Emiliano Duch

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Emiliano Duch, Founder and President of The Cluster Competitiveness Group

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Educational Background 3 Experience 4 Recent Projects 5 Selected Professional Publications

[edit] Introduction

Emiliano Duch is one of the pioneers in cluster development, having collaborated with Professor Michael Porter in the first practical applications of its methodology back in 1991. In 1994 he founded The Cluster Competitiveness Group, the first consulting company exclusively dedicated to cluster competitiveness reinforcement projects, and in 1998 The Competitiveness Institute, the leading cluster practitioners network worldwide.

[edit] Educational Background

M.B.A, Harvard Business School, 1991

M.P.A, J.F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1989

Bachelors Degree in Architecture, Polytechnic University of Barcelona, 1983

[edit] Experience

Founder and president of the Cluster Competitiveness Group, S.A. (Competitiveness), a pioneer and leading consulting firm specialized in developing regions by fostering the competitiveness of its clusters. Competitiveness was formed in 1994 by a group of Catalan consultants who had previously managed cluster projects at Monitor Group. While at Monitor, they worked with Professor Michael Porter – the world’s leading scholar on cluster development – and participated in some of the first cluster initiatives ever implemented.

As President of The Cluster Competitiveness Group Mr. Duch has acted as advisor to Public Administration Institutions and Regional Governments in Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Argentina, Colombia and Thailand, as well as for multilateral institutions like the European Union, the United Nations, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

The experience on cluster development in Catalonia from 1993 to 1996, directed by Mr. Duch, was captured in the book Strategic Change and Clusters in Catalonia (Gestion 2000 Publishing, 1997); it has also been highlighted in Michael Porter’s book On Competition (HBS Press, 1998).

As part of his pro-bono activities, Mr Duch was the chairman of The Competitiveness Institute, a non-profit organisation, created by a group of cluster development professionals and academics from around the world, with the objective of applying the cluster methodology for economic development, especially in developing countries.

[edit] Recent Projects

Emiliano has currently been directing the Study on the "Entrepreneurial innovation in the new Member States: challenges and issues at stake for the development of clusters of innovative firms", funded by the EU Commission’s DG Enterprise and Industry’s Innovation Unit, which has involved the mapping of clusters in the 10 new member states of the EU and the assessment of cluster and innovation policies carried out by national and regional governments.

Mr. Duch directed the European Scooter Suppliers Project, led by ACEM (The European Motorcycle Industry Association) with the support of DG XXIII, and DG III from the European Commission. This was the first industry led inter-cluster reinforcement project at European level, linking the most innovative companies in motorcycle clusters in Italy, France and Spain.

[edit] Selected Professional Publications

Duch, Emiliano. Strategic Change and Clusters in Catalonia. Gestion 2000, 1996.

- Presents the pioneer cluster development work carried out in Catalonia 1993-96. -

Laudon, Kenneth C. Cluster Competitiveness learns how to manage its knowledge: Management Information Systems. Prentice Hall, Inc. New York, 2000.

-The cluster knowledge management system developed by Competitiveness is used as a case study in this university textbook. -