Manuel Mendes is a Co-Founder and Global Managing Director of the Boston Innovation Gateway, an affiliated company of the IXL Center, focused on the internationalization of individuals, companies, clusters and governments. In this context, Manuel has already led more than 200 projects worldwide, from market entry strategy to business development and operations.

Manuel is also Executive Director of the IXL Center, serving as liaison between the company’s headquarters in Cambridge and the Brazilian operations, as well as for strategic projects such as the 10X Program in Colombia, which has been recognized as the largest business growth acceleration case in the world, adding over 500 organizations between 2014 and 2018.

In the academic arena, Manuel works with consulting, know-how transfer and open innovation projects, including the IXL Innovation Olympics, which is considered the largest competition in the world aiming to connect universities to corporations. IO has already generated billions of dollars of impact for hundreds of global companies such as Airbus, 3M, Disney, Intel, HP, and P & G.

Prior to his consulting experience, Manuel held executive positions in marketing, finance, and management for over 15 years, receiving numerous awards of significant recognition. Since his young age, he has also made relevant contributions as co-founder and board member of numerous non-profit associations.

Manuel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Post-Bachelor in Retail Management, Project Management, MSc in Business Administration from HULT IBS and a Specialization in Strategy from Harvard University.