2011 Board of Directors - Profiles

Christian Ketels. President 2011-2013.

Since December 2011, Dr. Christian Ketels is the President of the Board of Directors of TCI-The Competitiveness Institute. Christian has been on the Board since October 2007, becoming its Secretary in October 2009. Dr. Ketels is a member of the Harvard Business School faculty at Professor Michael E. Porter's Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness. He is a Honorary Professor at the EBS Business School, Germany, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. He holds a PhD (Econ) from the London School of Economics and further degrees from the Kiel Institute for World Economics and University of Cologne. Dr. Ketels has led cluster and competitiveness projects in many parts of the world. He is member of economic advisory groups in Europe and the Americas, has written widely on economic policy issues, and has been a frequent speaker on competitiveness and strategy in Europe, North America and Asia.

Alberto Pezzi. Outgoing President 2011-2012.

Since December 2011, Alberto Pezzi is Outgoing President of the Board of Directors of TCI-The Competitiveness Institute. From October 2009 to December 2011, Alberto was the President of the Board. From 2003 to 2009, Alberto held the position of Secretary of TCI's Board of Directors. He is also the Director of the Analysis and Foresight Unit at the Observatory of Industrial Foresight of the Department of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise of the Catalan Government. Alberto was first employee and first General Manager of TCI - The Competitiveness Institute after its establishment in November 1998. From 2003 to 2009, Alberto had held the position of Secretary of TCI's Board of Directors being in charge of the general management and operations and staff coordination at TCI's office in Barcelona. He has over fifteen years of experience in economic development and clustering initiatives both in the private sector and the public sector. Before joining his current employer he worked for consulting firms like McKinsey and Company and Competitiveness, gaining an extensive experience in strategic consulting and knowledge management. He is the author of different publications on cluster policy and practice and he is regularly invited to give speeches in international forums on issues related to cluster policy and regional competitiveness. Alberto holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Bologna, a Master in Law, Economics and Policy of the EU from the European College of Parma and a Postgraduate Diploma in Economic History and Institutions from the Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona.

Klaus Haasis. Secretary 2011-2013.

Since December 2011, Klaus Haasis is Secretary on the Board of Directors of TCI - The Competitiveness Institute, being Director of the Board since October 2007. With degrees in Media Engineering and Journalism he can look back on more than 35 years of experience in designing communication processes and relationship systems. He held jobs in Creative Industries, ICT-Sector, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry and worked as photographer and advertiser. Klaus Haasis held a number of key leadership positions such as at the private television network SAT.1 Baden-Württemberg and Hoechst, one of the biggest chemical companies in the world. Since 1995 he has been CEO of MFG Baden-Württemberg, www.mfg.de, one of the leading innovation agencies in Europe fostering Creative Industries, Media and ICT. Klaus Haasis has successfully built networks like Baden-Württemberg: Connected, www.bwcon.de, and the Open Source Solutions Network www.lisog.org. He worked as Scientific Assistant at the University of Hohenheim and held university teaching positions for Media Politics and Media Management in Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Mainz. Klaus Haasis is member of the European TACTICS Reflection Group and has finished a further education in person-centered counselling. www.klaushaasis.de

Elisabeth Waelbroeck-Rocha. Treasurer 2010-2013.

Elisabeth Waelbroeck-Rocha is the Treasurer of the Board of Directors of TCI-The Competitiveness Institute. She is also Vice-President of BIPE, France. She is BIPE's managing director general and manager of the cross-sector department. Waelbroeck-Rocha specialises in forward-looking industry analysis and forecasting and economic modelling. Prior to joining BIPE as CEO in 2000, she was Chief European Economist and Director of European Research at Standard & Poor's DRI. Over the years, Waelbroeck-Rocha has directed numerous large studies for private and public sector organisations in the fields of industry analysis, regional development analysis, labour market policy, strategic and contingency planning, policy formulation and policy analysis. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics (1984), a Master's Degree in Econometrics (1979) and an M.A. in Economics (1978) from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.

Amit Kapoor. Director 2009-2012.

Since October 2009, Amit Kapoor is Director on the Board of Directors of TCI-The Competitiveness Institute. He is Professor of Strategy and Industrial Economics at the Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, India since 2003. In 2006, he was appointed honorary chairman of the Institute for Competitiveness, Gurgaon, India. Institute for Competitiveness (IC), India is an independent international initiative centered in India dedicated to enlarging and disseminating the body of research and knowledge on competition and strategy pioneered over the last 25 years by Professor M.E. Porter of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School, USA. Dr. Amit Kapoor has a vast experience of over ten years in the field of academics, research, training and consulting in the global markets. He is Professor of Strategy and Industrial Economics at Management Development Institute; Honorary Chairman at Institute for Competitiveness studying firms, clusters and economies; India Commissioner for the Competitiveness Institute, Sloan Affiliate; and member of the Collective. He is an affiliate faculty for the Microeconomics of Competitiveness course of Institute of Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School. He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Economics and Business Strategy and an accomplished academician and has received the ESSID Scholarship and MIT DCA Scholarship.

Rauli Sorvari. Director 2009-2012.

Since October 2009, Rauli Sorvari is Director on the Board of Directors of TCI The Competitiveness Institute. He was also responsible for the organization of the 12th TCI Annual Global Conference in Jyväskylä in 2009 when being Programme Manager at the Regional Council of Central Finland. He has been meritorious in the long-term strategic development of education and knowledge development services in Central Finland. He has been the person behind the development of a local emerging cluster, EduCluster Finland to strengthen the global operating capacity of the region in different sectors, networks and ventures. As a manager in University of Kuopio the expertise area was entrepreneurship. He has a long career in Finnish Telecom and LM Ericsson as well as a distinguished experience from being an entrepreneur since 1983. He has been Member of the Steering Committee for Metso Training Centre (Global), Metso Corporation. Rauli Sorvari is now CEO and entrepreneur of Estele Ltd (ECF Network member) focused on Learning Region design and development in the regional economies and when boosting the SMEs.

