Transition Assistance Practice Group /

Adrian Magendzo

Adrian Magendzo is an entrepreneur and Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Kentucky. As an independent international consultant in innovation and entrepreneurship policy, he has worked with various institutions including the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. With IFIT, he has contributed to the Institute’s work on strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems in The Gambia and Uzbekistan.

Prior to these roles, Adrian served as an economic attaché to the Chilean embassy in Washington, D.C., and as director and professor of the Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme at the Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Santiago, Chile. He was previously Executive Director of the High Impact Entrepreneurship Policy division at Innova-Corfo, the Chilean government’s innovation and entrepreneurship promotion agency. As an entrepreneur, Adrian has founded several companies in the technology, manufacturing, and food industries.

Adrian has a Master’s of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Chile and a Master’s in Technology Commercialisation and Innovation from the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin.