Fabrizio Salvador Appointed Chair in Operational Excellence at IE University

Fabrizio Salvador has been appointed Chair in Operational Excellence at IE University, an academic chair designed to strengthen collaboration between industry and academia in the field of operational excellence.

"By awarding the IE Chair in Operational Excellence to Professor Fabrizio Salvador, we recognize the kind of research excellence that combines academic rigor with real-world impact. This Chair underscores how our faculty’s work contributes to solving pressing challenges faced by organizations, demonstrating the value of applied research at IE University," said Juan Santalo, Vice Provost of IE University.

"I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me through this appointment as Chair Professor in Operational Excellence. Operational excellence is key to strengthening performance, resilience, and adaptability in organizations, especially as AI transforms the role of people at work. This recognition reaffirms my commitment to applied research, a distinctive feature of IE University, where we strive to generate knowledge that makes a real impact on business and society," said Fabrizio Salvador.

The IE Chair in Operational Excellence aims to support innovative research, identify and demonstrate new approaches to enhancing business performance through operational improvement, and disseminate this knowledge across IE University students and the broader institutional ecosystem.

Professor Salvador leads the Chair, connecting IE University’s Operations Management faculty—both internal and adjunct—as well as doctoral students, with firms, foundations, and other organizations. The goal is to foster the development of high-performing, sustainable organizations that invest in and empower their human capital. The Chair engages IE University stakeholders through a range of initiatives, including joint research projects, workshops and seminars, and executive and postgraduate training programs.

Fabrizio Salvador is Professor of Operations Management and Adjunct Vice‑Rector for Applied Research at IE University. He received his Ph.D. in Operations Management from the Università di Padova, where he also earned his degree in Industrial Engineering. He has been a visiting professor at the MIT and Shanghai University, and an adjunct Faculty at Arizona State University. His research lies at the intersection of operations management and strategic human‑capital management, where he pioneered the use of people analytics methodologies to explore how organisations can build flexibility, enhance knowledge‑intensive worker performance and build resilience in core processes.