He specializes in the areas of Strategy and Entrepreneurial Studies and was Dean of INCAE Business School from 2001 to 2007. He is currently Academic Director of the Executive MBA (EMBA) and the Senior Management Program. He was a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, USA for 10 years, at Cotrugli Business School, Europe for 8 years and led the Steve Aronson Research Chair in Strategy and Agribusiness at INCAE for 12 years. He has taught in executive programs at the Business Schools of the Universities of Michigan, Chicago and Duke and In Company programs for Carlsberg, Coca Cola, Oracle, CEMEX, Citibank, Chiquita, among others.
He has more than 30 international academic publications, 60 case studies and four books, namely: The Future of Entrepreneurship in Latin America with J. Haar, Understanding Entrepreneurial Family Businesses in Uncertain Environments: Opportunities and Resources in Latin America with M. Nordqvist et.al., Desafíos Presentes y Futuros del Medio Ambiente y La Productividad en la Agroempresa Centroamericana and Evaluación de Proyectos en Impacto Ambiental.
President and founder of Brenes, Artavia Consultores y Asociados S.A.(www.bacyasociados.com). Among other companies he has consulted in business and corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions and family businesses in: Kraft CA, Holcim CR, Tetra Pak C&C, Panama Canal Authority, Grupo Britt NV, Grupo Monge, Interbank Peru, Bantrab Guatemala, Fertica Panama, Hospital Clinica Biblica, Televisora de Costa Rica S.A., MercaSid, Grupo Rica, Distribuidora Pedro Oller, Grupo De Sola, among others. Former Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of the Government of Costa Rica.
He is Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship in the Master's programs and former Dean of the Faculty and Master's programs at INCAE. For 10 years he was Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurial Strategy and International Business at the University of Michigan Business School, Ann Arbor, has been Director of Doctoral Dissertations at HEC, Business School, Paris and has lectured in residential and executive programs at the Business Schools of the Universities of Michigan, Chicago and Duke.
For the past eight years he has been a visiting professor at Cotrugli Business School, Europe. He has taught "In Company" programs, among other companies, for Alstom Group, Roche, Carlsberg, Coca Cola, BASF, Oracle, Novartis, CEMEX, COFIA-AFP - Citibank, Sanofi, Millicom (TIGO) and Chiquita.
Professor Brenes is currently the Director of the Executive MBA (EMBA), Director of the Senior Management Program (PAG) at INCAE and holder of the Steve Aronson Chair in Strategy and Agribusiness. The Chair was created thanks to a significant donation from Mr. Steve Aronson, founder of the Britt Group N.V.
Professor Brenes has a number of international publications including the edition of two books, "The Future of Entrepreneurship in Latin America" with J. Haar and "Understanding Entrepreneurial Family Businesses in Uncertain Environments: Opportunities and Resources in Latin America" with M. Nordqvist et al, the first in second edition 2016 and the second from 2012. Other recent publications include "Learning to become a high reliability organization in the food retail business", "Assesing agri-business firms' performances: Organizational and marketing business models of high/low sales and ROE outcomes", Strategy and innovation in emerging economies after the end of the commodity boom-insights from Latin America" and "Hospital Clinica Biblica in 2013" published in the Journal of Business Research, 2016. Additionally, Professor Brenes has 12 articles published in internationally prestigious academic journals, more than 50 case studies and two other books entitled "Desafíos Presentes y Futuros del Medio Ambiente y la Productividad en la Agroempresa Centroamericana" (Present and Future Challenges of the Environment and Productivity in Central American Agribusiness) and "Evaluación de Proyectos en Impacto Ambiental" (Project Evaluation in Environmental Impact).
In addition to his academic work, Dr. Brenes is founder of the consulting firm bac&asociados S.A. His work in the area of consulting is focused on business and corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions and the management of family businesses. Some of the organizations for which he has collaborated include: Banco Davivienda, Kraft CA, Holcim CR, Tetrapak CA&C, Chiquita CA, Panama Canal Authority, Grupo Britt NV, Grupo Monge, Grupo Cuesta de Moras, Hospital Clínica Bíblica, Televisora de Costa Rica S.A., Distribuidora Pedro Oller, Grupo De Sola, Alimentos Pro Salud (Sardimar), Industrias Borja, Banco Popular y de Desarrollo Comunal (CR), Banco de Costa Rica, Interbank Perú, Banco Salvadoreño, Banco del Pacífico, POPS, Cemento Panamá and Bolsa de Valores de Guayaquil. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of Directors of different companies in the fields of health, services to oil companies, construction, retail and agribusiness.
During the period from May 1998 to June 2000, he served as Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of the Government of Costa Rica and, as such, was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of public companies in the areas of production, irrigation and drainage and marketing of agricultural, agro-industrial and fishing products.
D. in Agricultural Economics with a major in International Trade and Marketing from the University of Florida (Gainesville) with the support of a Fulbright scholarship from the U.S. Government, and an MBA with honors in Business Administration from INCAE. Previously, he obtained a Grade in Industrial Engineering from the University of Costa Rica.
