Luis Lara has more than 25 years of experience in the fashion and retail sector. He has held executive responsibilities in companies, in addition to successfully advising retail and fashion companies in their international development. 

He is currently a professor of Retail and Internationalization at ISEM Fashion Business School (Madrid). In addition, he is Partner-Director of Retalent, a company specialized in advising in the development and internationalization of retail brands and Senior Advisor at KPMG.

Luis Lara holds degrees in Business Administration and Law (E-3) from ICADE-Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, and has also completed a Management Development Program (PDD) at ESADE, the General Management Program (PDG) at IESE and the "From Executive to Board Member" Program at IESE. 

He was part of the first Marks & Spencer management team that established this department store chain in Spain in 1991. After a year working at the company's headquarters in London, he developed his career in Spain as store manager in Madrid and Barcelona.

Luis Lara then worked for Walt Disney Co. as area manager in their retail organization in Spain. During these years, he was responsible for the development of "The Disney Store" chain of stores in the main streets and shopping malls.

Luis Lara was one of the 4 international directors of Inditex during the years 2000-2006, participating in the development of Zara and the rest of the brands in the regions of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin America and Asia. During this period he resided permanently for periods of one year in Brussels, Amsterdam and Vienna, and traveled to more than 50 countries.

In 2006, he took over the Retail General Management of Pronovias, with the mission of managing and updating the existing chain of stores and developing the brand internationally. In 3 years, turnover was multiplied by 50% and more than 62 stores were opened, including flagship stores in London, Paris, Milan and New York. In addition, franchise agreements were signed to open stores in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Also, within the Pronovias Group, it participated in the launching process of the luxury brand Manuel Mota.

He is a founding member of the Barcelona Peter Drucker Society, an organization dedicated to the study and dissemination of Peter Drucker's work, both in business and academia. 

Book

Why do some stores sell and others don't in the digital age? Keys to the success of New Retail
Luis Lara and Jorge Mas
Year: 2019
Publisher: Libros de Cabecera