LOURDES CASANOVA specializes in international business with a focus on Latin America and multinationals from emerging markets. A Fulbright Scholar during 1987-1989, Casanova has a Masters degree from the University of Southern California, USA and a PhD from the University of Barcelona, Spain. She has taught at INSEAD since 1989, was a visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley from 1996 1999. She is a visiting Faculty at the University of Zurich since 2004 and a consultant of the Inter-American Development Bank since 2001. She has published case studies and articles in journals including Pekin Business review, International Journal of Human Resource Management (2005), Business and Politics (2004) and Foreign Affairs en espaol (2002). Central in her research is the broader question of the future role of Latin America in the global economy: will it become a key player or remain peripheral? Casanova has taught and directed executive programs at INSEAD since 1999 for senior managers from global multinationals. She has also been a consultant of multi-nationals operating in Latin America.