Governance & Board of Trustees
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Emiliano Duch
Emiliano Duch is one of the leading global experts in cluster based economic development. He retired from the World Bank in April 2023, where he was the Global Lead in Private Sector Development for ten years. Prior to joining the Bank, he was in the IESE Business School, as Director of its Competitiveness Summer School programme and Coordinator of the European Union’s Cluster Excellence Initiative.
Emiliano was also the founder of The Cluster Competitiveness Group and the founding chairman of The Competitiveness Institute (TCI). He has a degree in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and an MPA and an MBA from Harvard University.
Trustee & Executive Director
Reza M. ZADEH
Reza Zadeh is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Clusters and Competitiveness. His main area of expertise is in regional and economic development through innovation systems.
For the past 30 years he has been involved in formulation, implementation and evaluation of regional competitiveness and innovation strategies. He frequently acts as an expert / advisor to European governmental bodies on cluster policy and regional innovation.
Board of Trustees
Andreu MAS-COLELL
One of the world's leading mathematical economists, expert in microeconomics, Andreu Mas-Colell is the founder of the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics and a professor in the department of economics at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.
Mr. Mas-Colell served several times in the cabinet of the Catalan government. He also co-authored with Michael Whinston and Jerry Green, what is considered today’s most used graduate microeconomics textbook in the world titled “Microeconomy Theory”.
Michael E. PORTER
Michael E. Porter is a leading authority on competitive strategy, the competitiveness and economic development of nations, states, and regions. Professor Porter is generally recognized as the father of the modern strategy field and as the world’s most influential thinker on management and competitiveness. He serves as an advisor to countries, corporations, non-profits, and academic circles across the globe. Professor at Harvard Business School, Mr. Porter has been leading the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness since 2001.
The author of 18 books and over 125 articles, Professor Porter received an M.B.A. with high distinction from the Harvard Business School and a Ph.D. in business economics from Harvard.
Jordi CONEJOS
A partner and senior policy advisor at the Cluster Competitiveness Group, Jordi Conejos served in the government of Catalonia for 18 years, most notably as its Director General of Industry. Under his tenure the first Catalan cluster-based industrial policies were implemented, opening the way for many other countries in Europe.
In parallel he also worked as faculty and program Director, teaching economics to MBA and senior executives classes. Mr. Conejos holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Barcelona and is an alumnus from IESE. He was the Dean of the Professional Association of Economists of Catalonia.
Werner PAMMINGER
CEO of Business Upper Austria and Business Agency of the State of Upper Austria, Werner Pamminger is an international and renowned expert in cluster management. Prior to that he was the CEO of Clusterland Upper Austria Ltd. the Upper Austrian regional development agency for cluster and network management which is considered as a role model of excellent and successful cluster management within Europe.
Werner's competences are situated in the fields of general management, project management, institutional development, workshop trainings and moderation. He serves in various expert groups both nationally and internationally.
Søren MADSEN
Mr. Madsen is a “Clusterpreneur” with over 30 years of working experience, focusing on cluster and regional development in Denmark.
He championed the first cluster reinforcement initiatives and formed the first cluster academy of the country: the RegX Academy. He is the man behind the Agro Food ecosystem and the Business Park Skejby, both located in the city of Aarhus.
Søren Madsen holds a degree as B.Sc. in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Denmark and a degree as MBA Executive in technology and innovation management from Aalborg University.
Joan Enric RICART
Joan Enric Ricart is professor of economics and strategic management and head of IESE Business School's Strategic Management Department. Within University of Navarra, he is also associate director of faculty for the departments of strategic management, economics, production, technology and operations, and entrepreneurship.
Joan Enric holds IESE's Carl Schroeder Chair of Strategic Management at CGS - the Center for Globalization and Strategy.
IN MEMORIAM - Antoni SUBIRÀ i CLAUS (1940-2018), Founder of the Board
The Foundation for Clusters and Competitiveness lost its beloved and respected mentor with the passing of Antoni Subirà on January 7, 2018.
Antoni Subirà was a former Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Catalan Government and member of the Parliament of Catalonia. A full-time member of the faculty at IESE Business School, he was Director of the MBA program at IESE from 1967 to 1974. He also served as an adviser for various multinationals and as a board member of several investment funds.
Mr. Subirà i Claus was part of the Aho Group “Creating an Innovative Europe” appointed by the European Commission, and he was Chairman of the Board of Advisors at The Competitiveness Institute.
