Inspiralia CEO Alfredo Sanchez said, “It is important that our future growth is guided by experience, particularly from those who have been successful internationally in their own careers and across a variety of sectors. I am therefore delighted to have drawn together such a group of individuals whose wide ranging experience can be brought to bear on Inspiralia’s future development”.
The international new product development (NPD) and implementation company Inspiralia has brought together leading business entrepreneurs from Europe and the USA to join its International Advisory Board (IAB).
Inspiralia’s offers a ‘360’ NPD service to small to medium enterprises (SMEs) covering concept generation, innovation strategies, technology management, product development, and market launch.
Inspiralia has been successful in securing funding for SMEs who partner with Inspiralia to support product development across a very wide range of commercial sectors including industrial, energy, environment, health and well-being. With the help of its International Advisory Board, Inspiralia is preparing for further expansion into new sectors and global markets. In support of its NPD clients, it has assembled an advisory board whose members have an extensive international business and entrepreneurial experience gained in the global private sector.
Inspiralia CEO Alfredo Sanchez said, “It is important that our future growth is guided by experience, particularly from those who have been successful internationally in their own careers and across a variety of sectors. I am therefore delighted to have drawn together such a group of individuals whose wide-ranging experience can be brought to bear on Inspiralia’s future development”.
The first meeting of the Inspiralia IAB was held recently at 1 Cornhill – a prestigious location opposite the Bank of England in the City of London. The seven strong IAB, which includes US technology entrepreneur and writer Ray Garcia of Buoyant Capital and French-based wealth manager Hein Donders who helped establish the Olifan group, is now helping Inspiralia establish an aggressive growth plan for its services – one that is expected to have a dramatic impact on its NPD clients’ product competitiveness and success in the global markets.
Inspiralia:
Inspiralia is a New Product Development Company created in 2005 and based in Madrid. Its in-house laboratories and staff of market experts is what makes its services unique. By offering a complete 360-degree service it helps its clients develop new, sustainable and profitable products which Inspiralia believes contributes to a better society and vibrant growth economy. The company’s services guide their clients business through each step of the development process using an international partner network which gives access to global markets and best practices.
Inspiralia has supported a broad range of successful products across a wide range of sectors.
More details can be found on the firm’s website at:- http://www.inspiralia.com
The Inspiralia International Advisory Board Members include:
Hein Donders, Ray Garcia, Alfredo Sánchez (CEO Inspiralia and John Morgan (IAB Secretary)
Members Biographies
Ray Garcia
Ray Garcia is the managing director of Buoyant Capital, a global peer advisory think tank addressing the growth challenges of small to medium sized enterprises.
The firm coordinates its team of experts to help its clients improve competitiveness through talent management, global market expansion partnership access, technology asset management, capital investment and restructuring.
Buoyant Capital was founded in 2000 in New York City and has helped launch several start-up companies and works as an advisor to company founders, CEO’s, and their investors.
Ray has over 20 years of experience as a technology entrepreneur, as company CTO co-founder, for four venture-backed companies. Earlier in his career, he worked as an executive for major banks including, Citicorp, Republic National Bank (now HSBC), Bank of America, and as a technology consultant to several large US multi-national corporations.
In 2008, he was elected to serve as an executive in resident at MIT Media Lab. Since 2010 he serves on the advisory board of Baruch College Field Center for Entrepreneurship.
From 2011 to 2014, he taught an accelerated course in entrepreneurship at the University of Pisa, Italy, School of Economics, to PhD candidates and International MBA executives with a focus on innovation, technology transfer and venture spin-offs. During 2015 to 2016 he is serving as a business expert to EU Commission Horizon 2020 SME innovation instrument where he is evaluating commercialization grant proposals of technology ventures and coaching company executives who have received grant funding. Ray is an author of five books on entrepreneurship available from all major booksellers.
Hein Donders
Hein Donders is a partner in the French wealth management business Olifan Group. His firm has over 5,000 clients and was formed from a merger of nine financial advisory firms – it has 55 employees.
Until 2013 Hein was the chairman and CEO of Old Mutual Group in Europe and a member of the executive committee of Old Mutual Wealth. His career has focused on developing and growing wealth and asset management business throughout Europe. At OMW the business had some €12 billion of funds under management; €1bn in net client cash flow and 700,000 customers producing some €45m net profit. It had 800 employees.
Over the period 2009 to 2011, Hein successfully merged the French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese businesses into a single Pan-European unit with fund under management increasing by 50% from €4billion to €6billion.
Before joining Old Mutual in 2002 Hein was the chief marketing officer at AXA France where he was involved in complex change management projects within multi-cultural executive teams. He was involved in combining the marketing function of three French companies; increasing their profitability and market share through repositioning the business.
Hein spent 2 years at AXA Leven (Netherlands) contributing to the management of several major changes.
Between 1987 and 1996 Hein worked as head of sales and marketing at GAN Assurances.
He was educated at INSEAD, ESSEC AND ESDE Business School and is fluent in his native Dutch, French and English.
Alfredo Sánchez (CEO Inspiralia)
Alfredo Sánchez is managing director of Inspiralia – a company which is a 360-degree new product development service - from the creation to launch.
Alfredo is involved in the designing, planning and implementation of Inspiralia’s Business Plan and long-term Strategy. He represents the company throughout Europe in front of customers and strategic partners. He is involved in all new product developments especially at launch.
From 2005 to 2012 Alfredo was the Southern Europe Director of Inspiralia which was then part of PERA International. His role meant that he was responsible for all operations across Pera’s Technology, Consulting and Training businesses with operations in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France. He managed growth from 2 people to 50 over 6 years with profit margins of 20%. He designed new product and services adapted to our different markets.
Alfredo has a Master’s in European Community Law from the Real Instituto de Estudios Europeos. He began his career with Manchester Business Link where he was a European Development Executive. There he advised SMEs in European policies, programs and regulations.
As an owner of a UK company, in 1996 he became an international consultant involved in foreign trade and European funding. He represented several Spanish companies in the UK and gained contracts involving European funds in the field of education R&D, innovation and regional development policies. Alfredo continued this work in 2005 at Innovages a Spanish company involved in foreign trade and European funding consultancy before going on to join Inspiralia.
John Morgan (IAB Secretary)
John Morgan is managing director of Fortuna Asset Management Communications a specialist public relations company which advise small specialist asset management ‘boutiques’.
The business was established in the UK in 2012 to assist such asset management firms add value to their businesses by engaging (usually for the first time) in media relations and other stakeholder engagement activity.
Fortuna now represents eight clients with one full-time and three part-time contractors. Apart from boutiques, these include two of Spain’s largest financial services companies – Mapfre and Allfunds Bank. He is secretary to the International Advisory Boards of Banco Inversis, Inspiralia and the Group of Boutique Asset Managers (GBAM).
John has broad experience in public affairs, political and financial journalism both as a reporter, editor and author. He has held senior PR positions in two FTSE 50 financial services companies having engaged in promoting the company’s financial and business narratives, as well as senior executives to national and international media. He has an M.Sc. (econ) in Media Studies from the School of Journalism Studies at the University of Wales (Cardiff).
John ran an award winning PR team at Legal & General Group and successfully defended the business when challenged by its Regulator at a Financial Services Tribunal. He also promoted the company on national radio. At Skandia Investment Group he was involved in the UK, European and Asian PR activity.
John is a member of the CIPR, a former Committee member of the Corporate & Financial Group, and a former Court Member of the Company of Public Relations Practitioners.
