Esade Chair in Social Impact Annual Event 2026: Leading Meaningful Systemic Impact

As part of Barcelona4Impact Week, the Chair in Social Impact Annual Event brings together leading academics, philanthropists, investors, entrepreneurs, corporates, policymakers and practitioners to explore how we can create meaningful systemic impact in an increasingly complex world. 

The event offers a unique space to exchange knowledge, discuss emerging research, learn from real-world practice and build collaborations across sectors.

Why Attend? Learn from local and internationally recognized leaders, discover cutting-edge research and practical tools, exchange experiences across sectors, build new collaborations, gain actionable insights.

Main Themes: Philanthropy for Systems Change, impact Investing, education for Systems Change, Impact Measurement and Management (IMM), Systemic Philanthropy, Gender Lens Investing, Social Entrepreneurship, Tackling Gender Bias in Venture Capital, Patient Capital for Systemic Change

Some of our confirmed speakers are:

Naina Subberwal, CEO of Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN)

Arturo Benito, CEO of Impact Bridge  

Johanna Mair, Fellow and Co-Director Global Innovation for Impact Lab Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society

Francesc Sistach, CEO of Ship2BFoundation and former CEO and Co-founder of Specialisterne

Lisa Hehenberger, Dean of Esade Business School, Chairholder in Social Impact, Associate Professor

Julia Coffman, Editor in Chief of The Foundation Review and Founder of the Center for Evaluation Innovation

Teresa Guardans, Co-Founder of Oryx Impact

Steven Lichty, working at the intersection of evaluation, strategic foresight and futures thinking;

Luigi Corvo, Associate Professor at the University of Milano-Bicocca and founder of Open Impact

Ruby Quantson Davis, Learning and Impact Manager at Peace Direct

Giulio Pasi, Former Policy and Scientific Officer European Commission 

Program

08:30 h | Registration

09:00 h | Opening Remarks

Daniel Traça, General Director of Esade

09:10 h | Plenary Session: Philanthropy for Systems Change: Moving from Rhetoric to Reality

Atje Drexler, Senior Vice President International Cooperation and Understanding, Robert Bosch Stiftung

Chloe Feinberg, Senior Impact and Learning Manager, Laudes Foundation

Ruby Quantson Davis, Learning and Impact Manager, Peace Direct

Moderator: Leonora Buckland, Senior Research Scholar, ECSI

10:00 h | Plenary Session: Financing What Matters: Investing for Long-Term Impact

Moderator: Lisa Hehenberger, Dean, Esade Business School; Chairholder in Social Impact

Arturo Benito, CEO, Impact Bridge

Naina Subberwal Batra, CEO, AVPN

Teresa Guardans, Co-Founder, Oryx Impact

10:50 h | Coffee Break

11:15 h | Plenary Session: Educating for Meaningful Change

Cristina Giménez, Director of Identity and Mission, Esade; Full Professor, Department of Operations, Innovation and Data Sciences

Liliana Arroyo, Director, Chair for Socially Responsible Digital
Innovation (SoReDI), Esade; Senior Lecturer, Department of Society, Politics and Sustainability

Jérémie Meyer, Esade MBA 2025

Juliana Velez, Founder, Brikap; Esade MBA 2023

Guillermo Casasnovas, Associate Professor, Esade; Academic Director, ECSI

12:00 h | Parallel Sessions

     IMM in Practice: Learning, Adaptation & Sensemaking 

     Steven Lichty, Frontline Futures

     Marta Arranz, Learning Edge; Director, Climate SMILE Community of Practice

     Systemic Philanthropy in Practice: Lessons from Real-World Cases

     Gesa Bent, Senior Manager, Robert Bosch Stiftung
Varja Lipovsek, Director of Learning, Measurement and Evaluation, Co-Impact 

     Rosie Howlett-Southgate, Senior Impact Manager, Laudes Foundation
Mathieu Minne, Senior Finance Controller, Fundación Daniel y Nina
Carasso
Chiara Andreoli, Postdoctoral Researcher, ECSI
Deborah Gold, Researcher, ECSI

     Escalar la inclusión: innovación social para el cambio sistémico. Oportunidades, aprendizajes y desafíos a partir de experiencias internacionales (In Spanish)

     Sabina Lobato, Directora de Formación, Empleo, Operaciones y Estudios, Fundación ONCE
Francesc Sistach, Ex CEO y cofundador de Specialisterne; actual CEO de Ship2B Foundation
Dalia Silberstein, Esade Meaningful Impact Lead and ECSI Manager

     True & Fair: Presentación de los resultados del estudio global de Social Value International – Capítulo

Jeremy Nicholls, Co-founder and Advisor, Social Value International (SVI)
Charles Castro, Chair, EsImpact
Guillermo Casasnovas, Associate Professor, Department of Society, Politics and Sustainability, Esade; Academic Director, ECSI
Ignacio Ramos Villar, Insight4

13:00 h | Networking Lunch

14:00 h | Parallel Sessions

•     Impact Intelligence Infrastructure for the Impact Investing Market
•     Tackling Gender Bias in Venture Capital: A Practical Toolkit for Action
•      Medir, gestionar y aprender en comunidad. Una experiencia de juego interactivo para organizaciones de impacto (In Spanish)
•      Patient Capital for Systemic Change

15:00  h | Plenary Session: Barcelona in Action: Local Innovators Driving Change
15:30  h | Closing Plenary: Looking Ahead: What Will It Take to Create Lasting Impact?

16:10   h | Closing Session: Chair in Social Impact: Closing Reflections

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