MA (Manuel) Mindreau Montero

Biography

Manuel (‘Manu’) read economics at Universidad del Pacifico (Lima, Peru) and holds a MA in international relations from University of Miami (Florida, USA). He also earned a MA in Contemporary Art from the University of Manchester (UK) / Sotheby’s Institute of Art (London). 

As an academic and researcher, Manuel has a particular interest in the fields of international political economy (IPE), industrial policy, global value chains, and critical minerals for the energy transition, with a focus on Latin America. He has previously lived in France, the USA, Australia, and the UK, accumulating over 15 years of working experience in the private and public sectors, including the UK Department for Business, Environment, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the World Bank, the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), the Andean Community Secretariat, Citibank, Sotheby’s and Artnet. As a practitioner he has experience in providing evidence-based advice for policy development and strategic decision-making, negotiating partnerships and managing relationships with stakeholders, implementing institutional improvement, and creating opportunities for business development. Passionate about education as a driver for change in society, he has a proven track-record as lecturer and as facilitator for institutional liaison in higher education.

Manuel is currently working towards his PhD at ISS within the Governance, Law and Social Justice (GLSJ) research group. His ongoing doctoral research on ‘Industrial Policy and Critical Minerals for the Energy Transition: The Case of Brazil and Rare Earths’ investigates the forces facilitating/constraining state agency and ‘strategic coupling’ with the private sector regarding the economic upgrading of rare earths production in Brazil.