Alexander Laszlo (scientist)


Alexander Laszlo is a polycultural systems scientist, residing in Argentina.
Laszlo was the 57th President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, known for his work on systems theories and "education ecosystems". He, furthermore, is the President of the Board of Directors of the , based in Vienna, Austria. He also functions as the Director of Development at the , which is based in Lucca, Italy.
With his research and work Alexander Laszlo has delivered outstanding contributions in the fields of leadership, systemic innovation, and sustainability.

Life

Alexander Laszlo was born in Fribourg, Switzerland in 1964, is the son of Ervin László and Carita Jägerhorn af Spurila whose family home is in Tuscany, Italy. Due to his extensive travels and activities in the USA, Latin America, East Asia, and Europe he is fluent in several languages, including French, Italian, and Spanish. He is father of one daughter, Kahlia Paola.
Laszlo earned an International Baccalaureate Diploma from the United Nations International School in 1982, with a focus on Social and Cultural Anthropology. He then received a BA from Haverford College, with a major in International and Comparative Political Science and a minor in Human Physiology, in 1985. At the University of Pennsylvania, he received his MA in History and Sociology of Science, in 1987, and a PhD in the interdisciplinary field of Science and Technology Policy, in 1992.
Laszlo is an instructor of Martial Arts and holds a 6th Degree Black Belt in Chung Do Kwan style of Tae Kwon Do and 2nd Degree Black Belt in Shotokan style of Karate. He, furthermore, is a skilled classical flutist and follows several hobbies, including alpine skiing, mountain biking, science-fiction and poetry.

Work

Laszlo was the founding director of the Doctoral Program in Leadership and Systemic Innovation at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology, in Argentina. He was also involved with the MCI Management Center in Innsbruck, Austria, where he functioned as visiting lecturer in International Business at The Entrepreneurial School. At the Giordano Bruno GlobalShift University, Laszlo was a member of the scientific advisory board as well as the Chief Learning Officer of Curriculum Innovation. Laszlo was faculty member at Sonoma State University, in Rohnert Park, USA, in Master's in Organizational Development program, at the Green MBA of the Dominican University, in San Rafael, USA, in the Executive Certificate Program, and at the Brainbridge Graduate Institute, in Seattle, USA, where he also worked as an adjunct professor in Systems Science and Evolutionary Development. At the Presidio School of Management, in San Francisco, USA, he functioned as Core Faculty and Administrative Leadership Team Member. Laszlo worked as a professor at the Tuoro University, in Cypress, at the California Institute of Integral Studies, in San Francisco, where he taught in the field of Learning and Human Development, at the Saysbrook Graduate Institute & Research Center, also in San Francisco, in the field of Systems Science and Design, and at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, in Mexico, in Administration and Leadership. At the ITESM Laszlo also worked as the Director of the Doctoral Program in Management, as well as Director of Research at the Center for Knowledge Systems, and was named a Level I Member of the National Research Academy of Mexico. Laszlo, furthermore, has held visiting appointments with the London School of Economics and the European University Institute.
Laszlo was involved as a researcher, consultant, and scholar with several more international higher education institutions, as well as public and private institutions, including the Italian Electric Power Agency, the UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology for Europe in Italy, as well as Brookhaven National Laboratory, in New York, USA.
He continues to teach and consult on evolutionary leadership, collaboration, and systems thinking at a variety of MBA and Doctoral programs internationally.

Awards

Very early in his academic career Alexander Laszlo began to receive awards. Thus, he was awarded the in 1984 for his research and preparation of a bio-ethics paper presented at the International Academy of Philosophy of Science, in Brussels, Belgium. He also is the recipient of the Sir Geoffrey Vickers Memorial Award, presented for outstanding student papers at the pre-doctoral level in the field of the systems sciences. The award is given by the International Society for the Systems Sciences and Laszlo received it in 1987. He was also the winner of the of the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, for his work in social innovation and sustainable development, and finalist for the 2003 Beyond Gray Pinstripes Award of the World Resources Institute and the Aspen Institute for educational work in sustainable business.

Selected publications