IE Business School launches IE Sovereign Wealth Lab

The new center is headed by Javier Santiso, accompanied by researchers Javier Capapé and Tomás Guerrero. The team are working on the 2016 Sovereign Funds Report, an international study of the main trends in the field, the situation in different world regions, and activities in specific sectors.

The IE Sovereign Wealth Lab will also be responsible for organizing events on entrepreneurship and venture capital, and conferences on emerging markets and the internationalization of Spanish firms. The Center will also be running an international presentation on sovereign funds at the end of 2016, as well as publishing reports on the status of entrepreneurship in Spain, and initiatives in the form of research related to Latin America. "The IE-SWLab aims to show the impact of sovereign funds, an investment group about which little is known, and which is currently facing major challenges,” said Javier Santiso. “Sovereign funds handle some 6 trillion dollars and are investing in an increasingly sophisticated manner on a global scale."

Javier Santiso, Director of the IE Sovereign Wealth Lab and Professor of Economy and Entrepreneurship at IE Business School, is one of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum in Davos. He previously served as Chief Economist of Emerging Markets at BBVA and Director of Global Affairs and New Ventures at Telefónica. He was Vice President of ESADEgeo, Director of the Development Center of the OECD, and has led initiatives with the IMF, the European Commission, and the World Bank. Santiso has also served as adviser to the government of Colombia for the implementation of its innovation funds.

Tomás Guerrero, Associate Researcher at IE-SWLab, Director of the Madrid Office of the Halal Institute, General Director of Halal International Tourism, Associate Researcher at Tufts University-The Fletcher Network for Sovereign Wealth, and Young Leader of the World Islamic Economic Forum, is an expert in the Halal industry, sovereign funds, and frontier markets. Guerrero is considered to be among the 500 most influential leaders in Islamic finance in 2015 and was the first Spanish speaker at the World Islamic Economic Forum. He has worked on the first 4 editions of the Report on Sovereign Funds, as a researcher for ESADEgeo, and has published articles in numerous media and specialized journals.

Javier Capapé, Associate Researcher at IE-SWLab and Tufts University-The Fletcher Network for Sovereign Wealthi. Doctoral candidate in International Business. He has coordinated the publication of the ESADEgeo Soveriegn Funds Reports since 2012, presenting them at international institutions that include the World Bank. He is a regular guest speaker at the annual meetings of the International Forum of SWFs. Director of Start Up Spain, an initiative that promotes the development of the entrepreneurial eco-system in Spain, and promotes the relation among sovereign funds, technology and startups. Capapé makes regular contributions to the media in his capacity as an expert in sovereign funds and entrepreneurial management.