For the first Gen A Roundtable of the 2025 Gen A – Young Leadership Program, we are honored to welcome Dr. Philippe Lionnet, who will share his insights on the impact of sustainable finance on global economic policy. Join us for a discussion exploring the intersection of finance, sustainability, trade, and diplomacy.

Dr. Philippe Lionnet is Swiss Envoy for Sustainable Finance and Co-Head of Policy Issues & International Relations unit at the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF), Federal Department of Finance.

Following roles in the private sector and academia, Philippe joined federal public service at the Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) where he worked on institutional issues in Swiss-EU relations and the linking of Swiss and EU emissions trading systems. Several positions at the Directorate for Foreign Economic Affairs, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) followed, representing Switzerland in multilateral (e.g., WTO, TISA, OECD, EFTA, UNCTAD, Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability ACCTS) and bilateral (e.g., FTAs, MRAs, economic and trade arrangements after ‘Brexit’) negotiations and fora.

Furthermore, he was responsible for the Federal Council’s annual reports on foreign economic policy to both chambers of parliament as well as member of the Foreign Economic Policy Strategy drafting group, particularly on cross-border data flows. Before transferring to SIF in 2023, he oversaw bilateral economic relations with the US, Canada and Mexico (USMCA).

Philippe holds a PhD (Dr. phil.) in Economic History from the University of Bern as well as master’s degrees from the Universities of Zurich (LLM) and Basel (MA). He is the author of Finding a Path for China’s Rise. The Socialist State and the World Economy, 1970-1978 (2023) and lives in Zurich.