Ángel Cabrera has served as the 12th president of the Georgia Institute of Technology since 2019, leading one of America’s foremost research universities through a period of remarkable expansion. Under his leadership, Georgia Tech has grown to serve more than 56,000 students — an increase of 46 percent — while becoming one of the most selective public universities in the country and a top destination for students seeking an exceptional return on their investment in higher education.

Working alongside more than 5,700 members of the campus community, Cabrera led the development of a 10-year strategic plan — “Progress and Service for All” — adopted in November 2020. The plan articulates Georgia Tech’s commitment to developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. Since the plan’s adoption, the Institute has set records in student applications, enrollment, graduation rates, research funding, startup formation, invention disclosures, and philanthropic giving.

During Cabrera’s tenure, annual sponsored research awards have surpassed $1.4 billion. The Institute now ranks No. 1 nationally in total research expenditures among universities without a medical school, and No. 2 in federal research grants — up from No. 8 in 2019. Cabrera has also overseen the establishment of new research centers and institutes in artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and space research, reflecting Georgia Tech’s ambitions to lead at the frontiers of science and technology.

Beyond campus, Cabrera has championed Georgia Tech’s role as an anchor of innovation in Atlanta. His presidency has advanced three signature developments — Tech Square, Science Square, and Creative Quarter — each designed to connect the Institute with the tech industry, the life sciences, and the creative economy, respectively. The opening of Science Square in 2024 established a dedicated district for medical technology research and innovation on Atlanta’s westside, and the forthcoming Creative Quarter will support work at the intersection of technology, art, and entertainment. Together, these projects are extending Georgia Tech’s reach and deepening its impact throughout the city and region.

Before joining Georgia Tech, Cabrera served for seven years as president of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he oversaw the institution’s rise to R1 research status, led the largest enrollment growth of any university in the state, and established a campus in South Korea. Prior to George Mason, he served as president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management — now part of Arizona State University — and as dean of IE Business School in Madrid, one of Europe’s most internationally recognized business schools.

As a scholar, Cabrera’s work on knowledge management, organizational behavior, and global management education has been cited thousands of times. As a business educator, he was the lead author of the “Principles of Responsible Management Education,” a framework now endorsed by more than 700 business schools worldwide. He has spoken multiple times at the Clinton Global Initiative, the United Nations, and the World Economic Forum, and he has been recognized as a Global Leader for Tomorrow and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute, and a Great Immigrant by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Cabrera currently serves on the boards of the Association of American Universities, the Bankinter Innovation Foundation, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the National Geographic Society, and TIAA, and he is a member of the Harvard College Visiting Committee. He has previously served on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the advisory boards of Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey and Georgia Tech, and the boards of three publicly traded companies.

Cabrera earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in psychology and cognitive science from Georgia Tech, which he attended as a Fulbright Scholar. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer and electrical engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and he was awarded honorary degrees from Miami Dade College and his alma mater in Madrid. He is the first native of Spain to serve as president of an American university.

He and his wife, Elizabeth — a management scholar and fellow Georgia Tech alumna — have two children: Alex, a graduate of Georgia Tech and Carnegie Mellon University, and Emilia, a graduate of Harvard University, who both work in startup companies.

You can follow President Cabrera on Twitter @CabreraAngel.

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