IESE and the Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation Launch New Chair on the Future of Work

IESE Business School and the Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation have announced the creation of the Business Leadership and the Future of Work Chair – Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation. The chair aims to advance knowledge on the future of work and leadership in a context of profound technological, social, and demographic changes. 

The chair will be led by IESE professor Mireia Las Heras, an expert in Managing People in Organizations with an extensive research background in the field. Her studies cover topics such as work-family integration, leadership, remote work, motivation, and emotional states at work. Her research has been widely published in high-impact academic journals and books, including Human Relations, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Human Resource Management Journal. Since 2019, Las Heras has been the director of the International Center for Work and Family (ICWF), and, since 2023, she has also served as the director of IESE’s MBA program. 

Thanks to funding from the Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation, the chair will develop academic research and teaching materials that promote innovation and the dissemination of best practices within the education and business sectors. Among other initiatives, it will incorporate studies driven by IESE’s Education for Jobs Initiative. Additionally, it will organize international conferences and symposiums. 

Since 2016, the Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation has also funded the Joaquim Molins Figueras Chair on Business Alliances, led by IESE professor África Ariño. 

The launch event for the Business Leadership and the Future of Work Chair – Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation will take place on June 17 at IESE’s campus in Barcelona. During the event, the 5th edition of the study on youth skills and employment in Spain will be presented. 

With the creation of this new chair, IESE now has 12 research centers and 24 academic chairs all linked to internationally renowned professors. 

About the Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation 

Established in 2001 in memory of Joaquim Molins Figueras—founder of Cementos Molins and a key figure behind Penya Rhin—the foundation works to create opportunities for the personal, social, and professional development of young people in society through research, social, and educational programs. Since its inception, the foundation has impacted more than 2,500 individuals by providing educational support and essential well-being assistance, as well as contributing to the publication of over 200 scientific research studies.