Dr. Walter Ammann

Chairman, International Disaster Risk Reduction Centre (IDRC), Davos, Switzerland

Walter Ammann's Curriculum Vitae

Walter Ammann got his MSc in Civil Engineering and his PhD in structural dynamics and earthquake engineering both at ETH Zurich.  He started his professional career in various consulting companies for geotechnics and foundation engineering, earthquake engineering and bridge construction. From 1986 - 1992, he was responsible for the R&D-department of a globally acting company in construction technologies. From 1992 to 2007, he was director of the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos and Deputy Director of the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL  in Birmensdorf.

Currently, Walter J. Ammann is the Founder, President of the Board and CEO of the Global Risk Forum GRF Davos, and Chairman of the International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC, a biennial global conference in Davos.

His interest in current R&D is integrated risk management and its applications to all kinds of natural hazards and technical risks, in particular by considering the whole risk cycle with prevention, preparedness, intervention and recovery, risk financing tools, but also emergency management and communication tools with a focus on early warning, crisis management, critical infrastructures, and resilience increase. Climate change related hazards and risks, their adaptation and mitigation and their harmonization with disaster and risk reduction is of particular concern for him.

He is author and co-author of over 250 papers, books and scientific reports and is a member of various national and international professional associations and expert consulting groups like the UN-ISDR Science and Technology Council. He lectures at ETH and University Zurich and is Visiting Professor at HIT in Harbin, China.