Luis Spencer Barros

Luis Spencer Barros is a Lecturer in the Department of Global Economics and Management at MIT Sloan School of Management. He concurrently serves as managing partner of Leading Business Ventures (LBV), a director and audit committee member of the ECOWAS Investment and Development Bank (BIDC) in Africa, and held roles such as venture partner at Portugal Ventures and CoDirector of Innovation and Industry at MIT Portugal Program. His expertise spans venture education pedagogy, data-driven market insights, and innovation strategies for commercialization and ecosystem effectiveness.

• Education: Doctorate & MS.Ed (University of Pennsylvania), MBA (MIT Sloan), BBA (UMASS Amherst-Isenberg), Harvard Executive Board Governance Program

Research focuses on leveraging triple helix frameworks (government-industry-academia) for economic impact, digital transformation, and value creation in global markets. LBV’s work spans 44 countries across sectors like biopharma, medtech, and life sciences. Notable projects include advising Cardinal Health, ARPA-H funded startups, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

His advisory and entrepreneurial experience includes leadership roles in AI-driven bioinformatics and application virtualization platforms, as well as compliance at the SEC. Recent academic contributions include guiding MIT Sloan’s ASEAN Lab in Malaysia’s Asia School of Business (ASB) to enhance executive education programs.