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Le­onardo San­ti­ago

Associate Professor

Subjects
Project management Managerial economics Innovation Supply chain Production Green transition

Primary research areas

Green Transition in the Maritime Industry

This research explores how maritime firms manage the green transition, examining both firms and the wider ecosystem. At firm level, it analyzes challenges and opportunities in adopting sustainable practices. At ecosystem level, it stresses stakeholder coordination, as no single actor can drive a successful transition.

Reshoring in the New Global Economy: Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies

This research initiative examines how manufacturing firms relocate production closer to demand. It evaluates the factors influencing reshoring decisions, explores challenges and opportunities, and provides strategic recommendations for firms and policymakers seeking to improve supply chain resilience and develop domestic business systems.

Scaling up production to match supply with demand

This research initiative examines the challenges of scaling up production to keep pace with rising demand. It focuses on two key dimensions: facilitating technology transfer to equip a network of strategic manufacturing partners, and overcoming barriers to increasing in-house production throughput.

Driving green innovation and resilient tech decision-making

Leonardo Santiago is an Associate Professor at CBS’s Department of Operations Management, where he researches how firms make strategic decisions related to innovation, technology, and the green transition—including R&D portfolio management and the shift to sustainable energy sources. 

His work on R&D flexibility and the economic value of flexibility has been published in leading journals such as IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management and Management Science. He also contributes to the green research agenda through studies on decarbonization strategies and fuel adoption in the shipping sector, addressing barriers, actor profiles, and regulatory uncertainty surrounding green transitions. 

Leonardo combines theoretical rigor with practice-oriented challenges in the fields of energy, transportation, and maritime innovation. In previous projects, he has supported companies and policymakers with decision-making tools, analyses of biofuel markets, assessments of technological implementation, and risk allocation in the scale-up of COVID‑19 vaccine production. 

His research directly supports several UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly innovation (SDG 9), climate action (SDG 13), and sustainable industry (SDG 12), by providing concrete recommendations on technology choices, investment strategies, and organizational resilience. He teaches and supervises in interdisciplinary settings and also serves as a department editor for IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.