Strengthening research and teaching at WU Vienna

Ivana Ljubic – Professor of Operations Research Foundations

Ivana Ljubić earned her doctorate in computer science from TU Wien in 2004 and completed her habilitation in operations research at the University of Vienna in 2013. Before embarking on her academic career, she spent two years working in industry in the field of portfolio optimization. Then she worked at the University of Vienna before joining ESSEC Business School in Paris as a professor of operations research in September 2015. Her appointments as a visiting scholar have included stints at Sapienza University of Rome, the University of Maryland, TU Berlin, TU Dortmund University, and Université Paris Dauphine. Her research focuses on combinatorial optimization, network design, optimization under uncertainty, and bilevel optimization. She develops mixed-integer linear and nonlinear programming methods for applications in telecommunications, transportation, logistics, data and distribution networks, social networks, and bioinformatics. Ljubić serves on the editorial boards of leading international journals and has received numerous distinctions, including the DOC and APART fellowships of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Hertha Firnberg Fellowship of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). She is joining the ranks of WU’s Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics

Michael Mühlebach – Professor of Machine Learning Foundations

Michael Mühlebach, a native of Switzerland, studied mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich, specializing in robotics and systems and control engineering during his master’s studies. He earned his doctorate at ETH Zurich’s Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control in 2018 before moving to the University of California, Berkeley, as a postdoctoral researcher. Until 2026, he headed the independent Learning and Dynamical Systems research group at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Tübingen, Germany. His research interests lie at the intersection of machine learning, control engineering, and optimization. He has received numerous awards for his scientific achievements, including the Outstanding D-MAVT Bachelor Award, the Willi Studer Prize, an ETH Medal, and the HILTI Prize. A Branco Weiss Fellow since 2018, Mühlebach was awarded an Emmy Noether Fellowship in 2020 and an Amazon Fellowship in 2024. He also serves on the editorial board of the prestigious journal Foundations and Trends in Machine Learning. He is joining WU’s Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics.

Alexander Schiller – Professor of Business Administration and Information Systems with an Emphasis on Foundations for Contemporary Information Systems

Alexander Schiller studied mathematics at the University of Regensburg, where he earned his doctorate in 2019 and subsequently worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Information Systems. His research focuses on data and business analytics, data and information quality, explainable AI, and process planning. His current work examines various aspects of machine-learning-based information systems, with particular emphasis on ensuring that such systems are powerful, transparent, and fair while appropriately accounting for uncertainty. This is especially important for decision-making processes that rely on these systems’ outputs. His research has been published in leading journals, including MIS Quarterly, Decision Support Systems, Electronic Markets, Information Systems Frontiers, and the Journal of Decision Systems. He has also presented his work at major international conferences, including ICIS, AAAI, ECIS, and at the Internationale Tagung Wirtschaftsinformatik. In addition, Schiller serves as a reviewer for academic journals and international conferences and has received several awards for his scholarly achievements, including the Claudio Ciborra Award. He has joined WU’s Department of Information Systems and Operations Management.

Christoph Schmidt – Professor of Business Administration and Information Systems with an Emphasis on the Interface Between Operations Management and Digital Transformation

Christoph Schmidt studied information systems management at the Technical University of Munich and earned his doctorate from EBS University of Business and Law in Wiesbaden in 2017. From 2017 to 2024, he worked as a researcher and lecturer at ETH Zurich’s Chair of Logistics Management. Most recently, he served as an associate professor in the Information, Decisions and Operations division at the University of Bath School of Management. His research sits at the intersection of business administration, information systems, and operations and supply chain management. He studies the adoption of digital technologies in corporate and supply chain settings, including blockchains and additive manufacturing. His other research interests include data privacy, supply chain risk, disruptions, and sustainability. Schmidt is a member of several international scholarly associations, including the Academy of Management (AOM) and the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS). He joined WU’s Department of Information Systems and Operations Management at the beginning of September.

Alexander Wilfinger – Professor of Civil Law

Alexander Wilfinger earned his habilitation in civil law, civil procedure, and banking law at WU in 2024. He went on to hold a professorship in civil procedure at the University of Graz and a professorship in private law at the University of Klagenfurt. His new position now brings him full circle, back to WU’s Institute for Civil Law and Civil Procedure. His research centers around the core areas of private law and its enforcement. His current projects focus on aspects such as the effects of economic sanctions and anti-SLAPP regulation.