Chief Innovation Strategy Officer | Ayesa | Spain
Dr. Manuel Giménez Medina is eminently suitable for the Best Innovator Award based on the exceptional breadth, depth, and real-world impact of his career at the intersection of technology, research, and industry-led innovation. With over two decades of sustained leadership in innovation strategy, technology transfer, and applied research, he has consistently transformed advanced scientific knowledge into scalable digital solutions with measurable economic and social value. As Chief Innovation Strategy Officer at Ayesa and former Innovation Director at Emergya Group, he has led multinational innovation ecosystems, managed high-impact R&D portfolios exceeding tens of millions of euros, and coordinated complex international projects across artificial intelligence, smart cities, cybersecurity, digital agriculture, blockchain, and industrial IoT. His academic excellence is evidenced by a PhD in Software Engineering and Technology with cum laude distinction, Q1 publications in Expert Systems with Applications, and recognized scientific awards for best research articles, demonstrating both thought leadership and methodological rigor. What strongly enhances his candidacy is his rare ability to bridge academia, industry, and public administration through open innovation frameworks, enabling effective knowledge transfer, commercialization, and capacity building. As coordinator and principal investigator of multiple national and European projects such as AgrarIA, D-Rural, AI4Dev, and TIMBERTRACK, he has delivered innovations that directly support sustainability, digital transformation, and regional development. His advisory roles in strategic innovation committees and his trusteeship at a major ICT research foundation further validate his influence on innovation policy and ecosystem development. In education, mentoring, and doctoral supervision, he contributes to nurturing the next generation of innovators. Overall, his combination of scientific excellence, industrial impact, leadership credibility, funding success, and sustained societal contribution clearly positions him as a highly deserving candidate for the Best Innovator Award.
Featured Publications
Giménez Medina, M., González Enríquez, J., & Domínguez Mayo, F. J. (2023). The innovation challenge in Spain: A Delphi study. Expert Systems with Applications, 230, 120611.
Giménez Medina, M., González Enríquez, J., & Domínguez Mayo, F. J. (2023). A systematic review of capability and maturity innovation assessment models: Opportunities and challenges. Expert Systems with Applications, 213, 118968.
González Enríquez, J., Giménez Medina, M., & Domínguez Mayo, F. J. (2023). A systematic review of capability and maturity innovation assessment models: SMS. In Proceedings of the XXVII Jornadas de Ingeniería y Bases de Datos (JISBD), Spain.
Giménez Medina, M., González Enríquez, J., & Domínguez Mayo, F. J. (2020). Towards an agile innovation capability maturity framework to enhance investments on ICT organizations. In Proceedings of the 32nd International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE), Spain.
Dr. Manuel Giménez Medina’s work drives global innovation by transforming advanced research in artificial intelligence and digital systems into high-impact, real-world solutions for smart cities, cybersecurity, and sustainable agriculture. By bridging academia, industry, and public institutions, his leadership strengthens technology transfer, accelerates digital transformation, and delivers measurable social and economic value at regional, national, and international levels.