Inauguration at FADE

'A vocation for service, enthusiasm and knowledge of the faculty's context' is the combination that drove Javier Ribal to dream of becoming the new Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration and Management at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). His dream came true after the elections held on 10 December 2025. (Election results)

Ribal explains that the decision to run 'was not immediate, but the result of a process of reflection and personal and professional maturation.' He arrives with a wealth of experience and knowledge of the faculty. This is what he has gained after eight years as head of studies, a position he has held in the team of María del Mar Marín, the Dean he is replacing.

Two strategic lines

The new Dean begins a six-year term with a programme focused on two main strategic lines: academic excellence and the social impact of the Faculty of Business Administration and Management's activities. Both lines will be accompanied, cross-curricularly, 'by continuous improvement of internal processes, rigorous analysis for decision-making, and the strengthening of internal and external communication of all the work carried out at the centre,' explains Ribal.

Among the short-term objectives, the new Dean highlights obtaining international AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation, a highly prestigious recognition for business schools worldwide. 'We are very close to achieving this, and it is a particularly significant milestone, because it recognises the work carried out over many years and will allow us to continue learning and improving alongside top-level international business schools, within a framework of excellence and the pursuit of social impact,' he says.

Academic experience

Born in Lleida on 4 May 1971, Javier Ribal is an avid reader. He combines his intense academic activity and university management with sport and daily reading: 'I don't go anywhere without my e-reader'. He even plans, if his obligations allow, to start a reading club at the faculty.

He is an agricultural engineer, an industrial technical engineer, and a doctor of economics and social sciences from the UPV. He is a Senior Lecturer at the university, attached to the Department of Economics and Social Sciences. His lines of research focus on the construction of asset and company valuation models, as well as the measurement of sustainability and eco-efficiency in production processes. In the Faculty of Business Administration, he has been Vice-Dean of International Relations and, subsequently, as already mentioned, Head of Studies since 2017. In 2025, he received the UPV Teaching Excellence Award. He has regularly led and participated in innovation and educational improvement projects.

The rector of the UPV, José E. Capilla, presided over the inauguration ceremony, held on 2 February in the auditorium of the Faculty of Business Administration and Management. Several of his predecessors in the 25-year history of this faculty at the UPV attended the ceremony.

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