Zacharias Sautner
Professor of Sustainable Finance, University of Zurich
Senior Chair, Swiss Finance Institute
Short Bio
Zacharias is Professor of Sustainable Finance at University of Zurich and Senior Chair at the Swiss Finance Institute. He works on sustainable finance, ESG, climate finance, and biodiversity finance. Through his research on ESG topics, he provides insights on how finance can contribute to a more sustainable future.
His research was published in leading international journals, including the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, and Journal of Financial Economics.
He is an Associate Editor at the Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Banking & Finance, and Journal of Corporate Finance, a Regular Research Visitor at the ECB, and an advisor of asset management companies on sustainable finance issues. He is a Director of the European Finance Association.
Zacharias is the proud father of three daughters (born 2017, 2019, 2021), making him intrinsically motivated to work hard for a sustainable future. Some more personal information can be found here and here.
Research Impact
In February 2023, Zacharias was ranked #1 in Germany across all fields of business administration in the Author Ranking (2018-2022) by Forschungsmonitoring.org based on top publications (A+ and A journals). He was also ranked #23 globally across 12,000 business authors in a ranking based on SSRN research paper downloads over the past 12 months (January 2023).
Two of his papers were ranked #3 and #4 in a Financial Times ranking of “Business School Sustainability Research: What is Read Most?” (July 2023). His research has been cited 7,000+ times according to Google Scholar and was downloaded about 100,000 times on SSRN.
Media & Policy
Zacharias' expertise is cited in newspapers such as Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times or Die Zeit.
The climate finance research by Zacharias has been referenced in financial stability and policy reports by the SEC, IMF, ECB, European Commission, ESRB, and in speeches by central bankers.
He has won various awards for his research, refereeing, and teaching.
Keynotes
Zacharias provides keynotes at corporate and academic events on topics such as:
The Measurement and Pricing of Biodiversity Risks
The Role of Institutional Investors in the Fight against Climate Change
The Risks and Opportunities of ESG Ratings
Is there an ESG Bubble?
ESG Ratings: What We Do and Do Not Know
Is there Short-termism in Financial Markets?