Since 2014, Joël Wagner is a Full Professor in the Department of Actuarial Science at the HEC Faculty of the University of Lausanne. He is also a member of the Swiss Finance Institute at University of Lausanne (since 2017) and invited lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Retraites Populaires (since 2019, Chairman 2020-2021) and La Luxembourgeoise (Lalux Group, Lalux Assurances, Lalux Assurances-Vie, since 2022). He is a former member of the Swiss Occupational Pension Supervisory Commission (CHS PP, 2018-2019).
Academic curriculum. Joël finished his postdoctoral lecture qualification (habilitation) on topics in Insurance Management and Financial Stability in 2013 and has been awarded the degree of Privatdozent at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). He holds a venia legendi in Business Administration with special emphasis on Risk Management. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics (Dr. ès sc. , fields of analysis, numerical analysis and simulation, 2006) and an engineering degree in Physics (Master, ing. phys. dipl. EPF, 2002) from EPFL. During his doctoral studies, he was also a visiting research associate at the University of Houston (2002, 2003).
Past positions. From 2010 until 2014 he was Assistant Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at HSG and Member of the Executive Board of the Institute of Insurance Economics. He was also a Member of the Steering Committee of that university’s profile unit Responsible Corporate Competitiveness. He taught various courses in the university’s Master in Banking and Finance curriculum and selected modules in the institute’s executive education programme. From 2006 to 2009 he was a consultant in the Financial Services and Insurance practice of The Boston Consulting Group.
Research interests. His research focuses on current topics in risk management and insurance. Recent and ongoing work includes the analysis of current challenges in life and pension insurance (e.g., model risk, option pricing, pension reforms, long-term care financing), in insurance management (multichannel distribution, claims auditing), and recent developments in regulatory and reporting frameworks (costs and benefits from regulation, solvency requirements — e. g., Swiss Solvency Test, Solvency II and pension coverage ratios — guaranty funds, IFRS and embedded value reporting). His activities include regular projects with insurance companies and studies on selected topics for the insurance industry. Joël Wagner frequently presents his findings at academic conferences and in talks to practicioners. He regularly publishes his work in academic peer-reviewed journals.
Current Positions
- Full Professor in Actuarial Science, Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC), University of Lausanne (UNIL), Switzerland [link]
- Swiss Finance Institute Professor at University of Lausanne, SFI@UNIL, Switzerland [link]
- Member of the Board of Directors, Retraites Populaires, Lausanne, Switzerland [link]
- Member of the Board of Directors, La Luxembourgeoise, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Institutional Responsibilities
- Director of the PhD program in Actuarial Science, HEC-UNIL, Switzerland
- Academic Director of various Executive Management Training Programs, HEC-UNIL, Switzerland
- Member of the Academic Planning Committee, HEC-UNIL, Switzerland
Other Engagement Activities
- Member of the Editorial Board of the journals Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance – Issues and Practice and Risks
- Co-organizer of Practitioner Conferences Cycle de Conférences en Assurances with Swiss Insurance Association, Switzerland
- Collaboration in the Enterprise for Society (E4S) stream Shaping the future of work, Joint venture of the University of Lausanne through HEC Lausanne, IMD and EPFL
- Invited lecturer in the course New tools & research strategies in personalized health at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
- Member of the Sustainability Working Group, Swiss Association of Actuaries, Switzerland
- Jury Member of the Ethics & Trust in Finance Prize, Observatoire de la Finance, Geneva, Switzerland
- Member of the Think Tank de la Prévoyance Professionelle Suisse, Switzerland (until 2020)
Past Positions
| 2018 – 2019 | Member of the Occupational Pension Supervisory Commission Swiss Confederation, Berne, Switzerland |
| 2016 – 2017 | Invited Professor, Executive MBA University of Geneva, Switzerland |
| 2010 – 2014 | Assistant Professor of Risk Management and Insurance University of St. Gallen, Switzerland Executive Director at the Responsible Corporate Competitiveness profile unit University of St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| 2013 – 2014 | Member of the Executive Board of the Institute of Insurance Economics University of St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| 2010 – 2013 | Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Project Leader Institute of Insurance Economics, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| 2006 – 2009 | Senior Consultant The Boston Consulting Group, Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2002 and 2003 | Visiting Research Scholar Department of Mathematics, University of Houston, USA |
| 2002 – 2006 | Research and Teaching Assistant at the Chair of Numerical Analysis and Simulation Section of Mathematics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland |
Education and Degrees
| 2014 | Privatdozent Venia Legendi in Business Administration with special emphasis on Risk Management School of Management, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| 2010 – 2013 | Postdoctoral Thesis (“Habilitation”) in Risk Management and Insurance Title: “Essays on Insurance Management and Financial Stability” |
| 2006 | Ph.D. in Mathematics (Dr. ès sc.) School of Basic Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 2002 – 2006 | Doctoral Thesis in Applied Mathematics Title: “Finite element methods with patches and applications” |
| 2002 | Master of Science in Physics (ing. phys. dipl. EPF) Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 1997 – 2002 | Studies in Physics, Master Thesis in Numerical Analysis and Theoretical Physics Title: “Etude par analyse numérique des équations de continuité et d’Euler associés à différents modèles uni-dimensionnels de liquides conservatifs” |
| 2001 | EPFL – CREATE Entrepreneurship Certificate Branco Weiss Chair of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland |