Helena Montiel

Helena holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering and was a professor and researcher at the University of Girona. She then moved to a number of senior professional roles at Girona including Technical Director of the Science and Technology Park and Director of the Research and Technology Transfer Office. In recent years, she assumed the coordination of two departments, Research and Knowledge Transfer and Academic Affairs, leading a team of over 50 people. Her professional work has focused on fostering collaboration between academia and industry to drive business competitiveness and regional development.

Because of her previous experience, she understood the technical aspects of her senior roles but once she began her management career, her primary mission was clear: leading her team. With limited experience in team management, she was fortunate to have various sources of support and mentors (friends and colleagues), and a network of influential people both within and outside her institution. However, looking back, she would have appreciated at least some training in leadership.

Helena is past-President of Redtransfer, the Spanish association for knowledge exchange professionals and a board member of ASTP. She is a former member of the Catalan Network of Science Parks and RedOTRI, the Spanish Association of University Technology Transfer Offices as well as a board member of the global Alliance of Technology Transfer Professionals (ATTP). These experiences shaped her leadership style, not only with her team but also with her peers.