Pierre Bonnet. Director 2010-2013.

Since December 2010, Pierre Bonnet is Director on the Board of Directors of TCI-The Competitiveness Institute. Pierre Bonnet is Head of Territorial Action and Projects Department of the Lyon Chamber of Commerce with an extensive experience in economic development with expertise in the field of industrial subcontracting in the Automotive, Aerospace, Railway sectors. Bonnet was the Project Manager of the 9th TCI Annual Conference Conference in Lyon 2006, which came to be a successful edition with 424 participants coming from 62 countries. He has been involved in 15 Missions to Morocco for the establishment and development of the National Stock Exchange of Subcontracting and Partnership. During 25 years, Pierre has worked on economic development and has managed a multidisciplinary team of 27 consultants specialized in strategic consulting and business development with special emphasis on Innovation, Competitiveness, Business Development, Quality, Safety and Environment Cluster Initiatives. In 2004, he was Project Manager at Pôle de Compétitivité Lyon Urban Trucks and Bus 2015, which so far has 100 members including many small and medium enterprises.

Nataliya Korchagina. Director 2010-2013.

Since December 2010, Nataliya A. Korchagina is Director on the Board of Directors of TCI-The Competitiveness Institute. Nataliya A. Korchagina, with extensive experience of almost 10 years in public administration, is now the Director of the Centre for Competitiveness and Cluster Initiatives, Astrakhan State University, Russia. The Centre's goals are to educate representatives of different clusters in competitiveness and cluster policy; to conduct widespread research in the same topics; and to implement cluster initiatives. The Center together with the Ministry of Economic Development of Astrakhan Region is also working on the project "Cluster Policy in Astrakhan Region". Affiliate Teaching Fellow of the course on Microeconomics of Competitiveness at the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness of Harvard Business School since 2006, Korchagina has trained hundreds of business and public representatives in cluster concept and has been conducting a broad range of practically-oriented research projects on regional economic development as well as international competitiveness. The results are published in more than 40 articles and books. Korchagina is also the R&D Executive Director of a Start-up company "Region's future", Astrakhan, Russia. The company has been established to provide institutional support to cluster initiatives in Astrakhan region. Korchagina is a Candidate of Science in Economics and is about to get a degree of Doctor in the same field.

Jaime Echeverri. Director 2011-2013.

In 2011, Jaime Echeverri became a Director on the Board of Directors of TCI-The Competitiveness Institute. Jaime Echeverri is Vice President of Planning and Development at the Medellin Chamber of Commerce. He has participated in past TCI conferences and was responsible for the organization of the 5CLAC in 2010. He is one of the promoters of RedLAC and also of the Colombian Network of Clusters with the participation of 20 of the 32 Colombian regions. He has conducted research on regional development and is currently leading the competitiveness plan for Medellín and Antioquia in the framework of an agreement between the private and public sector. He has been president of the Territorial Planning Council for Medellin and an active promoter of national and international cooperation for development. His professional focus as Vice President of Planning and Development at the Medellín - Antioquia Chamber of Commerce is oriented to the promotion of innovation and business, under this purpose he is part of boards in some regional institutions. He has been professor of macroeconomics and international business at local universities and has developed over the years more than 20 publications in issues related to development, competitiveness and employment. He is economist and holds a M.A. on Rural Development from the University of Esta Anglia, Norwich, England and a Specialization degree in Industrial Development for Rural Areas from the Urban-Regional Development Studies Center, Rehovot, Israel.

Richard Walker. Director 2011-2014.

In December 2011, Richard Walker became a Director on the Board of Directors of TCI-The Competitiveness Institute. Richard Walker has more than 15 years experience in senior management and director roles in Not For Profit companies and Professional Associations, currently being the CEO of Economic Development Australia. He is actively involved in the establishment and management of two industry clusters. He is currently the CEO of a professional Association, established as a NFP company in 2007. In 2004, he was involved during three years establishing a new community based sustainability organisation for Greater Sydney. Prior to that, Richard had nine year experience as Chief Executive of a University commercial company [NFP] with turnover in the last year of $12million, reporting to a Board. He is also experienced in developing economic strategies for local governments, in evaluating and commercializing new technologies, etc.

Theodore R. Lyman. Director 2011-2014.

In December 2011, Ted Lyman became a Director on the Board of Directors of TCI-The Competitiveness Institute. Ted Lyman has more than 30 years of consulting experience assisting government and private sector leaders with policies and action initiatives aimed at enhancing economic development. His global experience has brought his acclaim as one of the world’s experts in the development and implementation of cluster-based strategies for enhancing regional economic competitiveness. The World Bank, for example, has recognized Ted as one of the world’s relatively few experts in the area of economic competitiveness. In July 2002, he was inaugurated as a Fellow in the World Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of his contributions to civil societies around the world. Ted has been associated with the same team of international experts since 1973. The team, founded at Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) in 1973, moved in 1993 to DRI McGraw-Hill (now Global Insight) and in 1996 to ICF Consulting (at the time joined with Kaiser Engineers as ICF Kaiser). He retired from ICF Consulting as a Senior Vice President in 2001, where he had revenue unit responsibilities as well as responsibilities for overall corporate development. He has been an independent consultant in the intervening years