Birgit Niessner

Background

About Birgit Niessner

Experienced and versatile Ph.D. economist and manager with 25+ years in central banking, risk analysis, economic research and development finance. My ambition is to contribute to a rule-based and innovative Europe, while working in an inclusive and values driven environment where good governance, empowerment and curiosity count. I currently manage the Economics Department of the Austrian Central Bank (OeNB). The deep expertise of 60+ economists, the importance of our mandate and our cooperation with the European Central Bank (ECB) make this job extremely rich. When I joined in 2021, I restructured the department so as to ensure the bank’s research and publications better reflect the evolving needs of OeNB’s internal and external stakeholders. As a consequence the team has become more agile and delivers robust analysis in volatile times. Since mid 2024, I co-lead a work stream on the tools and communication of monetary policy as part of the Strategy Review of the European Central Bank. We assess how our toolbox has weathered the recent inflation surge and will publish the outcome in summer 2025. Prior to my time at the OeNB, my career in banking spanned risk management and regulation. In risk management I focussed on sovereigns and financial institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and successfully helped Erste Group navigate the Great Financial Crisis and the Eurozone debt crisis. In the regulatory sphere I contributed to enhancing the existing capacities of Raiffeisenbank International, another large Austrian banking group. I started my career in the Austrian government development cooperation, with a focus on projects with African partner governments where I was mainly responsible for project monitoring and change management, but also had the opportunity to facilitate peace negotiations in Burundi as part of the Austrian delegation (eventually leading to the signing of the Arusha Accords in Given current geopolitical shifts I believe we must develop a comprehensive view of security, economic resilience, sustainable growth underpinned by sound institutions in Europe. The financial sector is key in channelling resources to the future needs of the continent. Happy to discuss and network in this field!