A new secretary general and a new human resources delegate

EPFL’s incoming Senior Management will be supported in its work by a new secretary general, TRISTAN MAILLARD, who will join the school at the start of 2017. Mr. Maillard earned a PhD in theoretical physics at ETH Zurich and Cern. He then received a Marie-Curie grant to do a post-doc at the École Polytechnique in Paris. Mr. Maillard has worked at the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) since 2010, where he runs the unit in charge of interdisciplinary research and the Sinergia and Agora programs. He has also been managing the operational aspects of the SNSF’s Temporary Backup Schemes following Switzerland’s exclusion from the European Research Council’s funding schemes. In addition, he has run the Mathematics, Natural and Engineering Sciences division at the SNSF since 2014.

As EPFL’s secretary general, Mr. Maillard will oversee the Senior Management’s everyday business and take the lead on its operational projects.

We are also pleased to announce the appointment of SUSANNA SWANN, who will join EPFL on 1 February 2017 and take over as the human resources delegate on 1 March. She will work in the Vice Presidency for Human Resources and Operations (VPRHO). Ms. Swann, who holds both Swiss and British nationalities, completed a Master degree in mathematics at the University of Oxford. She began her career in 1989 in consulting with Deloitte & Touche in Geneva before moving across town to Procter & Gamble in 1990. In 1993, she was hired by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as a field delegate. She was subsequently given operational management responsibilities and served as head of mission. In 2006, she joined the ICRC’s human resources department as deputy director and became acting director in 2010. Ms. Swann then led a global human resources project at Tetra Pak International SA for just over a year. In 2013, she joined the management team of Doctors Without Borders (Switzerland) as Deputy General Director, overseeing strategic human resources projects, risk management and information systems. Ms. Swann has also been a faculty member at the Geneva School of Economics and Management since 2014.

RENÉ BUGNION has decided, in agreement with the future president, to take early retirement on 30 April 2017. Mr. Bugnion was hired as the administrative director in 1998. He was made the logistics delegate in 2000, where his responsibilities included implementing the SAP software package and overseeing the school’s administrative reorganization. As the human resources and security delegate, he played an active role in: setting up the New Salary System (NSS); the switch to a defined-contribution plan with Publica; the Atmos satisfaction surveys; various components of the “Sciences, Life, Society” project; digitizing employee data; putting in place an employee audit; introducing e-Learning; and the Risk Management Committee. In addition to these professional duties, Mr. Bugnion is in charge of the Polyathlon Association.

The current and future members of the Senior Management are united in thanking René Bugnion for his hard work and dedication to the school and for all that he has accomplished.

NATHALIE PICHARD and JEAN-FRANCOIS RICCI will both step down on 31 December 2016.

NATHALIE PICHARD, Deputy Secretary General for Academic Affairs (VPAA) and director of ArtLab, started working at EPFL in 2000 as the dean of academic affairs. In 2004, Ms. Pichard became the education delegate, where she oversaw all central administrative units involved in teaching. In 2011, Philippe Gillet called on her to take over as Deputy Secretary General for Academic Affairs responsible for the administrative coordination of all units attached to the VPAA (research, education, other campuses and centers). On 1 January 2016, Ms. Pichard became director of the ArtLab Office where she finalized the design for the pavilions in the new ArtLab building, which was inaugurated on 3 November 2016.

JEAN-FRANCOIS RICCI, EPFL’s secretary general, was hired by EPFL in 1997 to lead the school's strategic planning. In this role, he was heavily involved in the “Sciences, Life, Society” restructuring project under which a number of teaching activities were transferred between the University of Lausanne and EPFL. Beginning on 17 March 2000, when Patrick Aebischer became EPFL’s president, Mr. Ricci assisted the president in the school's many growth projects, playing a role in implementing reforms and setting up new structures and in strategic projects like the Rolex Learning Center. For more than 16 years, he was involved in coordinating the Senior Management’s activities and acted as an interface both internally – between the various services and departments – and externally.

Patrick Aebischer and Martin Vetterli wish to take this opportunity to thank Jean-François Ricci and Nathalie Pichard for their hard work over the years at EPFL. The Senior Management could always count on their unfailing support and commitment to the school.

Upcoming work related to the reorganization:

The reconfiguration of the Senior Management will lead to significant work downstream, as 250 units – out of the 918 units at EPFL – will be affected. The associated restructuring, changes in access rights and updates will take place in due course. Some unforeseen complications are possible, but there is no need to worry. We will do our best to avoid them, limit their impact, and resolve them quickly.

(Photos credits - EPFL, Catherine leutenegger for Tristan Maillard.)