Ana Florencia Martínez Arrúa External PhD

Ana Florencia Martínez Arrúa (she/her) is a PhD researcher at DRIFT and Leading Lecturer in the Master’s Department at Rotterdam Business School (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences), where she also coordinates the Master in Sustainability Transitions. Her work bridges corporate governance, sustainability transitions, and higher education innovation.

Her PhD research focuses on transformative corporate governance, exploring how governance structures, organisational strategy, and institutional arrangements can accelerate sustainability transitions within and across sectors. She examines how corporate and institutional actors can move beyond incremental change and contribute meaningfully to long-term systemic transformation.

In her role at Rotterdam Business School, Ana coordinates the Master in Sustainability Transitions and contributes to the strategic development of the broader master portfolio. She led the design and accreditation process of the programme, bringing together research centres, industry partners, advisory board members, and academic colleagues across faculties. Her work integrates applied research, professional practice, and transition-oriented education, strengthening the connection between business transformation and systemic sustainability challenges.

Ana combines a background in economics, territorial development, and sustainability governance with extensive professional experience across academia, government, civil society, and multilateral organisations. Before joining DRIFT and RBS, she worked with and for institutions including the European Union Delegation, UNDP, the Inter-American Development Bank, and national sustainability networks in Latin America. These roles strengthened her expertise in inter-institutional collaboration, policy design, stakeholder engagement, and transition governance.

Her work at DRIFT and RBS converges around one core ambition: strengthening the relationship between governance, corporate transformation, and transdisciplinary learning. She is particularly interested in corporate actors as transition agents, organisational change mechanisms, and the role of higher education in preparing professionals capable of navigating complexity and driving long-term systemic impact.

Outside her academic work, Ana finds energy in family, friendships, her book club, discovering new places, dancing, and sharing long meals that spark meaningful conversations. She is inspired by encounters across languages and cultures, continuously building bridges between people, perspectives, and worlds. A systemic view of human nature — shaped by roots, relationships, and intergenerational patterns — informs her perspective on how individuals, organisations, and institutions evolve and shape collective change.