Bruno Lanvin keynote speaker

Dr. Bruno Lanvin is a globally recognized economist, researcher, and thought leader in competitiveness, innovation, talent development, and future-readiness. He is the Founder and CEO of the Descartes Institute, President of the IMD Smart City Observatory, and a Distinguished Fellow at INSEAD—one of the world’s leading international business schools.

He is the co-founder and long-time co-author of several of the most influential global competitiveness indices, including the:

• Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) — benchmarking how nations and cities attract, develop and retain talent as a key axis of economic competitiveness
• Global Innovation Index (GII) — tracking innovation capabilities and performance worldwide
• Network Readiness Index (NRI) — assessing the readiness of economies to leverage information technologies for competitiveness
• Smart City Index (SCI) — evaluating cities on multiple competitiveness and quality-of-life metrics.

Bruno’s work places competitiveness at the intersection of talent, technology, and policy—advancing a data-driven view of how countries, regions and cities can strengthen their economic performance and future readiness. His analysis has shaped the way leaders think about national economic competitiveness, human capital strategies, innovation ecosystems, and digital transformation.

For three decades, he has also advised governments, multinational companies, international organizations and policy fora (including the United Nations, World Bank, and World Economic Forum) on strategy, competitiveness benchmarking, and policy reforms aimed at enhancing economic performance.

Previously, Bruno was the Executive Director for Global Indices and European Competitiveness Initiatives at INSEAD, leading major research on competitiveness and economic attractiveness, and held senior positions at the World Bank and United Nations where he focused on e-strategies, ICT, and competitiveness policy.

He holds a BA in Mathematics and Physics, an MBA from HEC Paris, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Paris I (La Sorbonne). A passionate global speaker, Bruno shares insights on how talent, innovation, competitiveness, and future readiness are shaping economic success in the 21st century.