Catalina Tejero

Dr. Catalina Tejero is Dean of the IE School of Arts & Humanities and Professor of Practice, where her work focuses on reclaiming and redefining the value of the arts and humanities in the 21st century. In a context shaped by artificial intelligence, technological transformation and profound social change, she is concerned with how humanistic and artistic knowledge can strengthen human agency by providing critical frameworks, cultural literacy and ethical orientation for institutions and societies navigating long-term transformation.

Her research and professional work build on her doctoral research on arts philanthropy as identity infrastructure within the family business realm, which marked the starting point of an ongoing line of inquiry into the relationships between culture, legacy, capital and institutional decision-making. This research continues to inform both her academic leadership and her applied work.

From this foundation, her work engages with questions of cultural governance and cultural policy, with a particular focus on the financing of cultural institutions and on how these institutions build meaningful, inclusive and sustainable relationships with diverse publics. She is especially interested in how cultural organizations balance mission, legitimacy and long-term sustainability.

This perspective informs her work with and advisory support to cultural institutions and foundations, public and private organizations, investment funds, early-stage cultural and creative ventures, entrepreneurial families and family offices, as well as real estate and urban development projects. Across these contexts, she works on how art and culture can function as strategic infrastructure—supporting human agency while shaping institutional identity, audience engagement, legitimacy and long-term value, including in intergenerational and wealth management settings.

She currently holds board and advisory roles and continues to collaborate with organizations and initiatives that value intellectual rigour, institutional leadership and a long-term, strategic approach to culture.