The Advisory Board of Iscte Business School has the goal of providing strategic advice to the school, by gathering the expertise and knowledge of its members, who have experience on different sectors, organizations and companies.
The different perspectives analysed and discussed at Advisory Board meetings contribute towards the implementation of Iscte Business school’s vision, by developing an understanding of the current context and opportunities, identifying challenges and exploring new insights and ideas.
Below, you can find the profiles of our Advisory Board Members.
Networking Speaker, Coach & Consultant, Author, Blogger at Coffee Lunch Coffee
Alana Muller works as a networking coach, consultant, workshop facilitator, keynoter and lecturer.
She is also the author of the book Coffee Lunch Coffee: A Practical Field Guide for Master Networking. In addition to this book, Alana Muller writes regularly on her blog of the same name, CoffeeLunchCoffee.com.
Distinguished Full Professor from William Jewell College
Allan Katz is a former City Commissioner of Tallahassee, who also served as the American Ambassador to Portugal.
He is the founder of the American Public Square.
Currently, he is a non-executive board member of EDP Renewables (since 2015) and a Distinguished Full Professor in the Department of Political Science at William Jewell College.
General Director for Economy and Innovation at Câmara Municipal de Lisboa
Ana Margarida Figueiredo is responsible for the areas of attracting and promoting investment, entrepreneurship, innovation, strategic clusters, employment and employability at Lisbon City Council. She plays a crucial role in the city's economic development, with a strong focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and the creation of a favourable ecosystem for startups and technology companies.
With a significant track record in the public sector, where her contributions to Lisbon's transformation into one of Europe's most competitive and innovative urban centres stand out, Ana Margarida Figueiredo leads initiatives that promote professional training and the matching of workforce skills to market needs, with an emphasis on projects aimed at reducing the gap between job supply and demand through skills mapping tools.
Fabrice Segui joined the BNP Paribas Group in 1996 and has held various management positions in Paris, Brussels and London. He is currently Executive Chairman of BNP Paribas Portugal and responsible for CIB Portugal Solutions in Lisbon. He seeks to support the talented people who help BNP Paribas transform its activities in an ever-changing world.
She's a member of the National Council of Financial Regulators, as well. Gabriela has also served on the ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) Board of Supervisors since 2016, as Chair of the ESMA Standing Committee on Investment Management since January 2019, and as a previous member of the ESMA Board of Directors (2016-2020). She also serves on the IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions) Board of Directors, as an observer on the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board, as Vice-Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee since 2017, and as Co-Chair of the MENA/OECD Working Group on Corporate Governance.
Chairman of the Santander Portugal Foundation | Head of ESG for Santander Group in Europe
With a career spanning more than 25 years in the Santander Group, Inês Oom de Sousa is an outstanding executive recognised for her leadership in sustainability and in the banking sector. She is currently the president of the Santander Portugal Foundation and responsible for the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) area of the Santander Group in Europe.
Inês Oom de Sousa has held various senior positions within Santander Bank, including membership of the Executive Committee from 2016 to 2021. Throughout her career, she has held various roles covering different areas, such as Products and Services for Individuals and Companies, Marketing, Daily Banking, Multichannel Services and Responsible Banking Initiatives.
Her contributions to corporate sustainability are widely recognised, having been included in the list of the 100 best Sustainability Directors in Europe - CSO Awards.
Under her leadership, Santander Portugal was named Portugal's Most Responsible Bank in 2021, highlighting its commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.
Founder and Chairman at Science4You
Portuguese entrepreneur Miguel Pina Martins founded Science4You, a company specializing in the production of educational toys, when he was just 22 years old and €1,125. The company quickly stood out for promoting toys that combine fun with science, encouraging learning in a playful way. Since then, Science4you has become one of the most important brands in the educational toy market, selling more than €20M to more than 62 countries.
Over the years, Miguel Pina Martins has been recognized by various entities for his entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. Science4You has expanded its presence in several international markets and has become one of the largest manufacturers of educational toys in Europe.
Founding Partner & CEO at Sair da Casca | Fellow AdR Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship
Nathalie created her first social "enterprise" at the age of 12 to organise sports activities aimed at the children from the neighbourhood where she lived.
About 25 years ago she founded Sair da Casca, the first consulting company focused on social responsibility and innovation.
As a volunteer, Nathalie is a General Secretary of the French Economic Council in Portugal, AdR Fellow, Member of the Board of GRACE, and a Mentor of several social entrepreneurs in both France and Portugal.
Dean of the Grossman School of Business, University of Vermont
Sanjay Sharma has been Director of the Grossman School of Business at the University of Vermont (UVM) since 2011. Prior to his role at UVM, he was Director of the John Molson School of Business in Montreal, Canada, and President of the Organisational Sustainability Research Institute of Canada.
He has published 9 books and over 100 articles in leading academic journals, proving to be a pioneer in corporate sustainability research. In this framework, he received in 2017 the "Distinguished Scholar Lifetime Award" from the Academy of Management. Additionally, he has been involved in the management of numerous organisations such as Global Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), Family Firm Institute (FFI), University of Sharjah College of Business, International Academy of Management, among others.
Before pursuing an academic path, he worked as a manager and CEO of multinational companies for 16 years.
Vice Dean of Tongji School of Economics and Management
Professor Song Chen is the Vice Dean of the School of Economics and Management (SEM) at Tongji University, Shanghai. He holds a PhD from Tsinghua University and his research interests are focused on Technology Innovation Management and Technology Economic Evaluation. He also serves as a Professor in the School of Economics and Management at Tongji University since 2002. Before that, he worked as a General Manager in Chongqing Consul Project Management Co.
Professor of Strategy, HEC Lausanne, University of Lausanne (online) | Past President of the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management (IFSAM)
Xavier Castañer holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota. He is a full professor at HEC Lausanne, University of Lausanne, where he teaches Strategy.
His current teaching and research interests are focused on corporate management, strategy and development. He is particularly active in alliances and acquisitions, as well as organisational innovation.
Previously, he has been lecturing at universities such as ESADE, HEC Paris, University of Geneva, London Business School, Technion and the Università Cattolica de il Sacro Cuore.