Lourdes Casanova is Lecturer at the Strategy Department at INSEAD and specializes in international business with a focus on Latin American business and multinationals from emerging markets. A Fulbright Scholar during 1987-1989, she has a Masters degree from the University of Southern California and a PhD from the University of Barcelona. She has taught at INSEAD since 1989, has been a visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley from 1996  1999 and is a consultant of the Inter-American Development Bank since 2001.

She has published over a dozen case studies and several articles in journals including International Journal of Human Resource Management (2005), Business and Politics (2004) and Foreign Affairs (in Spanish  2002). Central in her research is the broader question of the future role of Latin America in the global economy. Will Latin America become a key player in the global economy? Or will Latin America remain a peripheral player, always with potential, but never a player in its own right?

She has taught and directed executive programs at INSEAD since 1999 for managers from European and Latin American firms. Her research is on winning strategies for Latin America with a special focus on Ibero-American companies. Her recent research projects have investigated two complementary dimensions: strategies of companies from Spain and Portugal for entering Latin American markets and the responses of Latin American firms to global competition and deregulated economies.

She is a member of the Management Committee of the European Union funded RESPONSE Project on Corporate Social Responsibility. She has also been a consultant to a number of multi-nationals operating in Latin America.