General director
Mari Jose Aranguren is the general director at Orkestra and Professor in Economics at Deusto University. She has worked at Orkestra since its beginning in 2006. Mari Jose is a recognised expert in the area of competitiveness and territorial strategy, cluster and networks, and the analysis and evaluation of policies, having published several books and articles in specialised national and international journals of impact.
She has vast experience in leading national and international projects in the research areas previously mentioned and has worked closely with different agents of the Basque Country. In December of 2016 Mari Jose received a special recognition from Harvard’s Institute of Strategy and Competitiveness for her career and contribution to territorial competitiveness.
From 2014 to 2016 Mari Jose was a member of the Advisory Group for the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 programme, in the Societal Challenge 6 ‘Europe in a changing world – Inclusive, Innovative and Reflective Societies’ as well as in the challenge of ‘Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation’.
