For best experience please turn on javascript and use a modern browser!
You are using a browser that is no longer supported by Microsoft. Please upgrade your browser. The site may not present itself correctly if you continue browsing.

Erik Winands appointed professor by special appointment in Quantitative Risk Management

16 November 2023

Erik Winands (1980) has been appointed professor by special appointment in Quantitative Risk Management at the University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Science as of October 1st 2023. The chair was established on behalf of Stichting Bèta Plus. Winands combines his professorship with his function as Head of Capital Adequacy and Scenario Analyses at Rabobank. He is responsible for the capital risk modelling & management, credit risk monitoring & reporting, stress testing and recovery & resolution planning of Rabobank.
Erik Winands. Copyright: Kirsten van Santen

Risk management is crucial in a financial institution in order to identify, analyse and manage all the risks associated with the institution’s activities. The main components of successful risk management are (I) the identification of the key sources of risk, (II) the quantification of these risks and (III) the management of these risks. Quantitative risk management applies quantitative techniques to the discipline of risk management, most prominently (but not exclusively) in step (II) the quantification of these risks. It is a rapidly evolving discipline and a constant challenge for the financial industry fuelled not only by external developments like economic turmoil, political instability, climate risks or Covid-19 but also by new regulations.

Mathematical models and techniques are instrumental in quantifying the risks in the complex dynamics of the financial system. The hyper-connectivity in the world as a result of the digital revolution creates a breeding ground for massive structural shifts and increases the speed at which decisions have to be made. Winands analyses the resulting challenging research questions from both an applied as an foundational angle leading to practical solutions for specific risk management applications as well as new conceptual insights.

Teaching

The last 25 years there has been a growing demand from financial institutions for quantitative risk managers with exactly the right blend of mathematical insight, data analysis, financial literacy, and programming skills. Quantitative risk managers have to understand and apply a wide variety of mathematical models and techniques to understand and analyse the risk in complex financial systems. Winands contributes to the financial mathematics education of the Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics by providing the students with a (practical) entrance to this exciting field and prepare them for a career as a quantitative risk manager.

About Erik Winands

Winands gained his MSc and PhD degrees in Industrial and Applied Mathematics (both cum laude) at Eindhoven University of Technology. He has published around 50 papers in operations research, probability, and finance journals. Moreover, he is an associate editor of Journal of Risk and a member of the Journal Advisory Board of Risk Management.