Felix Bühlmann

Felix Bühlmann serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Lausanne, where he is embedded in the LIVES Centre (National Centre of Competence in Research) at the Geopolis Building. His academic profile centers on sociological investigations of elite structures, with particular emphasis on economic and business elites across global contexts. As a core member of the LIVES UNIL Office, he contributes to Switzerland’s premier interdisciplinary research initiative on life course analysis and vulnerability.

His research program critically examines the formation, reproduction, and transformation of elites through theoretical frameworks like field theory and methodological innovations including sequence analysis and large-scale database construction (e.g., World Elite Database). Key foci include career trajectory patterns in finance, the role of professional service firms in manufacturing corporate leadership, gender dynamics among niche financial elites, and the tension between local embeddedness and transnational mobility in banking elites. His work bridges macro-level analyses of power structures with micro-level studies of individual career pathways.

Analysis of Bühlmann’s recent publications reveals three dominant trends: (1) A methodological shift toward comparative global elite studies using newly constructed databases; (2) Critical interrogation of how organizational forms (bureaucracy, patrimonialism) enable elite reproduction; and (3) Exploration of vulnerability mechanisms in both elite and non-elite populations. His interdisciplinary approach integrates insights from economic sociology, political economy, and organizational theory to dissect power dynamics across national contexts—from Swiss banking to American corporate leadership.

Within the LIVES Centre ecosystem, Bühlmann collaborates with over 50 researchers across UNIL and UNIGE, contributing to longitudinal studies on life course vulnerability while leading elite-focused work packages. His position situates him at the nexus of Swiss social science infrastructure and international elite research networks, facilitating cross-border projects like the multi-authored WED study with scholars from 12 countries.