New interim management as of April 2020

The four-member interim Executive Management team: Thomas Werder Schläpfer, Rosemarie Pécaut, Angelika Kalt, Pierre Willa (from

The SNSF is making changes at the helm of its Administrative Offices in Bern: the directors Angelika Kalt and Rosemarie Pécaut will form an interim Executive Management together with Thomas Werder Schläpfer and Pierre Willa.

Promoting diversity in Swiss research. Planning ahead in the interest of research in Switzerland. Conveying the value added by research and the SNSF. These three goals are key pillars of the SNSF's strategy until 2025. The SNSF Administrative Offices play a crucial role in the pursuit of these goals. As of April 2020, they will be led by a four-member interim Executive Management consisting of the incumbent directors Angelika Kalt and Rosemarie Pécaut and new members Thomas Werder Schläpfer and Pierre Willa, both of them specialists in research funding. This move also serves to fill a management position that has been vacant since November 2019. The existing Extended Executive Management (EGL) will be disbanded.

"These changes will make our organisation leaner and increase management capacity as we continue to implement our strategy," says director Angelika Kalt. "We want to make decisions more rapidly and expedite key projects."

Overall management of the Administrative Offices will remain in the hands of Angelika Kalt, with Rosemarie Pécaut continuing as head of central services and operations. Thomas Werder Schläpfer and Pierre Willa, who both currently lead an SNSF division, will be responsible for research funding operations and strategic development.

The definitive organisation of the Executive Management will be decided by the Executive Committee of the Foundation Council by 2021 at the latest. "Besides research funding, there are plans to further strengthen IT and organisational development," says Angelika Kalt. "Here, too, the SNSF aims to plan ahead - so that we can continue to fulfil our research funding mandate efficiently and to the benefit of research in Switzerland."

Administrative Offices of the SNSF