Cristina Andrés Urarte heads Corporate Marketing and Innovation at the Basque Country Technology Park, where she has spent over 20 years deploying the Basque Government’s industrial policy across its multi-site network and shaping the organisation’s innovation, marketing and competitive intelligence strategies. She has led 150+ R&D&I projects in national and European consortia — generating over €150M in returns for the Basque ecosystem — and spearheaded Parke’s designation as one of the UN-UNCTAD’s 50 SDG Model Zones worldwide.
Cristina has been instrumental in positioning Parke as an international reference and in building European networks that connect technology parks across borders. Her research and publications examine how science and technology parks evolve as policy instruments and engage with the innovation district model — including the Bilbao case. She is a Basque-American Leadership Program Fellow and holds postgraduate degrees in Business Administration, Competitiveness Management and Marketing.
A recurring speaker at IASP World Congresses and international innovation forums, Cristina brings a practitioner’s perspective on how technology parks drive regional development and European industrial competitiveness. She works in six languages: Spanish, Basque, English, French, Italian and German.