SNB Chief Economist Lenz to Retire, With Brown Set to Take Over

(Bloomberg) — Swiss National Bank Chief Economist Carlos Lenz is set to retire at the end of the year and will be succeeded by Martin Brown, the current director of the central bank’s academic research institution.

Brown, 55, has been heading the SNB’s Study Center Gerzensee since 2022. He’s an adjunct professor of financial economics at the University of St Gallen, where he previously was a professor of banking, according to his personal website. From 2004 to 2011, he was a mid-level official at the SNB.

The Swiss-Irish dual citizen was born in Norwich, UK, and holds a doctoral degree from the University of Zurich. His current research focuses on financial intermediation and household finance, according to the study center’s website.

The head of the economic affairs division — the official title of the chief economist at Switzerland’s central bank — primarily works behind the scenes. He is responsible for preparing the proposal for every interest-rate decision, which is then taken by the institution’s three-member board led by President Martin Schlegel. Lenz has held the post since 2015.

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