Prof. Carlos J. Serrano

Carlos Serrano is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at HEC Paris and Scientific Director of the ION Management Science Lab. He studies the economics of mentorship across startups, corporations, academia, and NGOs.

At the ION Management Science Lab—established in 2025 with a €10 million gift from the ION Foundation—I lead research on how mentorship selection, matching, interaction structures, and incentive schemes affect learning, innovation, and performance in diverse organizational settings (startups, mid sized firms, corporates, universities, NGOs).

We combine theoretical modeling with data gathering and field experiments in flagship programs like HEC’s Incubateur and CDL Paris, studying how mentor founder conversations, decision criteria, and bias framing shape outcomes. Our goal is to equip leaders with actionable, evidence based guidance to craft effective mentoring systems for growth and innovation.

Before joining HEC, I completed a PhD in Economics and have published in leading journals on markets for technology and intellectual property, strategic decision making, and venture capital and venture lending. I teach MBA, Master, and Executive students and regularly present at international conferences on entrepreneurship, mentorship, and finance.