Winter School Speakers
The 2027 Speakers are being added regularly
Oriol Amat
Professor of Financial Economics and Former Rector, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, ES
Oriol Amat studied at Autonomous University of Barcelona (PhD in Business Administration and Bachelor’s degree in the same speciality), at ESADE (Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and MBA) and at the Stockholm School of Economics (International Teachers Programme). He has had visiting appointments at international universities, such as Linköping University (Sweden), Massey University (New Zealand), Université de Montpellier (France) and Diego Portales University (Chile).
As a professor at UPF since 1992, he has always been interested in the four main dimensions of academic life: research, knowledge transfer, teaching and management.
His lines of research include the analysis of the success factors of organisations, transformation processes and the ethical aspects of finance. He has directed more than fifteen theses and is the author of scientific articles and more than forty books. Some of his books have been translated into several languages (French, English, Portuguese…). He also collaborates and is a member of the editorial board of several international scientific publications.
In the field of service in higher education, he has had different responsibilities at UPF. He has been rector of UPF (2021-2023), dean of the UPF Barcelona School of Management (2018-2021), director of the Department of Economics and Business (2003-2005), vice-rector for Economics, Information Systems and Services (1997-2001) and, specifically in the teaching field, he was director of the Centre for Teaching Quality and Innovation (2006-2011).
Arnold Boon
University Director, Copenhagen Business School, DK
Arnold Boon is since 2022 the University Director at Copenhagen Business School. He is a strategic leader with solid management skills and experience from higher education and research institutions. He previously was University Director and member of the Senior Management Team at Aarhus University. He is responsible for the University administration, including finance, HR, it and digital transformation, student administration, research support and compliance. He is also responsible for real estate and campus development at the university. He has more than 18 years of experience with financial management and a wide experience in leading major change projects, digital transformation, continuous process improvement and organisational changes. He has an extensive network in higher education in Denmark and in Europe.
Earlier positions include Faculty Director at the University of Copenhagen at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (2006-2015), Chief Financial Officer at the Danish Institute of Food and Veterinary Research (2004-2006), Head of Budget department at the Danish Agency for Food, Fisheries and Agri business (2002-2004), Executive Officer at the Danish Agency for Food Fisheries and Agri business (2000-2002), Executive Officer at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (1999-2000) and Researcher at the Danish Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Economics (1991-1998).
Nadine Burquel
Director General, HUMANE, BE
Nadine is the Director General of HUMANE. She works closely with the Chair and the governing bodies on HUMANE’s strategic developments. She manages the HUMANE Office to offer the membership an attractive portfolio of professional development and networking activities. She has been involved with HUMANE since its foundation in the mid-nineties, until December 2022 as Executive Director of the three residential schools (the Barcelona Winter School, the Berlin Summer School and the Asia School).
Nadine has extensive director level experience, having worked with multiple international non-profit organisations, university networks and international boards. She has wide knowledge of leadership, governance and management in higher education institutions, and the global trends in the higher education sector. As EFMD Director of Business School Services she was responsible for a wide portfolio of large global events and communities of practices, interacting with business schools and universities in the wider Europe, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, the Gulf, as well as North and South America. More recently in Maastricht University she was strategic adviser to the leadership of the School of Business and Economics, advising on international accreditation, the internationalisation strategy, and delivering societal impact.
She has significant experience with EU (higher) education policy and programmes since the early days of the Erasmus programme. She has a strong track record of EU projects, leading large EU-funded European university networks and providing technical assistance to the European Commission. She is high level EU policy expert, working at system level in Brussels and beyond, carrying out capacity building and evaluations of EU interventions, having worked with EU Delegations in many countries.
Nigel Healey
International Centre for Higher Education Management (ICHEM), University of Bath, UK
Nigel Healey is a British-New Zealand academic in management and higher education. His current research interests are in the internationalisation of higher education, transnational education, the sustainability of international higher education and higher education policy and management. He is presently based at the International Centre for Higher Education Management at the University of Bath, where he supervises doctoral students and teaches international higher education on the DBA Higher Education Management.
His previous academic appointments include: Vice President Global and Community Engagement at the University of Limerick (IE); Vice Chancellor of Fiji National University (FJ); Pro Vice Chancellor International at Nottingham Trent University (UK); Pro Vice Chancellor International and Executive Dean of UC Business School, University of Canterbury (NZ); Executive Dean, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, Manchester Metropolitan University (UK); and various teaching positions at the University of Leicester, Leeds Beckett University and University of Northampton (UK).
He has been a visiting professor at: Kent State University and South Dakota State University (US); University of Gdansk and University of Szczecin (PL); Belarusian State University (BY); and most recently Sichuan University (CN). Healey has served as an economic policy advisor to the prime minister of Belarus and the deputy minister of economy of the Russian Federation and managed multinational research and economic development projects in different parts of the world. From 2007 until 2025, he was chair of the QS Global Advisory Committee which organises international higher education summits around the world each year, including the Middle East and Africa (each March), Europe (each June), the Americas (each September) and the Asia-Pacific (each November).
Riitta Silvennoinen
Chief Human Resources Officer, Aalto University, FI
Riitta Silvennoinen, MSc (Econ.), MBA, is responsible for the human resources management department, including competence and leadership development.
Her previous position was as Nokia’s VP, Global HR Centre of Expertise. She has been employed by Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks and Nokia Networks in a variety of human resources management roles since 1997.
Prior to this, she worked at the Helsinki School of Economics’ International Centre.
Karen Stanton
Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts London, UK
Professor Karen Stanton is the Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts London, UK. Previously she was Vice-Chancellor at Bishop Grosseteste University, Vice-Chancellor at Solent University and prior to that Vice-Chancellor at York St John University. Professor Stanton was Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Glasgow Caledonian University and has also held positions at King’s College London and at the Universities of Nottingham, Birmingham and Sheffield Hallam.
Her previous areas of responsibility have included Director of the Centre for e-Research, a 4* rated research team based at King’s College London, responsibility for GCU’s overseas campuses in New York, Oman and Bangladesh and as a member of the United Nations Alliance-UK. She was Chair of the Cathedral’s Group and Vice Chair of GuildHE until December 2019. Prior to her academic career Professor Stanton worked as a researcher for the BBC and the Home Office.
Professor Stanton has over 20 years of academic leadership experience having dedicated her career to enhancing and advancing life and career opportunities through education, with a particular commitment to widening access and support for all. She is Chair of Southampton Connect.
