Prof. Dr Axel Weber is well known as a European central banker and global bank manager. He is a former Chairman of the Board of UBS, a major Swiss bank, a former Governor of the German Bundesbank and President of the Center for Financial Studies. An economist by training, he... Read more
Prof. Dr Axel Weber is well known as a European central banker and global bank manager. He is a former Chairman of the Board of UBS, a major Swiss bank, a former Governor of the German Bundesbank and President of the Center for Financial Studies. An economist by training, he is an internationally recognised expert in monetary theory and policy.
Axel Weber (*1957) holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Konstanz and a doctorate in economics from the University of Siegen, where he also habilitated. From 2002 to 2004 he was a member of the German Council of Economic Experts and subsequently became President of the Deutsche Bundesbank until 2011. He revamped the German central bank, which regained international recognition under his leadership, and stood by the government during the financial crisis. Axel Weber is considered one of the key figures in Europe in dealing with the global financial crisis. During his time as Bundesbank President, he was also a member of the Governing Council of the ECB, a member of the Executive Board of the Bank for International Settlements, a German Governor of the International Monetary Fund and a member of the G7 and G20 Ministers and Governors. He was a member of the steering committees of the European Systemic Risk Board in 2011 and of the Financial Stability Board from 2010 to 2011.
From 2012, Axel A. Weber served for ten years as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the major Swiss bank UBS Group AG. During this time, he was responsible for the strategic realignment of UBS, re-establishing it as one of the leading banks in Europe. In recognition of this, Weber was named European Banker of the Year 2014. During this time, he also served as a member and Chairman of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the global banking association, and as Chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committee and the Corporate Culture and Responsibility Committee.
His academic career includes professorships in international economics, monetary economics and economic theory at the Universities of Cologne, Frankfurt am Main and Bonn as well as a visiting professorship at the University of Chicago – Booth School. He holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Duisburg-Essen and Constance.
Prof Dr Weber is a member and chairman of various commissions and committees. For example, he is Chairman of the Trilateral Commission Europe and a member and trustee of the Group of Thirty. He has been an advisor to the Board of Directors of Flossbach von Storch since September 2022 and has also been a Global Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group since the beginning of 2023.
Axel Weber is an eloquent speaker and a precise observer of economic events, which he presents in a pointed and quick-witted manner – sometimes with a pinch of humour – in his lectures.