Team

GIMLA counts with a small team devoted to enhancing the academic relations between Latin America and St.Gallen with an eye to realizing the real impact. In addition to the core team, our activities are supported by the University of St.Gallen professors and graduate researchers who engage in joint projects.

Prof. Dr. Vanessa Boanada Fuchs

Managing Director

Av. Paulista 1754 office 153
01310-920 São Paulo
e: vanessa.boanada@unisg.ch

Vanessa has studied Law and International Relations (PUC-Rio) and obtained her Ph.D. in International Development Studies at the Graduate Institute in Geneva (IHEID). As a researcher, Vanessa held a postdoc and visiting position respectively at the University of Campinas, Michigan State University, and Freie Universität Berlin. Before her appointment as GIMLA's director, she contributed to the creation and coordination of the Swiss School of Latin American Studies (SSLAS) and acted as a project leader at the Leading House for the Latin American Region. Vanessa's research and teaching interests relate to the socio-environmental dimensions of infrastructure projects, including stakeholder engagement. She also focuses on decolonial approaches and the social control of on the ground practices of rights and policies. In her time, Vanessa enjoys doing fieldwork in the Amazon and spending time with her family trekking, watching movies, dancing, and reading.

Dr. Anthony Boanada-Fuchs

Acquisition and Project Management

Av. Paulista 1754 office 153
01310-920 São Paulo
e: anthony.boanada-fuchs@unisg.ch

Anthony is a trained architect and urban planner with a Ph.D. in International Development Studies (IHEID). After post-doc and visiting positions at the University of São Paulo (USP-CEM), University of Lausanne (UNIL-IDG), University of Basel (Europainstitute), and the ETH Zurich (CASE) he started teaching at the University of St.Gallen in 2017. His research and teaching efforts focus on affordable housing, real estate developers, urban policy, and informality. Besides work, Anthony enjoys being a father, doing winter sports and nature-related activities, diving, as well as just staying home with a good series or movie.

Renata Cunha

Office Manager

Av. Paulista 1754 office 153
01310-920 São Paulo
e: renata.cunha@unisg.ch

Renata has studied design at UERJ, has several years of experience working with corporate identity and, in addition, managing corporate events. In her free time, she enjoys eating out, travelling around the world, going to the movies, and watching series on the couch.

Affiliated Researchers

Lukas Jähn

Affiliated Independent Researcher

Lukas research interests focus on conceptual and policy aspects regarding the informal economy and on understanding how to link informality with sustainable development and particularly climate.

Lukas holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) and a master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University (USA). In addition, he received a B.Sc. in International Business from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Germany) and studied in Viña del Mar (Chile) and Victoria (Canada). He is currently working as a Consultant for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), focusing on climate finance in emerging markets and has previous experience in strategy consulting and international banking.

GIMLA is regularly supported by research assistants (RA). Interested potential candidates, please check our current offers.

Collaborating Professors and Researchers

Prof.Dr. Martin Eppler, Marketing

Prof.Dr. Simon Evenett, International Trade and Economic Development

Prof. Dr. Dietmar Grichnik, Entrepreneurship

Dr. Christian Opitz, Energy

Prof.Dr. Thomas Rudolph, Retail Management

Prof. Dr. Yvette Sánchez, Centro Latino Americano-Suizo

Dr. Ivo Schillig, Cooperatives

Prof. Dr. Harald Tuckermann, Pluralistic Organizations and Health

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Utz, Finance

Prof. Dr. Thomas Zellweger, Family Business