Prof. Dr. Robert Perich joins D-MTEC as the new Director of the SSPG

After working for 20 years as ETH Zurich’s Chief Financial Officer, 15 of which he served as Vice President for Finance and Controlling, Robert Perich was appointed as Professor of Practice and as the new Academic Director of the Swiss School of Public Governance (SSPG) of ETH Zurich.

Robert Perich graduated in 1986 from the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in Management and Business Administration, and in 1992 took his doctorate with a thesis on “organisational dynamics”. In 1991 he began his professional career at a major Swiss bank where he worked for 12 years in various staff and management positions, and finally as a Member of the Executive Board and CFO of the Private Banking Switzerland Division.

Robert Perich joined ETH Zurich in April 2003, serving initially as Director of Finance and Controlling and as a member of the expanded Executive Board. In 2008, he was appointed Vice President for Finance and Controlling and was made a member of the Executive Board. In this capacity, he was responsible for financial strategy and planning, for budgeting and financial management, cash management, reporting, controlling and institutional research as well as risk management. His main priorities have been establishing sound governance structures and seamless business practices aligned with the requirements of a Higher Education Institution. Under his leadership, ETH Zurich has introduced a structured and comprehensive business planning cycle, together with a highly interactive planning & budgeting process and periodic rendering of accounts. He has also driven the digitalisation of administrative processes. In that capacity, he was responsible for the introduction of a modern, forward-looking finance and resource platform based on SAP S/4 Hana. The ETHIS system has provided the responsible leaders at different organisational levels with a transparent management cockpit as well as a variety of workflows to efficiently handle financial, personnel and logistics procedures at ETH Zurich. Also, under Robert Perich’s supervision, the IPSAS international accounting standards were introduced in the ETH Domain.

For many years, Robert Perich had a teaching post at the University of St. Gallen in the fields of “strategy and organisational methodology”. He has also been a regular guest lecturer at the CAS in Public Governance and Administration of the SSPG and at the Center for Higher Education Studies (CHESS) at the University of Zurich. Since 2018 he has also been a member of the University Council of the University of Cologne.

In his new role as Professor of Practice and Academic Director of the SSPG, Robert Perich will share his knowledge and insights into the governance, management and administration of public and non-profit organisations, especially higher education institutions. Through his broad experience in both the private and public sector, Robert Perich is ideally positioned to develop and advance the continuing education portfolio and translational research activities of the SSPG in the areas of higher education and public management.