Bio: Under the leadership of Salvador Carmona, the IE University and its Business School have been transformed into leading research and educational hubs not only within Spain but also globally, attracting international faculty (40% of the full-time faculty is international, from 42 countries), and students (76% of bachelor-degree students are international, from 102 nationalities) and consistently climb upwards within various rankings.
The IE University is representative of a relatively new cohort of non-state owned universities and business schools such as Bocconi and LUISS in Italy, among others. The university aims to “break the mold” of the traditional ways of learning in Spain and elsewhere by introducing highly innovative learning practices. The IE has been very successful in securing its economic sustainability and independence while providing an internationally recognized base for research and education. To a significant degree this success has been based on the IE’s innovative leadership team led by Salvador Carmona, and in particular his efforts to connect other disciplines, such as management control, accounting and finance, with international business.
As a Professor of Accounting and Management Control, Professor Carmona is using business history as a heuristic lens to explore some of the best ideas in business organization and strategy that originated centuries ago. Using Spain’s extensive archives he has been tracing the history of global companies like the Royal Tobacco Factory of Seville, what he believes is an early form of just-in-time production. This company is also one of the first global enterprises whose products have been traded within Spain, Europe, and Spanish dominions in the New World. Professor Carmona has also adopted a critical historical perspective to examine the role of accounting in international relations and trade by focusing on the Asiento, the treaty that granted Britain the monopoly to trade slaves with the Spanish American colonies from 1713 to 1743.
In addition to teaching and research, Prof. Carmona engages in consultancy work for corporations as well as conducting executive training and in-company programs aimed at the top-level management of multinational enterprises. Salvador is a true champion of interdisciplinary research; as an example, he co-edited a special issue of Accounting and Business Review aimed at integration of international business with contemporary accounting and finance.
Professor Carmona obtained both BSc and PhD in Economics and Business Administration at the University of Seville, Spain, and a CPCL from Harvard University. Before joining the IE University in 2002, he held prominent positions in other leading Spanish Universities, including Dean of the School of Social and Legal Sciences at the Universidad Carlos III (Madrid), and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Accounting at the Universidad de Sevilla.
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Salvador Carmona is an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of International Business as the recipient of the 2023 International Educator of the Year Award.
Last Updated: April 2023