About Me
My life and work are a journey of change and transformation. I’m a curious mind that never stops exploring. A wanderer. For the last twenty years I crafted
a career in business and international development all over the world.
I worked in more than forty countries implementing and evaluating projects for the European Commission and the United Nations. I helped companies and organizations innovate and develop business in Asia. I was awarded a PhD Cum Laude by the Autonomous University of Barcelona. I set up my own business. I founded and managed the Catalonia Trade & Investment Agency in South Korea. I lived in Seoul, Brussels, Jogjakarta, Dodoma and Barcelona. I saw beauty and suffering.
I learned that the desire to be happy is what unites all human beings but the fact that we feel disconnected from nature and each other makes it hard for all to live in harmony. To me, this is the root cause of the major global challenges of our times, such as climate change, poverty, inequality, and so on.
That brought me to re-think myself, from head to toes. In Seoul, far away from home, I had the distance to start questioning: Who am I? Why was I born? Who are we as humans? What should be our place in this World? This time I looked inwards, and I started an inner journey. It was the practice of Zen and the study of Taoist metaphysics during my years in Asia that allowed me to (re)connect with my true self and inquire on the fundamental nature of life.
As a westerner and scientist educated under the Newtonian/Cartesian scientific paradigm, studying Buddhism and Taoism was a breakthrough for me. For some time, I explored these two fields of inquiry -business and the wisdom of perennial philosophies- separately. How could I make sense of combining my spiritual pursuit with my professional passion? They seemed at odds with one another. This nonetheless, the more I deepened my study and practice, the closer they were becoming. I finally realized that the real value was in bridging these disciplines, so I chose to work on this middle way as my way to bridge the human-nature divide.
Against this backdrop, I started my re-evolution. I felt the need to scientifically validate my own experience, and the result was the birth of the Zen Business. It is a new systemic management model that helps people and organizations generate and maximize shared value for all stakeholders by creating harmony. I designed and founded the masters in Sustainable Business & Innovation at EADA Business School, pioneering programs to help changemakers all over
the word leading the way towards the new business paradigm. I created
the Wise Cities program, a comprehensive conceptual framework to guiding citizens and cities in fostering creative economies through inclusive growth
and pre-distributive policies.
At this point, it's hard for me to define myself. But if I had to, the way I probably feel most comfortable with is systems thinker. It resonates with what I do: bridging business & nature, East & West, science & art, technology and ecology.
It is in this spirit that I serve as associate professor of Strategy, Sustainability and Innovation at EADA Business School, visiting professor at Yonsei University in South Korea, and research associate at Maastricht School of Management. I work as an independent consultant and evaluator for a wide range of private and public organizations, such as the European Commission and the United Nations. In the United Nations system, I co-led the first corporate developmental evaluation and adaptive management movement in UNFPA. I regularly speak internationally on sustainable transformation and I coach organizations, managers and entrepreneurs in transitioning to the new sustainable, regenerative and inclusive business paradigm.
Thanks for your interest.
