The Foundation’s Board of Trustees serves as the ultimate decision-making body, offering strategic guidance for our initiatives and bringing extensive experience and knowledge to our key areas of activity.
About us
Board of Trustees
Emiliana Vegas (Ed.D)
Emiliana Vegas was appointed to the Board in January 2021. She is a professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). She holds a Doctor of Education degree from HGSE and a Master’s of public policy degree from Duke University.
Hans Ambühl
Hans Ambühl joined the Board in October 2013 and was appointed Vice President in 2022. He was General Secretary of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education in Bern until 2017.
Jenny Abramson
Jenny Abramson was appointed to the Board in January 2021. She is Founder and Managing Partner of the venture capital fund Rethink Impact. She has a master’s degree in sociology and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Joh. Christian Jacobs (PhD)
Joh. Christian Jacobs joined the Board in 1995 and was appointed Chair in 2004. Today he is active as an entrepreneurial investor. Since April 2015, he has held the position of Honorary Chairman.
Olaf von Maydell (PhD)
Olaf von Maydell has been a member of the Board since May 2013. He is a tax consultant with a PhD in agricultural economics, and a partner in the Schomerus & Partner tax consulting firm in Berlin.
Sandro Giuliani
Sandro Giuliani, former Managing Director of the Jacobs Foundation, has served as Delegate of the Board since April 2015. He has been a Member of the Board since January 2020.
Ulman Lindenberger (PhD)
Ulman Lindenberger joined the Board in January 2012. He is a German psychologist and Director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.
William Egbe
William Egbe joined the Board in April 2015. He is an engineer with an MBA, and was Group Director Strategic Planning and Sustainability for the Coca-Cola Eurasia & Africa Group.
Former trustees
Name
Years in office
Patrick Aebischer (PhD)
President EPFL
2017 – 2022
Nathalie Albin-Jacobs
2012 – 2019
Paul B. Baltes (PhD) †
Director Max-Planck- Institute
1989 – 2005
Jürgen Baumert (PhD)
2006 – 2012
Ernst Buschor (PhD) †
Former Member of the Government and Minister of Education of the canton of Zurich
2010 – 2012
Flavio Cotti (†)
Former President of Switzerland
1999 – 2010
Pascal Couchepin
Former President of Switzerland
2010 – 2012
Pierre Ducrey (PhD)
University Lausanne
1989 – 1998
David A. Hamburg (PhD) †
President Emeritus, Carnegie Corporation of New York
1991 – 1998
Michael Hubermann (PhD) †
Senior Reasearch Associate, Prof Harvard University
1991 – 1995
Klaus J. Jacobs (†)
Founder & Chairman
1991 – 2007
Walther J. Jacobs (†)
Honorary Chairman
1991 – 1995
Eduardo Missoni (PhD)
Bocconi University in Milan
2006 – 2011
Lázló Nagy (†)
Former President
1991 – 1998
Auma Obama (PhD)
2010 – 2015
Sir Michael Rutter (PhD) †
Institute of Psychiatry
1998 – 2003
Marta Tienda (PhD)
Professor, Princeton University,
1999 – 2021
Laura Tyson (PhD)
Professor University of California, Berkeley
2012 – 2017
Heinrich Ursprung (PhD)
Former Swiss State Secretary