Q ELEMENT -
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION SPECIALISTS
Helping Latin America drive growth through science, technology and innovation.
Think Tank
Technology Hub
Strategy
ABOUT US
We are a digital think tank and consultancy made up of a team experts in public policy, business, and technology innovation.
Our aim is to help you harness the power of technology to deliver new outcomes and enable both the public and private sectors to make technological leapfrogs.
Our approach is simple: we help you evaluate the opportunities and threats of accelerating technological change, and offer pioneering solutions, backed by leading experts and cutting-edge companies with a proven track record of delivering results.
Laurence Whitehead
Co-Founder & Chair of Audit
Laurence is a Senior Research Fellow in Politics at Nuffield College, Oxford University, and until 2015 was Senior Fellow of the College. During 2005/6 he served as Acting Warden there, and in 2011/2 he served as Senior Proctor of the University.
Among his many academic responsibilities, he is a Region Head of Oxford Analytica for Latin America; a member of the steering committees of the Red Eurolatinoamericano de Gobernabilidad para el Desarrollo (RedGob) and IDCAR network on ‘International Diffusion and Cooperation of Authoritarian Regimes’; Governor of the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies; Vice-Chair of the IPSA Research Committee 51 on "International Political Economy"; and President of the Conseil Scientifique of the Institut des Ameriques (IdA) in Paris.
He is a member of several Latin American editorial boards as well as an editor of the Oxford University Press series, ‘Studies in Democratization’.
José-Juan López-Portillo
Head of Mexico
José-Juan has worked as a research professor at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico City since 2015. Before that posting he was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the IPLAI’s ‘Early Modern Conversions’ project from 2013-2015 in McGill University.
José-Juan’s interest in the transformative effects of technology derive from his historical research. His current work focuses on the role of ‘cultural intermediaries’ in making the global interactions that facilitated the transformation of different societies in the early modern period.
He has published several books and articles on Latin America, and is a regular guest speaker at conferences for the Centre for American Progress in Mexico City, the US embassy and other groups that visit Mexico. He has been a guest in various current affairs programs in Mexico City including Es La hora de Opinar and Foro Global.
José-Juan read Ancient and Modern History at New College, Oxford, and holds a PhD in History from Queen Mary's, University of London.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. José Ramón López-Portillo
Chairman and Co-Founder
An economist by background, Dr. Lopez-Portillo is a specialist in the subject of exponential technological change and its socio-economic impact. He has served as an advisor to the Mexican Government regarding the UN Resolution on “Impact of exponential technological change on sustainable development and peace”, and his recent work on this topic is reflected in his book entitled: “The Great Transition” (2018). His multifaceted professional experience allows him to tackle the issues of the impact of technological change from different angles.
José Ramón has served as minister in the Mexican Federal Government and is a Former Independent Chairman of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).
He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Oxford, where he has worked on several academic projects, most notably co-founding and coordinating the Centre for Mexican Studies.
CONTACT
Be in touch today — and start your organization on a path to success.