Luis Solís

It comes as no surprise that Luis Solis has gained a number of teaching awards and is welcomed as a visiting professor at universities in countries such as Mexico, Belgium, France, China, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Spain and the US. For when he teaches his courses in strategic operations management, lean & response service operations, supply chain management, project management and quality management, Prof Solis is drawing upon a vast pool of knowledge and experience gained by working with work a wide range of companies in USA, Europe and Latin America. “So I’m not working only on theoretical research and models but I’m also working with top industry executives in the real world”, he says.

He also leads and participates in research initiatives such as Success Factors in Strategic Alliances in Supply Chains in European Industry, An Empirical Study of Techno-Stress and its Impact on Business Performance and Knowledge Management and New Product Development in the Supply Chain. He has published his work in journals such as Total Quality Management, the International Journal of Technology Management, and the Service Management Journal among others.

But while his research is impressive in itself, it also informs his teaching. “I always use my research findings in my class”, he says and explains that he uses selected cases, exercises, simulations, and videos to create an environment where students have to think about the implications of the concepts they are studying.

Prof Solis also invites industry executives as guest speakers to present real situations to which tools covered in the course can be applied. “So I’m helping students think holistically. And I always challenge their thinking to find new way to approach complex and difficult business issues”.

Academic experience

• Professor of the Operations Department, IE, 1998 to present

• Associate Dean for Part-Time faculty and Executive Education, 2006 to 2014

• Chair, Operations and Technology Management Department, IE, 2000 - 2006

• Director, Master Programme in Operations Management, IE, (Madrid) 2001

• President of the Assessment Board for the Centre for Research and Technology of the Footwear and Leather Industry and part of the National Council for Research and Technology (Mexico) 2001 to present

• Board Member and European Representative for the Business Association of Latin American Studies, 2003 to present

• Board Member of the Instituto Universitario de Investigación de Empresa, 2004 to present

• Research Fellow of the Information Management Research Centre, IE

Academic background

• PhD in Manufacturing Management and Engineering, University of Toledo, Ohio (USA)

• MBA, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, ITESM (Mexico)

• MSc in Industrial Engineering, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, ITESM (Mexico)

• CPCL, Harvard Business School (USA)

• Industrial and Systems Engineering, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, ITESM (Mexico)