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Alfons Cornella
Founder and President of Infonomia
Founder and president since 2000 of Infonomia, an innovation services firm, and a source of ideas for innovative and enterprising people. He is a consultant to major Spanish companies and has been the director of more than 100 projects related to cultural creation and to making innovative teams more dynamic in all types of organizations, and especially in the private sector.
In his lectures and seminars on innovation, he personally transmits his ideas and experiences about “how the most successful people innovate”, reaching nearly 10,000 people annually.
In 2009 he founded co-society, an initiative for stimulating the systematic intersection between businesses in different sectors, and in which Spain’s most innovative companies participate.
He has published 20 books, as well as more than 1,000 articles on science, technology and innovation as the driving force in transforming businesses.
Educated as a theoretical physicist (although he did not work in scientific research) he later furthered his training with a degree in Senior Company Management from the ESADE Business School and a post-graduate degree in Information Resources Management from Syracuse University.
Fernando Buide
Professor at the Higher Conservatory of Music of A Coruña
He began his studies at the Santiago de Compostela Conservatory and later in Oviedo, where he studied piano with Tsiala Kvernadze and Lidia Stratulat, organ with Antonio Díaz Corveiras and composition with Leoncio Diéguez. Upon completing his studies in Oviedo he moved to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he studied organ with Donald Wilkins and composition with Leonardo Balada, and where he received the “Harry Archer” Prize for composition. He completed his studies with a doctorate from Yale University, where he studied with Ezra Ladermann, Aaron Kernis, Christopher Theophanidis and Martin Bresnick. At Yale he received the “Michael Friedmann” Prize for his doctoral thesis on Roberto Gerhard’s third symphony. He continued his training with classes at Dartington and Música de Compostela, where he received the “Andrés Segovia – José Miguel Ruíz Morales” Prize. His compositions have been performed by ensembles such as the Pittsburgh Symphonic Orchestra, the Minnesota Symphony, the Yale Philharmonic, the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic, the Sinfónica de Galicia, the Real Philharmonía de Galicia, Jonde. His pieces have been conducted by leading conductors such Paul Daniel, Dima Slobodeniouk, Osmo Vänskä, Libor Pesek, Miguel Hart-Bedoya, James Ross, Pablo González, Lorenzo Viotti, Rossen Milanov and Larry Loh. He has received commissions from orchestras such as Jonde (via CNDM), the Sinfónica de Galicia, and the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, as well as from the Mozart and Festclásica festivals.
He has been a grant recipient from the Barrié Foundation.
Bradford K. Smith
President of the Foundation Center, U.S.
Bradford K. Smith is president of the Foundation Center, the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. and, increasingly, global grantmakers—a robust, accessible knowledge bank for the sector, together with research, education and training programs designed to advance knowledge of philanthropy at every level.
Before joining the Foundation Center in 2008, Mr. Smith was president of the Oak Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland, a major family foundation with programs and grant activities in 41 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. With the Ford Foundation, he worked as representative in Brazil before being promoted to vice president in the New York headquarters, responsible for the global Peace and Social Justice Program, the foundation's largest program area. During his 10-year tenure as vice president, the program provided hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations working on the issues of human rights, international cooperation, governance, and civil society in the U.S. and around the world, while supervising field operations on three continents and overseeing the creation of TrustAfrica.
Mr. Smith has devoted his entire career to the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, he directed the Brazil program of the Inter-American Foundation. At the start of his career, he worked for the YMCA of the USA, both in Costa Rica and New York, where he became manager for world development at its Center for International Management Studies.
Mr. Smith serves on the board of directors of the Tinker Foundation and the advisory board of the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security.
Mr. Smith holds an M.A. in economics from the New School for Social Research in New York and a B.A. in anthropology and ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan.
Ángel Carracedo
Professor of Legal Medicine at the University of Santiago. Director of the Galician Public Foundation for Genomic Medicine
Degree in Medicine in 1978 from the University of Santiago de Compostela and Doctor of Medicine in 1982 from the same institution, both degrees with honors. Professor of Legal Medicine at the University of Santiago. Director of the Galician Public Foundation for Genomic Medicine and the National Genotyping Center-ISCIII. He has maintained a close and long-standing relationship with the Barrie Foundation in the field of research and dissemination of science. He was a fellow of the Barrié Foundation in 1982, with a fellowship at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. He has been awarded the Gold Medal of Galicia, the King Jaime I Research Prize, the Adelaide Medal, the Galien Medal, the Galicia Research Award, the Castelao Medal, the Novoa Santos Award, the Police Merit Cross, the Civil Guard Merit Cross, the Fernández Latorre Award, the Prisms Educational Award, the Gallego World Award and the Tierra de Xalla Award, and he has received honorary doctorates from various universities. He has been an elective and independent member of board of the Barrié Foundation since 2013.
Alberto Durán
Executive vice-president for the ONCE Foundation and president of the ONCE Foundation for Latin America (FOAL).
