Team

Prof. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly teaches at Geneva University’s School of Economics and Management and directs the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. Since 2013, she has also served as the Research Director at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University. In these roles, Dorothée works with companies to advance human rights in corporate practice. Her applied research is focused on embedding human rights in organizations and developing business models that enable profits and human rights principles to coexist. Dorothée also teaches Business and Human Rights and she co-edited the first textbook on Business and Human Rights (Routledge 2016). In 2016, she co-founded the Global Business School Network for Human Rights to integrate human rights in business education as well as the Business and Human Rights Young Researchers Summit for emerging scholars. Dorothée earned her PhD in Economics (summa cum laude) at the University of Zurich in 2010 while working for the Fair Labor Association, a multi-stakeholder initiative with the mission to improve labor rights in global supply chains.
Please find Dorothée’s UniGE webpage with her list of publications here.

Nelleke van Amstel is a research associate at the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. With a background in international humanitarian law and human rights law, she brings a decade of experience in implementation of human rights standards within various international and non-governmental organizations. Prior to her position at GCBHR, Nelleke worked as Programme Manager as the Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) where she engaged with companies, civil society, and governments to better human rights compliance in complex security settings and facilitated the creation of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) for private security service providers. She also held positions at the Unit for Relations with Arms Carriers at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the legal department of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has a Master of Advanced Studies from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and a Master of International Law from the University of Groningen.

Rim Bitar is a Ph.D candidate and a teaching assistant at the Geneva School of Economics and Management. Her field of interest is business and human rights, especially in complex environments. Before joining the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights, Rim has had assisting experience in other research centers, including at the Institut de Recherche et d’Action contre la Fraude et le Plagiat Academique (IRAFPA) and Observatoire des Valeurs de la Stratégie et du Management (OVSM). She joined the GCBHR in September 2020. Rim is a graduate of the University of Geneva with a Bachelor’s degree in Management and a Master’s degree in Management and Marketing.

Pascale Chavaz is a research associate at the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. She supports Prof. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly and her team in all aspects of the Center’s activities from research and communication to teaching and administration. Before joining the GCBHR, she had mostly worked in the academic world and civil society in the field of ethics, socially responsible investing, and philosophy. She co-authored a book on Sovereign Wealth Funds and their regulation (Globethics, 2016). Pascale also works as a freelance certified coach and neuro-linguistic programming master practitioner. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Linguistics from the University of Geneva, and a Master’s degree in Applied Ethics from Sherbrooke University.

Serra Cremer Iyi is a consultant at the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. Trained as a corporate lawyer with a background in M&A and project finance, Serra brings her experience representing businesses and advising senior management to the interdisciplinary field of business and human rights. Prior to her position at GCBHR, she worked as an adjunct professor of U.S. law, a local counsel for the International Refugee Assistance Project, and a managing director at Executive English Coaching. Serra continues to work as a global communication coach to executives at multinational corporations. She is a member of the New York Bar Association and holds a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law and a double major Bacehlor’s degree in Economics and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies from New York University.

Dr. Berit Knaak is a postdoctoral researcher at the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. She completed her Ph.D. in Management with a focus on integrating business and human rights at the University of St.Gallen in 2020. Her research evolves around business perspectives on human rights and approaches to facilitate corporate engagement with human rights issues. In her work, Berit focuses on resilience and ethical supply chains, companies’ impact in their ecosystems, and on children’s rights, among others in a collaboration with UNICEF. Berit builds on a dual background in economics and in human rights law, holding a Master of International Business from Maastricht University and an LLM degree in International Human Rights Law from the National University of Ireland. During her time as doctoral researcher, she served as a fellow for the Business and Human Rights Journal.

Bruna Perestrelo Faria is an intern at the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. She is currently a Master’s student in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. She holds a Bachelor of International Relations from the University of Geneva and her areas of interest are at the intersection of human rights and political science. She is committed to raising awareness about the international responsibility of corporate activities, as well as creating mechanisms that permit dialogue between different actors of the society in order to ensure the respect of human rights. Bruna is very engaged with civil society organisations in Geneva that help create a more inclusive and responsible society.

Dr. Lilach Trabelsi is a postdoctoral researcher at the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. As a management scholar with a finance background, her research focuses on the link between corporate strategy and sustainability. The research aims primarily at enhancing our understanding of strategic decision-making and the role of stakeholders in the area of corporate sustainability, in order to better understand how industries address global grand challenges. Lilach obtained her PhD in Business Administration and Management from Bocconi University. Prior to joining academia, she has held various positions in the private and public sectors, including in finance.