Dr. Jose Ivan Vega Torres retired in June 2019 from the Business School of the UPR Mayaguez Campus (UPRM), where he held the positions of professor of marketing and entrepreneurship and director, since its inception in 1986, of the Business and Economic Development Center. Through the Center, he provided mentoring and technical assistance to hundreds of startups across diverse industries. In 2015, he was appointed to lead the UPR System Group for Entrepreneurship and Innovation by the President of the University. That same year, he co-founded the UPRM Eship Network, a support ecosystem for the campus innovation community, including alumni from a minor in entrepreneurship, and co-led the effort to obtain the designation in 2018 of UPRM as an NSF I-Corps site. In 2017, he was recognized by Echar Palante Allegiance as a national pillar for the agenda of entrepreneurial development because of his multidisciplinary endeavors and ecosystem contributions. Dr. Vega conducted research presented at international peer-reviewed conferences, co-authored books that are valued references for educators and practitioners, and served on the advisory board of key ecosystem players such as Colmena 66.
Dr. Vega likes to exercise outdoors, surf, fish with light tackle, and travel with his family, which includes his wife Canny, also a professor at UPRM, and siblings Kiara and Gabriel, both graduate students. His favorite book is “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” and his favorite artist is the Fiel a la Vega rock band. He was appointed Faculty in Residence for the Rising Entrepreneurs Program (REP) of the Bravo Family Foundation in January 2020, and since then, has led the deployment of REP’s educational curriculum that, as of 2024, counts 60 innovative enterprises as alumni. He believes his superpower is being a connector to opportunities for emerging and seasoned entrepreneurs alike