Born in El Ferrol (La Coruña) in 1969. Law degree from the Universidad de Navarra (Pamplona, 1994). Masters degree in Economics and Business Management from the Institute for Higher Business Studies (IESE 1996, Barcelona); Senior Management Program for businesses from the IESE (PADE 2008 Madrid). He is an expert in National Defense from the Advanced Center for National Defense Studies (CESEDEN XXXII promotion).
He is currently Deputy General Counsel to the President for Cooperation and Institutional Relations of the ONCE General Council, executive vice-president of the ONCE Foundation, president of ILUNION (social businesses group of the ONCE) and president of the ONCE Foundation for Latin America (FOAL).
He is also 2nd vice-president of the Spanish Association of Foundations, the Secretary General of the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (CERMI), president of FORÉTICA and president of the Excellence in Management Club.
He has been a member of the Experts Team for Social Responsibility of the European Commission.
José Manuel Leceta
President and co-fundador, Insight Foresight Institute – Former Director of "Instituto Europeo de Innovacion y Tecnologia"
Jose Manuel is a Telecommunications Engineer and three diplomas in Strategic Innovation, Business Management, Network Economics, International Studies, etc. He started his career in space industry (1987), first in Spain and then in Finland, France and Japan, joining CDTI - Spanish Innovation Agency - in 1992 as part of the Spanish Delegation to the European Space Agency (ESA), first in Satellite Application Program Board. In 1994 he was promoted to Head of Department involving himself in Industrial Policy, Administration and Finance Committees as well as the Council including Ministerial Conferences and Expert Groups for the European Commission. From 2004-10 as international Director at CDTI and active member at CREST-ERAC, EUREKA and TAFTIE, amongst others. In July 2011 he was appointed Director of the EIT (European Institute of Technology), fostering a strong rationale for the Institute and its KICs reflected in the budget increase and reputation of the EIT. In August 2014 he has been Professor at the Robert Schumann Center of Advanced Studies (EUI) in Florence, Italy. In Summer 2015 he co-founded Insight Foresight Institute (IFI) in the effort to help transform innovation ecosystems in Europe and beyond.
Ainara Zubillaga del Río
Director of Education and Training at the Cotec Foundation for Innovation
Doctorate in Education Science at the Complutense University in Madrid. She has pursued her professional career in various academic institutions as teacher, researcher and administrator, including as director of the Educational Innovation Unit and the vice-chancellor for Innovation at the Camilo José Cela University.
Her areas of research include educational innovation, teacher training and the use of teaching technology in inclusive educational environments. Her current research focuses on universal educational design. She is a member of the REDUNI+D (University Network for Educational Research and Innovation) and incluD-ED (European University Network for Inclusive and Disabled Education) and forms part of the research team INDUCT (Inclusion, Universal Design, Cooperation and Technology) at the Complutense University in Madrid, where she is currently an associate professor.
María Isabel Pérez Martínez
Program Director, Social Action
Social Worker at the Labor University of Zaragoza, with a degree in Social Work from the University of Santiago de Compostela. She began her career as director of the Retirement Circle of Caixa Galicia in La Coruña. She later joined the Barrié Foundation in 1975 as head of community programs, while at the same time she also directed the foundation’s scholarship programs for several years. She has been been the director of the Foundation Barrié’s Social Action program since 2002.
Maribel Ramos Vergeles
Director of the Strategic Development Unit of the RAIS Foundation
Degree in psychology from the University of Salamanca. A specialist in equality and non-discrimination policy, a field to which she has dedicated her entire professional career in both the public and the private sector. She has worked at the University of Salamanca, the Instituto de la Mujer at the national level, and the Junta de Extremadura. She has served as a free-lance consultant and has also directed the department of Igualdad y Estudios for the consultancy Innovation and Desarrollo Local, S.L. She studied Project Management and Strategic Leadership at the EOI and the IESE. She is currently director of the Strategic Development Unit at the RAIS Foundation. There is a question she continually asks herself: “At what point did we, as a society, consider it normal that there are homeless people?”
David Cabo
Director of the Civio Foundation
Director of the Civio Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes institutional transparency and access to information though new technologies and journalism. He created tools such as Dónde van mis impuestos (in order to see official budgets of governmental agencies) and Tu derecho a saber (to help individuals exercise the right to access information). He created the European transparency website AsktheEU.org and has also worked with journalists in obtaining and analyzing data for investigations such as ‘Looting the Seas’ (ICIJ), or more recently El Indultómetro, Medicamentalia y Quién cobra la obra (Civio.)
He holds degrees in Software Engineering and Psychology. He has worked as a software consultant, software developer and software architect for 12 years, participating in projects for British Telecom, HM Revenues & Customs, Accenture, Ericsson and BBVA Global Markets.
Clara Navarro
Co-founder of the Ship2B Foundation, where she is responsible for innovation
Undergraduate and MBA from ESADE, Master in International Management (MIM) from CEMS and Master in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics. She has served as a consultant McKinsey & Company in Madrid and London, specializing in sustainability. She was co-founder of Anoderworld and organizer of Startup Pirates Barcelona, and has also volunteered with various NGOs. In addition, she is a teacher and researcher in social entrepreneurship and innovation at ESADE, the University of Barcelona and Universittà Bocconi (Milan).