Rafael Ziegler is a professor at HEC Montréal. He holds a BSc. from the London School of Economics and a PhD from McGill University. He is associate editor of the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities and the Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, and member of the Réseau québécois de recherche en économie circulaire (Québécois Network for Research in Circular Economy – RQREC). Rafael has published the books Creating Economic Space for Social Innovation (Oxford 2019, with Alex Nicholls) and Innovation, Ethics and Our Common Futures (Edward Elgar 2020). When he was a schoolchild in Germany, the Chernobyl nuclear accident happened. A group of parents responded creatively founding an energy cooperative that took over the local grid, and in doing so significantly contributed to the country’s energy transition. Inspired by such innovators from an early age, Rafael is interested in innovations and ideas contributing to transformations towards sustainability. His research perspective is inspired by the capabilities approach. As Director of the Institute, he seeks to nurture an atmosphere of pluralist and collaborative research in support of the cooperative movement. Rafael speaks French, German and English (and, with patient interlocutors, some Russian and Italian).