Aileen Ionescu-Somers, Ph.D

Aileen Ionescu-Somers is an accomplished executive, educator, and researcher with significant expertise in strategic innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), where she leads a team of over 400 expert researchers to inform and promote entrepreneurship globally. Prior to joining GEM, Aileen held multiple leadership roles, including Director of Learning, Associate Dean, and Deputy Director, in different business schools and institutions such as Business School Lausanne, IMD Business School, and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). She has also participated in Google Innovation Lab for Food Experiences, supervised the ABIS - The Academy of Business in Society and helped create the Centre for Corporate Sustainability Management. Aileen is well-educated, having earned her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Business strategy/sustainability from University College Cork, Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Imperial College London, and completed an Executive Training in Organizational Leadership at IMD Business School.