Nataļja Lāce

Nataļja Lāce is a Professor and leading researcher at the Institute of Economics and Entrepreneurship within the Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management at Riga Technical University (RTU). With over 40 years at RTU and 18 years as a professor, she directs the master's program "Business Finance," ranked 1st in Eastern Europe for corporate finance by EDUNIVERSAL. She leads the academic finance research group and serves on multiple international networks, including the "Society of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity" (SOItmC) since 2015.

• Education: PhD in Economics (1993)
• Leadership Roles: Study Program Director (17 years), Department Head (14 years)
• Research Focus: SME performance, innovation, business finance, ESG implementation, venture capital
• Projects: 5+ international grants (Horizon Europe, ERASMUS+, etc.)
• Publications: 87 Scopus-indexed articles, H-index 11

Her recent work spans cyber resilience, Islamic banking, human capital metrics, and sustainable tourism. She actively serves as a reviewer for theses and participates in academic governance across Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic.