GISMA University of Applied Sciences proudly announces the appointment of Prof. Dr. Ramon O'Callaghan as its new president. Prof. O'Callaghan steps into this role after an 8-year tenure as the dean at the Porto Business School of the University of Porto in Portugal and his current role as the chairman of the International Advisory Board of the mentioned institution. 

With an exceptional international career in higher education, Prof. O'Callaghan brings a wealth of experience in leading academic institutions to excellence. He has not only served as the dean at Porto Business School but he has also held pivotal positions such as the founding dean of the Graduate School of Business at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, in strategic collaboration with the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in the USA. Additionally, he has contributed as dean at the business schools of Tilburg University in the Netherlands and Deusto University in Spain.

Moreover, his professional journey spans executive education, research, and consulting projects across Europe, America, and Asia. He has worked on various projects of the European Commission and has been a faculty member in executive programmes at prestigious institutions such as IESE, INSEAD, London Business School, MIT Sloan, Purdue University, and Solvay Brussels. Prior to his academic career, he worked for five years at Texas Instruments.

In a statement, Prof. Dr. Ramon O'Callaghan expressed his excitement about the appointment: "I am very much looking forward to my new responsibilities at GISMA University, an institution with a strong international focus and excellent management education, as well as an innovative and enterprising mindset. Together with the management team, faculty and staff, I will endeavour to further develop the University and increase its impact, while raising its overall reputation domestically and abroad.”

Prof. O'Callaghan boasts an impressive array of positions in international committees, including memberships in the Supervisory Board of ISM in Lithuania, the International Advisory Council of FDC in Brazil, the EFMD Programme Accreditation Board, and the Steering Committee of EFMD’s BSIS (Business School Impact System). His academic credentials include a doctoral degree in business administration from Harvard Business School, an MBA from IESE Business School, and degrees as a BSc and MSc Telecom Engineer from UPC Technical University in Barcelona.

With this appointment, GISMA University is placing a clear focus on international excellence and expertise in management and technology, aiming to further strengthen its position as a leading institution in global higher education.

Julian Davies, Managing Director of GISMA, commented on the appointment: "With Professor O´Callaghan, we have gained a cosmopolitan and renowned scholar as our new president, whose international experience perfectly complements and will further expand the portfolio of GISMA University, much to the delight of our students."