Ignasi Martí, Professor of Social Sciences at ESADE, has been appointed as the new Director of ESADE’s Social Innovation Institute (IIS). Ignasi Martí will take over from Ignasi Carreras, who has directed the Institute since its foundation in 2006 and has turned it into a major player in the social transformation of organisations. 

Ignasi Carreras, Professor of ESADE’s Department of General Management and Strategy, will continue to form part of the IIS team as Director of ESADE’s Management Training Programmes for NGOs and other Non-Profit Entities, as well as Director of the ESADE-PwC Social Leadership Programme.

IIS’ mission is to develop the capabilities of individuals and organisations in both business and non-profit spheres and so help them make a bigger contribution to building a fairer, more sustainable world. The Institute seeks to combine outstanding academic research with knowledge transfer to maximise social transformation. The new Director, Ignasi Martí, together with Sonia Navarro, IIS’ Associate Director, will strive to meet the challenge of boosting the Institute’s social and academic impact on society.

Ignasi Martí noted that “ESADE’s Social Innovation Institute has a highly-experienced and knowledgeable team of faculty and collaborators in every relevant field.” He stressed that “It is a great honour to be given the task of building upon the remarkable achievements of Ignasi Carreras and his team over the next few years”. Martí concluded by saying “My aim is to boost research, the potential for transformation, and to obtain more resources so that ESADE can become an international leader in this field and thus broaden the benefits we bring for society”.

Ignasi Martí’s background and track record

Ignasi Martí graduated in Philosophy, and in Economics from Barcelona University (UB). He gained his PhD at IESE Business School and his qualification Habilitation à la Directions des Recherches (HDR) [diploma in the direction of research studies] at Université Paris-Dauphine. Before being appointed ESADE’s Professor for Social Sciences, he was Visiting Professor at ESADE from 2016 onwards, and Professor and Head of the Department of Strategy and Organisation at EMLYON Business School (France), where he also directed the OCE Research Center. Martí was Visiting Researcher at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. His research covers new forms of exclusion and he is an expert on innovation, and on social and institutional change.