INTERVIEW WITH THE DEAN
BIOGRAPHY
Lisa Hehenberger is dean of Esade Business School and associate professor in the Department of Strategy and General Management; she also holds the Esade Chair in Social Impact. Her work focuses on social entrepreneurship, impact investing, venture philanthropy and impact measurement & management, as well as the role of business in responding to social and environmental challenges. Before entering academia, Hehenberger worked in mergers and acquisitions in London, Madrid and Barcelona. She later completed her PhD and developed her research around venture philanthropy and impact. Before joining Esade, she was research director at the European Venture Philanthropy Association, now Impact Europe – a network of investors and philanthropy organisations supporting social entrepreneurs in Europe – where she worked on policy initiatives with the European Commission to help develop legal frameworks and funding structures for social entrepreneurship. At Esade, she has led the Esade Entrepreneurship Institute, founded the Esade Centre for Social Impact and recently helped launch the Esade Chair in Social Impact. As dean of Esade Business School, Hehenberger is leading the institution’s next stage of strategic development, with a focus on academic excellence, portfolio evolution, international positioning, faculty development, AI transformation, corporate engagement and meaningful impact as a distinctive strategic lever.
Ambition • ISSUE 4 • 2025 13 ISSUE 4 • 2026
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online