Meet the Anna’s! Ana Fernandez Laviada from Spain and Anna Tarnawa from Poland were elected to the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association board during the GEM Annual Meeting on 17 February in Fribourg, Switzerland.
Fernandez Laviada has been part of GEM since 2008 when she joined the project as Co-Director of the Cantabria Regional Team. In 2013, the network of Spanish teams was formalised as a non-profit association named “Red GEM España” under the leadership of Centro Internacional Santander Emprendimiento (CISE) when Fernandez Laviada became the National Director of the teams. In 2019, the association was renamed as the “Observatorio del Emprendimiento de España” and Fernandez Laviada became president. She coordinates the work of 27 GEM regional teams, consisting of almost 200 researchers from more than 30 public and private universities throughout Spain.
“The GEM network is characterised by generosity, collaboration and altruism,” she said. “There is no other research project like this! It is a lot of time, effort and dedication behind this great human team. How can I not be proud to represent them!”
Tarnawa is the leader of the GEM Poland Team and the Head of Research and Strategy Unit within the Department of Analysis and Strategy at the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP). She started with GEM in 2011 when PARP and the University of Economics in Katowice joined GEM as a National Team.
“I knew I was not joining a project but a family who welcomed me as a new member and who brought a new perspective to my work,” said Tarnawa. “GEM is extremely important to me because it is a unique source of knowledge on early stage entrepreneurship and its ecosystem. It allows us to compare the same indicators for different countries and provides data that is not available in other data sources.”
As a Board Member, Tarnawa wants to preserve the unique assets of GEM while observing trends and making adjustments as needed. She also wants to improve the way data is presented on the GEM website, verify and test other methods of gathering data, develop tools for efficient internal communication between the GEM community, and help strengthen relations with external entrepreneurship oriented organisations.
“I am ready to offer my knowledge, capabilities and skills,” Tarnawa said. “But my top priority is to address the needs and hear the ideas of the National Teams.”
Fernandez Laviada’s main objective as a Board Member is to grow and strengthen GEM by increasing the number of countries, thus allowing comparison to be enriched with the introduction of new variables and issues of global interest. Leveraging her experience, Fernandez Laviada believes the model in Spain can be replicated in other countries.
“GEM is a living project, in constant evolution to respond to the needs of all our stakeholders, policymakers, researchers, academics and the general public,” said Fernandez Laviada. “My goal is none other than to help. It is an honour both for me and the university I represent - Universidad de Cantabria.”
Learn more about GEM’s governance.