committee

Michael Peneder

Chairman

is an expert in industrial economics and innovation research at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO). He completed his habilitation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business in 2017. From October 2022 to September 2026, serves as Deputy Director of WIFO. As before, from 2010 to 2013, he is responsible for coordinating the institute's research activities. In 2026, he became Chairman of the Schumpeter Society Vienna.

judith kohlenberger

Deputy chairman

is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Institute for Social Policy and affiliated to the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (IIASA, VID/ÖAW, WU). She teaches at the University of Vienna and the FH Wien and writes regularly for the FALTER Think Tank. She has been on the board of the Schumpeter Society since 2019, has become general secretary in 2020 and deputy chairman in 2024.

Michael Landesmann

Deputy chairman

was Scientific Director (now Senior Research Associate) of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW) from 1996-2016 and is a university professor at JKU Linz. He was Chairman of the Board of the Schumpeter Society from 2019-2025.

Mark Schmitt

Secretary general

graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School as a Schumpeter Scholar in 2001. This was followed by 18 years in senior management positions in banking in the USA, Russia and Austria. Today, his work focuses on the execution of projects with socio-political relevance in the areas of medical prevention, women's health and child welfare. He has been secretary general since 2026.

stephan maxonus

Treasurer

worked as Relationship Manager for CEE, Central Asia and the Middle East at Westdeutsche Landesbank, where he was Head of the Office of former Federal Chancellor Dr. Franz Vranitzky from 1998 to 2004. Since 2004 he has been Director for Private and Institutional Investors at Schoellerbank AG in Vienna.

Karl Aiginger 

teaches at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and is Managing Editor of the ‘Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade (JICT)’. He has held visiting and honorary professorships at Stanford University, UCLA, MIT and the University of Linz as well as being Director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) from 2005 to 2016. Furthermore, he is Director of the Policy Crossover Centre: Vienna - Europe and has been on the board of the Schumpeter Society Vienna since 2019.

Christian Berger

is a socio-economist and lawyer currently working at the Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research. He is a lecturer at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna, and the Johannes Kepler University Linz. His main areas of work and research interests include European law and politics, political economy, monetary theory, gender relations in law, organizations, and economics. He has published non-fiction books (Über Forderungen, published in 2020; “Sorge,” published in 2021) and a textbook (“Kollektives Arbeitsrecht,” 3rd edition published in 2024), in specialist journals and in various media, including DerStandard, Die Presse, Jacobin, and on the A&W blog. He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Kurswechsel.

Alejandro Cuñat

is a Professor of Development Economics at the University of Vienna and is also affiliated with CESifo. He previously held positions at Bocconi University, the University of Essex and the London School of Economics. His research focuses on foreign trade, Development Economics and International Macroeconomics.

Alexia Fürnkranz-Prskawetz 

is a leading scientist in the field of population economics and demography. She has been Professor of Mathematical Economics at the Technical University of Vienna since 2003. In addition, she is Deputy Director of the Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on the economic and social impact of demographic change, using mathematical modelling and interdisciplinary approaches. She is currently President of the Austrian Economic Society (NOEG).

Ingrid Kubin

is a retired professor at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) and Vice President of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO). Her teaching and research focus primarily on macroeconomics and international economics, with a particular emphasis on complex dynamic processes.

Birgit Niessner

Birgit Niessner has been Director of the OeNB’s Economic Analysis and Research Department since October 2021. Before that, from 2007 to 2021, she held various positions in risk management and research at Erste Group and Raiffeisen Bank International. During this period, Birgit Niessner was also on a six-month secondment as Senior Economist at the EIB’s Research Department. She holds a PhD in Economics from Vienna University of Economics and Business as well as a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Vienna.

Ewald nowotny

was a full university professor and head of the Institute of Finance at the University of Linz from 1973 to 1982. Since 1982, he has been a full university professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Among other positions, he was Vice-President of the European Investment Bank and Governor of the Austrian National Bank from 2008 to 2019. He was President of the Schumpeter Society from 2019 to 2025.

Claudia Steinwender

is a Professor for Innovation and International Trade at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and affiliated with CEPR, CEP, and CESifo. Previously, she held positions at the Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Princeton University. Her research interests revolve around international trade, innovation, and economic history. She also has editorial roles at the Review of Economic Studies, the Journal of International Economics, and Explorations in Economic History.

martin zagler

is Full Professor of Economic Policy at UPO University of Eastern Piedmont in Novara (Italy) and associate professor of economics at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business. His fields of research are long-run economic growth and taxation. He has been on the board of the Schumpeter Society since 2023, and was general secretary from 2024-2025.