IE University Strengthens its Research Strategy with the Appointment of Juan Santaló as Vice-Rector of Faculty and Research

IE University has named Juan Santaló as Vice-Rector of Faculty and Research, underscoring its Vision 2030 commitment to place faculty, scientific excellence, and societal impact at its core.

The new Vice-Rectorate will expand IE University’s established policy of attracting top scientific talent from leading global institutions. In the last three years alone, more than 70 full-time faculty members have joined IE University, making it one of the fastest-growing research centers worldwide. These faculty members specialize in fields ranging from Business and Economics to Law, Computer Science, and the Humanities, while also teaching a diverse student body of over 10,000 individuals from 160 nationalities across IE’s schools.

 Under Professor Santaló’s leadership, IE University will advance several key pillars of its strategic vision: securing research funding from public and private sources, strengthening faculty research output and social impact, and leveraging international partnerships such as CIVICA, the European University of Social Sciences, which IE University joined in 2022.

Professor Santaló will be supported by Professor Marco Giarratana, formerly Vice-Rector of Coordination and Research, who will assume a new and enhanced role as Vice-Rector of Scientific Knowledge and Impact. This shift underscores IE’s strategic goal of becoming a global leader in both academic and applied knowledge creation.

“With this enhanced leadership structure, IE University is poised to deepen its role as a knowledge-generation leader,” said Salvador Carmona, Rector of IE University. “I have every confidence in Professor Santaló’s ability to drive our faculty and research priorities. Professor Giarratana’s expertise remains invaluable, and together, they will guide IE University into a new era of innovation.”  

About Professor Juan Santaló

Professor Santaló holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago and a Master’s in Economics from Pompeu Fabra University. A full professor of Strategic Management at IE University since 2002, he has served as a visiting professor at Bocconi University and Chicago Booth, as Director of IE’s Strategy Department (2008-2013), and as Director of the Observatory on Competition Policy (2007-2009). His research focuses on Corporate Strategy and Competitive Strategy in Platform Markets, with recent work published in Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, and Management Science. He serves on the Executive Committee of the STR Division of the Academy of Management and on the editorial review board of the Strategic Management Journal.