WU Vienna University of Economics and Business is delighted to welcome three new professors to its ranks: Yariv Brauner from the US joins WU as professor of international tax law, Lena Knappert takes over the professorship dedicated to diversity and gender in management, and Yan Anthea Zhang, also from the US, receives a professorship for strategic management.

About Yariv Brauner

Yariv Brauner, aged 56 and hailing from the US, completed his law studies in Jerusalem and at New York University. In 2006, he was appointed professor of law at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. His academic career has taken him to more than 30 countries, including renowned US institutions such as NYU, Northwestern University in Chicago, and Arizona State University, as well as universities in Australia and Europe, including IBFD in Amsterdam and universities in Madrid and Milan. Prof. Brauner’s research focuses primarily on international tax law, but he also works on domestic tax law and its connections to other areas of law. At WU, he will join the ranks of the Department of Public Law and Tax Law as a part-time professor.

About Lena Knappert

Lena Knappert, aged 43, received her PhD in international HR management from ESCP Berlin in 2013, after completing a postgraduate degree in psychology at the University of Potsdam. She worked as an assistant professor at Özyeğin University in Istanbul and Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and in 2019, she joined Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam as an assistant professor of management and organizations. Over the course of her academic career, she completed research stays and stints as a visiting professor at institutions such as Leuphana University in Germany, Grenoble Ecole de Management in France, the University of Haifa in Israel, Monash University in Australia, and Cornell University in the USA. In her research, Prof. Knappert combines approaches from psychology, political science, and sociology to investigate topics related to (in)equality, diversity, and inclusion in organizations. She has worked on issues such as the labor market integration of refugees, structural inequality in New Work settings, and institutional diversity programs, based on a multi-stakeholder perspective. At WU, Lena Knappert will take over the chair for diversity and gender in management at the Department of Management.

About Yan Anthea Zhang

Yan Anthea Zhang, aged 54, earned her PhD in strategic planning and policy from the University of Southern California in 2001. After that, she joined the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, where she was appointed full professor in 2011. In 2015, she was awarded an Endorsed Chair Professorship in recognition of her outstanding academic achievements. She has also completed several stints at institutions such as the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai and INSEAD in France. Prof. Zhang’s main research interests lie in strategic leadership, corporate governance, technology entrepreneurship, and foreign direct investments. Her work has great practical relevance and has therefore drawn considerable attention outside academia, being featured in media such as The Economist, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. At WU, Yan Anthea Zhang will join the faculty of the Department of Strategy and Innovation as a part-time professor.