Christian Helmenstein is Chief Economist of the Federation of Austrian Industries, a full professor of Economics at the Schloss Seeburg Private University/Salzburg, and head of the Cognion research network. He studied economics and business administration at the University of Cologne and earned his doctorate at the Ruhr University Bochum. In 1992, he joined the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, becoming its head of economics in 1997. He is currently a General Council member of the OeNB. His research focuses on macroeconomics, regional economics, finance, and sports economics.