Erol Bilecen has in-depth knowledge of the financial industry and is also a lecturer due to his many years of experience in the field of sustainable finance. From 2016 to September 2024, he was responsible for the sustainability of products and services at Raif-feisen Switzerland, focusing from 2021 onwards as Head of the Competence Centre Sustainability Pension & Investment. In this role, he was key in designing the standardised integration of ESG criteria into the Raif-feisen Group’s investment and pension products and services and implementing all the necessary accom-panying measures, such as sustainability reporting. During this time, he was a member of the respective sustainable finance working groups of the European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB), the Asset Management Association Switzerland (AMAS) and the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA), where he was involved in and helped to shape regulatory developments at both national and international level.

Erol Bilecen studied economics at the University of Basel and completed the interdisciplinary degree pro-gramme MGU (Man-Society-Environment). He has been a lecturer at various teaching institutes such as AZEK and Fachschule Personalvorsorge for many years.

Erol Bilecen started his career in the private sector in 1997 as one of the first sustainability analysts at Bank Sarasin (now Bank J. Safra Sarasin). From 2000 to 2013, he established and headed the Client Services Asset Management unit.