance, Axel A. Weber completed his habilitation at the University of Siegen. His academic career also included stations at the University of Bonn, Goethe University Frankfurt as well as the University of Cologne, where he held the Chair of International Economics from 2001 to 2004. During this time, Weber also served as member of the German Council of Economic Experts and the scientific advisory board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany, among others. In April 2004, the economist took over as President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, a post he held until spring 2011. From May 2012 to April 2022, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of UBS Group AG.
Otmar Issing, who will hand over the baton to Axel A. Weber at the end of the year, is certain that the future of the House of Finance is in the best hands with his successor, who, just like himself, is familiar with all the House of Finance’s areas of activity: „I am delighted that with Axel A. Weber we have been able to win over an academic for the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees who combines the experience of excellent researcher, top manager and banker in one person.“
When he leaves office at the end of the year, Otmar Issing will hand over a well-functioning house that is home to, among others, two university departments from the Faculties of Law as well as Economics and Business, graduate and advanced education institutions and several research institutes or units, including the Leibniz Institute SAFE – itself an example of how under Ottmar Issing’s patronage, the HoF has been able to develop as an interdisciplinary incubator of finance research and knowledge transfer in politics and society.
The designated successor, Axel A. Weber, is looking forward to supporting and further developing the House of Finance, whose concept of interdisciplinary, internationally networked research and teaching is more relevant than ever, in its contribution to tackling the challenging issues of the present and the future: „In Frankfurt am Main, we need excellent finance research to provide policy-makers and the financial sector with orientation and know-how throughout the ongoing transformation processes, and we must continue to foster the education and training of qualified young professionals in this field. To that end, we intend to make even greater use of the opportunities offered by a comprehensive university in the future.“
