Pablo Isla Appointed Chairman of International Advisory Board at IE University

IE University has announced the appointment of Pablo Isla as Chairman of its International Advisory Board. Isla, who served as Executive Chairman of the Inditex Group until March 31 of this year, will contribute to the International Advisory Board through his experience as a globally recognized top executive and help promote the work of the Board, which is comprised of leading international figures from the institutional, academic, and business worlds, with experience in the public and private sector. Each year, IE University trains more than 8,000 students from 140 countries in undergraduate, postgraduate, doctorate and executive education programs in the areas of Business, Global & Public Affairs, Technology, Architecture and Design, and Legal Studies.

IE University's International Advisory Board helps IE University's senior management team fulfill the purpose of the institution and promote its main strategic initiatives and key projects. Guillermo de la Dehesa, who has served as Chairman of the International Governing Council and is a revered businessman and adviser to international companies, will continue his link to the institution as Director and Honorary President of the International Advisory Board.

“It is a privilege to be able to incorporate Pablo Isla's knowledge and experience into our institution.”
Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, CEO of IE University

“I am certain that his global vision, his leadership style, and his values will be key in promoting our strategic projects. We will work together to fulfill our purpose of positive change through education, innovation, and research,” said Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, CEO of IE University.

“My experience of so many years in business has taught me that education is fundamental to progress, and to being able to contribute in a sustainable way to the improvement of society. I join IE University with the aim of contributing to this path of training people with an entrepreneurial, humanistic, and innovative spirit,” said Pablo Isla.

Pablo Isla (Madrid, 1964) graduated with a Law degree from the Complutense University of Madrid and joined the State Lawyers Corps in 1988, receiving 1st in his promotion. Isla was Director of Legal Services at Banco Popular from 1992 to 1996, at which point he was appointed General Manager of the National Heritage Department of the Treasury. In 1998, he returned to Banco Popular Español as General Secretary and in 2000 he became Chairman of the Altadis Group. In 2005, Pablo Isla joined the Inditex Group as CEO and Vice Chairman and in 2011 he assumed position of Executive Chairman. At this stage, Inditex had become a world leader in its sector and a benchmark in terms of digital integration and sustainability.

With more than 6,400 stores and 150,000 employees of 172 nationalities, the Inditex Group, owns brands including Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, and Oysho. The textile group closed 2021 with a turnover of 27,716 million euros and a net profit of 3,243 million euros, which tripled the figures for 2020. Online sales grew by 14% during the whole of last year, up to 7,500 million, 25,5% of the total sale.

Pablo Isla is also a Director on Nestlé’s Board and Trustee of the Amancio Ortega Foundation as well as the La Caixa Foundation. Among other recognitions, Pablo Isla was recognized as the Best-Performing CEO in the World by Harvard Business Review considered in 2017 and 2018 and, in 2020, Forbes distinguished him as the best CEO of the decade.

The International Advisory Board of IE University is made up of:

• Ismail Ahmed, CEO, Gulf Medical (Canada)
• Kofi Appenteng, President, Africa-America Institute (Ghana)
• Emilio Azcárraga, Chairman of the Administration Board, Grupo Televisa (Mexico)
• Carolina Barco, former Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs (Colombia/United States)
• Noor bint Asem, Chairwoman and Founder, Kyan Foundation (Jordan)
• Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, CEO, MCC Productions (United States)
• Guillermo de la Dehesa, Director and Honorary President of the International Advisory Board, IE University (Spain)
• Valentín Diez Morodo, President, Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (Mexico/Spain)
• Juan Ignacio Entrecanales, Executive Vice President, Acciona (Spain)
• Carl H. Hahn, Chairman Emeritus of the Management Board, Volkswagen (Austria)
• Eduardo Hochschild, Chairman, Hochschild Group (Peru)
• Mary Jo Jacobi, Managing Director, Mary Jo Consulting (United Kingdom/United States)
• Fady Jameel, Deputy President and Vice Chairman, Abdul Latif Jameel (Saudi Arabia)
• Julie Katzman, Director, Advisor and Investor, MacArthur Foundation, Nilus LLC, IVE and Laboratoria (United States)
• Angelica Kohlmann, Chairman and CEO, Kohlmann & Co (Brasil/Germany)
• Wei Lin Kwee, Senior Vice President, Hotels at Pontiac Land Group (Singapore)
• Julie Lassonde, President and CEO, Lassonde Capital (Canada)
• Maria Tereza Leme Fleury, Director, Getulio Vargas Foundation (Brasil)
• Uni Zulfiani Lubi, Editor in Chief, IDN Times (Indonesia)
• Pascale Mussard, Founder and Former Director, Petit H. Vice President, Hermés Foundation (France)
• Usha Prashar, Member of the House of Lords (Kenya)
• Giuseppe Tringali, President, IE/EY Global Corporation Center (Italy)
• Martin Varsavsky, CEO, Overture Life and Goggo Network, Founder and Chairman, Prelude Fertility (Argentina/Spain)
• Dimitri Vassilacos, Partner, Ship Finance Solutions (Grecia)
• Hubertus von Baumbach, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany)
• Georg von Habsburg, Ambassador of Hungary to France (Hungary)
• Zhihong Yi, Academic Director of FinTech MBA, Renmin University (China)