Juan Pablo A. Sánchez King is a generative systems designer and a personal transformation facilitator. He has worked for the last 20 years as an advisor to entrepreneurs and organizations. Juan Pablo has a multidisciplinary background in Industrial Engineering, an MBA in Marketing from the The Center for Technical and Higher Education (CETYS Universidad) and an MSc. Cultural-Biology from Instituto Matriztica (lead by Biologist Humberto Maturana) and Universidad Mayor, Santiago Chile. Juan Pablo is a PhD. Candadite from Boston College, USA and the Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Guadalajara, México. His action-research is focused on cultural transformation grounded on living systems theory, systemic laws and an experiential learning game platform that he has been developing for the last 6 years.
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Biographical sketch
I want to share briefly my professional profile and show how creativity and innovation has been the backbone of my career:
All through my life, I have fundamentally been an entrepreneur. I know first hand what it means to take risk and to create innovative products and services. More importantly, I know what it is to sustain and support a human organisation capable to succeed with limited resources in the context and cultural backgrounds of emergent economies such as Mexico´s. As an intra-entrepreneur, I worked in manufacturing plants developing several initiatives optimising production systems. I also organised the structure and organisation for marketing teams to support a diversified private corporation.
My entrepreneurial spark started when I was an undergraduate student. I was selected to represent Mexico in the International Junior Achievement Conference in Cocoyoc, Morelos two years in a row. I also know the bitter taste of failure; many of my ventures did not succeed. However, I was persistent and determined. The backbone of my career was a very successful advertising firm that I founded in 1996. Later this firm evolved into a marketing and innovation consultancy. Through 15 years of running this business, I had learned to form and lead a creative multidisciplinary team and to connect with the society in a meaningful way. As an active citizen in Baja California, I had the opportunity to design several social marketing campaigns and programs that ran for several years after I passed on the torch to another colleague — Navidar, La voz te paga la luz, Campaña de donación de armas de fuego are few examples.
I was one of the pioneers in the promotion of creativity and innovation in Mexico. In 2007, with personal and public funding, I designed a creativity lab and organised several educational events in Baja California. In the following years, this early creativity lab prototype influenced CETYS University authorities to foster a design and innovation center. I was also invited as a speaker for TedxZapopan in 2012. In the next year, was also invited to mentor two of the leading start up organisations in Mexico: Wayra and Start up Mexico.
Through Delirium Gallery, I collaborated with the Well-being Institute of Chile, and created with their support La Calle de la Felicidad. An international happiness festival celebrated in Mazatlán, México in 2016
As I learned deeply about creativity, marketing, and innovation, my interest to understand the foundations of business and economic paradigms grew as I felt contradictions with the discourses and practices. This lead me to pursue a Master program in Cultural-Biology in Santiago, Chile and later an international PhD. program on Social Welfare. From these experiences I have built an extensive network of friends and colleagues throughout Latin America. I had travelled to Peru, Colombia, Chile as a consultant and researcher, and have a good understanding of the cultural differences.
I strongly believe in the need to understand social inequalities and transform human organisations. It is particularly important to bring hope, and support to the youth. One of my research goals is to develop a formative experience platform based on living systems theories and games.
I consider myself a deliberate change maker; I am certain that anybody can become one, as long as they aspire to do so. All my life, I have pursued my dreams, and have learned to transform my self accordingly.
Through Animalia (www.playanimalia.com) , I am ready to make a just, sustainable impact in the world.