Patricia Rodriguez | Strategic Decision Making | Corporate Strategy Visionary Award

Mrs. Patricia Rodriguez | Strategic Decision Making | Corporate Strategy Visionary Award

Mrs. Patricia Rodriguez | Open University of Catalonia | Spain

Patricia Rodriguez Garcia is a senior executive with over two decades of experience in corporate development, strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations within the insurance and financial sector. She has established a strong reputation for leading strategic planning, driving acquisitions and alliances, and managing financial communication in listed and regulated environments. Throughout her career, she has been a trusted advisor to senior leadership, consistently focused on value creation, business growth, and financial discipline. Patricia combines executive acumen with academic rigor, reflecting her passion for ecosystem thinking and innovation. Professionally, she has played a central role at Grupo Catalana Occidente, a listed insurance group with a significant international footprint. She has led corporate strategy, business development, and investor relations, driving major acquisitions, post-merger integrations, and the creation of strategic alliances that expanded the group’s ecosystem. She also designed and executed corporate strategic plans that opened new opportunities in areas such as health, senior care, and home ecosystems, while overseeing significant debt issuances and capital structure optimization. Earlier in her career, she gained valuable experience in corporate finance at Riva y Garcia and in financial planning at Parxet. Through her dual engagement in industry and academia, Patricia continues to shape both practice and knowledge at the intersection of corporate strategy, innovation, and artificial intelligence. She is recognized for her ability to align business growth with technological advancement, ensuring long-term value creation in complex and evolving corporate ecosystems.

Profiles : ORCID | Google Scholar | Linked In 
Featured Publications :

Rodriguez-Garcia, P., Li, Y., Lopez-Lopez, D., & Juan, A. A. (2023). Strategic decision making in smart home ecosystems: A review on the use of artificial intelligence and Internet of things. Internet of Things, 22, 100772.

Rodriguez-Garcia, P., Vidal, A. F., & Santo Tomás, M. J. R. (2010). La gestión de riesgos. In Estudio sobre el sector asegurador en España 2010: los aspectos cualitativos

Rodriguez-Garcia, P., Carracedo, P., Lopez-Lopez, D., Juan, A. A., & Martin, J. A. (2024). Computer-supported strategic decision making for ecosystems creation. Computers, 13(12), 322.

Rodriguez-Garcia, P., Lopez-Lopez, D., & Martin Solano, J. A. (2024). Artificial intelligence in marketing strategic decisions via product portfolio optimization. In Proceedings of the Decision Science Alliance International Summer Conference (pp. 72–83).

Rodriguez-Garcia, P., Juan, A. A., Martin, J. A., Lopez-Lopez, D., & Marco, J. M. (2025). AI-driven optimization of project portfolios in corporate ecosystems with synergies and strategic factors. Expert Systems with Applications, 129593.

Cornelia Storz | Strategy Formulation | Best Paper Award

Prof Dr. Cornelia Storz | Strategy Formulation | Best Paper Award

Prof Dr. Cornelia Storz, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany.

Prof. Dr. Cornelia Storz is a tenured full professor and Chair of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Goethe University Frankfurt’s Faculty of Economics and Business. With prior professorships in Japanese Economy and Society at Philipps University Marburg and University of Applied Sciences Bremen, Dr. Storz bridges academia and global business perspectives. She earned her Ph.D. in Economics (Dr. rer. oec.) in 1996 from the University of Duisburg‑Essen, following an M.A. in Business Administration & Japanese Studies from the University of Bonn in 1992. Over her career, she has led 20+ completed and 10+ ongoing research projects, published 35 journal articles, and authored 13 books. Her work has garnered a citation index of 1,044, with an h-index of 18 and i10-index of 23. She serves as co-guest editor for Research Policy and maintains rich collaborations with leading international scholars—spanning Oxford, Tokyo, Singapore, Paris, Seoul, and beyond.

👩‍🏫  Profile

Scopus

🎓 Education

Dr. Storz’s academic journey began with a Master of Arts in Business Administration and Japanese Studies from the University of Bonn (1992), reflecting her interdisciplinary grounding in management sciences and cross-cultural insights. She earned her Ph.D. in Economics (Dr. rer. oec.) at the University of Duisburg‑Essen in 1996, where she developed rigorous research skills in strategic management, innovation, and economic systems. This strong educational background laid the foundation for her impactful contributions to international research and teaching, and positioned her as a leader capable of analyzing complex innovation landscapes in Japan, Korea, Europe, and emerging economies.

💼 Experience

Since 2007, Dr. Storz has held the professorship and Chair of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Goethe University’s Faculty of Economics and Business, Department of Management & Microeconomics. Before that, she was a full professor specializing in Japanese Economy at Philipps University Marburg (2001–2006), and at the University of Applied Sciences Bremen (1997–2001). From 1992 to 1996, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Duisburg‑Essen. Across these roles, she has supervised doctoral students, designed postgraduate curricula, and led strategic projects. She actively shapes international research networks and provides expert consultancy in innovation policy, organizational strategy, and digital transformation across academia and industry.

 🔬 Research Interest

Dr. Storz’s research centers on strategic management of innovation, firm adaptation in crisis contexts, and the emergence of new industries. She investigates topics such as labour-cost retrenchment strategies, digital innovation ecosystems, board governance’s impact on innovation, and design knowledge flows in product development. Her collaborative projects examine digital marketplaces in Sub‑Saharan Africa, optimal distinctiveness in Korean film, and entrepreneurial networks at the base-of-pyramid. She is particularly interested in how firms construct innovation policy practices that align with national and local systems, and how crisis strategies—from flexible to rigid—affect investor behavior and firm resilience.

 🏆 Awards & Honors

Dr. Storz has been nominated for several prestigious international awards in strategic management and business strategy, and recognized for excellence in innovation research. Her prolific output—including 35 journal articles, 13 books, and numerous editorial roles—has earned her a global citation index above 1,000, with an h-index of 18 and i10-index of 23. She has been co-guest editor for special issues in top-tier journals, including Research Policy. These accolades reflect peer recognition of her leadership in examining the strategic dimensions of innovation, crisis response, and cross-national economic systems, marking her a strong contender for awards such as the Best Paper Award.

📚 Publication Top Notes

Labour-cost retrenchment strategies in times of crisis: Comparing market reactions to flexible and rigid strategies

Digital creatives and digital engineers: entrepreneurial firms, institutional context, and the organization of innovation

The emergence of an entrepreneurial ecosystem: the interplay between early entrepreneurial activity and public policy in the Korean online gaming industry

Why do some entrepreneurs thrive? A network content perspective