PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Andreas Ess

Andreas Ess is a computer vision researcher whose early papers examined pedestrian detection, image features, and urban traffic. His 2007–2009 work included mobile scene analysis, SURF, multi-person tracking, and traffic-scene segmentation. He shared the 2012 U.V. Helava Award for a 2010 pedestrian-tracking paper. In November 2023, he was a McKinsey partner in Zurich who led QuantumBlack in Switzerland; as of October 2026, he leads the Swiss team and supports clients with data and AI strategies.

Works
32
Citations
17,898
h-index
16
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2007

    Pedestrian detection in video

    In 2007, he coauthors “Depth and Appearance for Mobile Scene Analysis” with Bastian Leibe and Luc Van Gool. The paper combines robust stereo depth cues, ground-plane estimation, and appearance-based detection to find pedestrians in video while walking through a busy pedestrian zone.

  2. 2008

    SURF feature detection

    In 2008, he coauthors the SURF paper, “Speeded-Up Robust Features,” with Herbert Bay, Tinne Tuytelaars, and Luc Van Gool. The article presents SURF as a scale- and rotation-invariant detector and descriptor.

  3. 2008

    Tracking people from a mobile platform

    In 2008, he coauthors “A Mobile Vision System for Robust Multi-Person Tracking” with Bastian Leibe, Konrad Schindler, and Luc Van Gool. The system integrates visual odometry, pedestrian detection, depth estimation, and tracking to follow pedestrians despite occlusion and camera movement.

  4. 2009

    Urban traffic scene segmentation

    At BMVC in 2009, he coauthors “Segmentation-Based Urban Traffic Scene Understanding” with Tobias Mueller, Helmut Grabner, and Luc van Gool.

  5. 2012

    A U.V. Helava Award

    In 2010, he coauthors “Automatic detection and tracking of pedestrians from a moving stereo rig” with Konrad Schindler, Bastian Leibe, and Luc Van Gool. In 2012, the team receives the U.V. Helava Award for the 2008–2011 period.

  6. November 2023

    QuantumBlack in Switzerland

    In November 2023, he is a McKinsey partner in Zurich and leads QuantumBlack, the firm’s AI branch in Switzerland.

  7. 2025

    AI consulting for clients

    In 2025, he describes AI consulting as a way to help clients gain an advantage in their sector and optimize internal processes.

  8. As of October 2026

    Leading QuantumBlack in Switzerland

    As of October 2026, he is a McKinsey partner and leads QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, in Switzerland. In May 2026, he supports clients with data and AI strategies, from setting AI ambitions and identifying high-impact uses to designing technology platforms and operating models.

Career

  1. NowMcKinsey & CompanyPartner
  2. 2006–2011ETH Zurich

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes McKinsey & Company. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes ETH Zurich. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes ETH Zurich. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. Universities had a net outflow of 2,068 moves in AI careersIncludes ETH Zurich. Our estimates of career flows and median h-index across universities and companies in AI, including the role of joint appointments and earlier academic jobs.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Andreas Ess yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Depth and Appearance for Mobile Scene Analysis graphics.rwth-aachen.de. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF) explore.openaire.eu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. A Mobile Vision System for Robust Multi-Person Tracking graphics.rwth-aachen.de. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. BMVC 2009 London bmva-archive.org.uk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. ISPRS e-Bulletin #5: November 2012 isprs.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. L'IA pourrait-elle diriger des entreprises de manière autonome? pme.ch. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Intelligence artificielle: métiers menacés, entreprises en alerte pme.ch. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. 28 May ZH Agentic AI and the Future of Work insead.ch. Checked 21 October 2026.