Esade Names Social Impact Scholar Lisa Hehenberger As New Dean

Lisa Hehenberger has been appointed the new dean of Esade Business School in Barcelona. Courtesy photo

Esade Business School has appointed Professor Lisa Hehenberger as its next dean, the school announced Monday. Her four-year term, approved by the Board of Trustees of the Esade Foundation and formalized by the rector of Ramon Llull University, begins December 1.

Hehenberger succeeds Joan Rodon, who led the school during a period of international program growth.

Hehenberger’s appointment reinforces Esade’s long-standing blend of humanist, Jesuit tradition with a growing focus on innovation, sustainability and social impact. It also marks a step toward strengthening female leadership in top academic roles at the institution.

ACADEMIC PROFILE & LEADERSHIP ROLES

Hehenberger is an associate professor in the Department of Strategy and General Management and currently serves as director of the Esade Center for Social Impact, which she founded in 2021. She previously served as director of the Esade Entrepreneurship Institute. Her academic work focuses on corporate philanthropy, social impact investing and partnerships between business and civil society. She earned her Ph.D. at IESE Business School and has published in leading journals, including the Academy of Management Journal.

Her background includes significant international and cross-sector experience. She has been a Visiting Scholar at Stanford’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), a Chief Impact Advisor at Oryx Impact, and a board member of the GSMA Foundation. She also serves on impact advisory boards and committees for Rubio Impact Ventures, Suma Capital, ImpactShakers and other organizations, and has advised global institutions including WWF, the Repsol Foundation and Meridia Capital Partners.

Hehenberger has also held roles in major policy and research networks. She is a member of the Impact & Sustainable Finance Faculty Consortium led by Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and part of the Academic Working Group on Impact Measurement and Management established by Duke’s CASE and the United Nations Development Programme. She previously spent six years as Research & Policy Director at the European Venture Philanthropy Association, later becoming its strategic advisor. She has contributed to European Commission expert groups on social business and impact measurement and served on the Social Impact Investment Task Force launched by the G8.

RECOGNITION & PRIORITIES AS INCOMING DEAN

Her work has been recognized with several distinctions, including being named one of the Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise by Euclid Network in 2021 and an S2B Impact Champion by the Ship2B Impact Awards the same year. She is a member of CNBC’s Disruptor 50 Advisory Council and is a frequent speaker at conferences organized by the European Commission and other international institutions.

Esade says Hehenberger will focus on strengthening ties between academia, business and society while consolidating the school’s position as a global reference in management education and research. Her mandate includes expanding Esade’s international outreach and continuing its emphasis on programs and research aimed at addressing major technological and social challenges.

Esade was No. 6 in Poets&Quants‘ 2024-2025 international ranking and No. 8 in the most recent Financial Times Global MBA list.

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