From CFO to knowledge broker for the next generation
Robert Perich is stepping down as Vice President for Finance and Controlling at his own request on 31 March 2023. He will not retire entirely: at the same time, he will take on a new part-time academic position at D-MTEC. The process to recruit a new vice president will get underway in the coming weeks.
One year from now, when Robert Perich enters semi-retirement at 50 percent, he will have completed exactly 20 years as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ETH Zurich. Since he took on the role of Director of Finance and Controlling in 2003, he has repositioned and professionalised the university’s finance department. In 2008, following his appointment as Vice President for Finance and Controlling (VPFC) and to the Executive Board, he began the task of bringing the relevant ETH-wide standards, instruments and procedures into line with changing governance requirements and has thus played a key role in reshaping financial management at ETH (see “Robert Perich’s career and achievements”).
Solid basis for sustainable growth at ETH
“Thanks to Robert Perich, ETH Zurich has had, and will continue to have, complete control over its financial and governance processes,” says ETH President Joël Mesot. “His efforts also mean that our financial processes are now organised so that ETH Zurich is in a financially sound position and can react flexibly to new challenges. For this we are very grateful. I greatly admire how Robert has always been able to see the shifting sands ahead and ensure that the Executive Board could safely navigate the choppy waters of university funding.” Perich’s achievements include the introduction and ongoing upkeep of ETHIS, the ETH-wide resource and finance platform. He is also responsible for risk management and for institutional research, which involves the collation and analysis of our university’s KPIs.
Leading role at the SSPG
In 2023, Robert Perich will turn 62 and believes it will then be time to entrust the demanding job of VPFC to the next generation: “After establishing the Executive Board domain, along with well over 500 Executive Board meetings, plus a host of strategic and occasionally tough decisions, it’s now the right moment for me to step aside. At the same time, however, I’m going to be taking on a new challenge, one that will give me the opportunity pass on my knowledge and experience.” After entering semi-retirement, Perich will assume a leading role at the Swiss School of Public Governance (SSPG), where he will have a 50 percent workload. In this position, he will be a key voice in further developing the SSPG as a centre of teaching and research for governance and leadership in the public sector.
At present, the SSPG focuses largely on providing continuing education to middle management in public administration and in the diplomatic services of Switzerland and countries around the world. However, according to Peter Egger, Head of the Department of Management, Technology and Economics (D-MTEC), there are plans to expand this portfolio: “In the medium and long term, D-MTEC is looking to broaden and deepen its expertise in the field of public management. With his wealth of experience in both the private and public sector, Robert Perich is the ideal person to help D-MTEC develop and advance its programme of applied research, teaching and continuing education in the field of public management.”
Head of a small translational research group
D-MTEC has submitted a request to appoint Robert Perich Professor of Practice once the legal requirements for the creation of this post have been met. Following internal consultation, which is currently underway, the ETH Board is expected to decide on this new position at its May meeting. It is hoped that this new personnel category will ease the appointment of top candidates from the private sector and public administration, who bring wide-ranging professional experience and have delivered excellent results in their respective fields. In response to this new challenge, Perich has the following to say: “I’m looking forward to meeting the next generation of leaders in the public and non-profit sector and sharing with them my knowledge of, and insights into, the governance, management and administration of such institutions.” In this capacity, Perich will also lead a small translational research group looking at the administration of institutions of higher education and non-profit organisations. In addition, he will consult with other professorships at D-MTEC and elsewhere in order to develop new projects in applied research.
Well-ordered procedure to appoint a successor
To ensure continuity and the appointment of a successor with the requisite credentials, the search for a new VPFC will get underway in the next few weeks. “Robert Perich has set the bar high,” Mesot says. “But thanks to his providing advance notice of his intention to step down, and his continuing commitment to give his all during his last year as VPFC, we now have enough time to find a suitable person to fill this important role.”
Robert Perich’s career and achievements
Robert Perich, who will step down as CFO in March 2023, studied at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), where he completed his doctorate in 1992 with the best business administration thesis of his year, on the topic of “Unternehmungsdynamik” (business dynamics). He began his professional career in 1991, working in corporate planning at Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (SKA), which would later become Credit Suisse. Before joining ETH Zurich, Perich held various staff and line positions at a major Swiss bank, where he rose to become an Executive Board member and CFO of the Private Banking Switzerland Division.
Perich joined ETH Zurich in 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 made a member of the Executive Board. In this capacity, he is responsible for financial strategy and planning, for budgeting and financial management (including cash management), and for controlling and risk management. His main priorities have been establishing sound governance structures and seamless business practices. Under his leadership, ETH Zurich has introduced a structured and comprehensive business planning schedule, together with a highly interactive medium-term planning process and periodic rendering of accounts.
Perich has also driven the digitalisation of administrative processes. He was responsible for the introduction of a modern, forward-looking finance and resource platform based on SAP S/4HANA, making ETH one of the first universities in the world to adopt such a system. Likewise, the creation of ETHIS has enabled a transparent overview and efficient management of all the financial, personnel and logistics processes at ETH Zurich. Under Perich’s aegis, the IPSAS international accounting standards were also introduced in the ETH Domain.
Along with Julia Dannath, Vice President for Personnel Development and Leadership, Perich is currently responsible for Workstream 5 of the ETH-wide organisational development project rETHink. This has also involved the development of a digitalisation strategy for the ETH Zurich administration. This strategy is currently the subject of a wide-ranging discussion internally and undergoing preparation for launch.