Juan Jose Güemes
Juan Jose Güemes was born in 1969 and joined the prestigious academic institution IE Business School in March 2010. He is President of the International Center for Entrepreneurial Management, after seventeen active years in the political sphere.
Juan José is Chairman of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center and Professor of Entrepreneurship.
He has previously served in a broad range of government departments, including tourism, finance & employment, gender policies and health. Güemes holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from the Universidad Complutense, Madrid, 1992 and a master’s in Financial Markets from the Universidad San Pablo CEU, Madrid, 1993. He began his career as an analyst at the Bank of Spain in 1991 before serving as economic adviser to Spain’s Popular Party in the Spanish Parliament from 1993 to 1996. He later served as advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Rodrigo de Rato Figaredo, who appointed him deputy director of his cabinet in 1998. In the year 2000, Juan Jose Guemes was appointed general secretary of tourism, becoming responsible for promoting Spain as an international tourist destination.
In the three years he was the head of tourism in Spain, he modernized the country’s brand image, and promoted a strategy to take Spanish tourism into new markets and products.
During his term in office, the State Society for Tourism Information Management was created to promote Spain online. Today, the Spanish Tourist Board is a leader in the use of the internet in the promotion of tourist destinations and tourist products. Güemes joined the Madrid Regional Government as Regional Councilor for Employment and Diversity in 2003.
He developed a pioneering approach to promoting equal opportunities for men and women, including the “LiderA” program, designed to help women gain access to senior management positions in companies.
He was appointed Regional Health Councilor for the Madrid region in 2007. During his three years in tenure, he opened eight new hospitals, three medical schools and launched key biomedical research initiatives. Further achievements during his time in the public health sector include fostering partnerships between public and private health organizations, the introduction of major innovations in hospital management and the freedom to choose among different health services. His work in government organizations gained him a reputation for entrepreneurial thinking and innovation in the public sector. As Chairman of IE’s International Center for Entrepreneurial Management, he is focused on fostering entrepreneurial spirit and creating new business and social projects, as well as promoting women-led entrepreneurship.
