Dr. Alexander Laszlo is a systems scientist, educator, and researcher who works on systemic innovation, collective intelligence, and the design of learning ecosystems for thriving societies. He developed the field of evolutionary systems design and is known for his work on syntony, which he treats as a force in societal evolution, and on thrivability as a step beyond sustainability.
Born in Fribourg, Switzerland, he grew up between Europe and the United States and finished secondary school at the United Nations International School in New York. He holds a BA from Haverford College, along with an MA in the history and sociology of science and a PhD in science and technology policy, both from the University of Pennsylvania. He did his doctoral research while working with UNESCO’s Regional Office for Science and Technology for Europe in Venice.
Alexander is President of the Board of Directors of the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science in Vienna and Director of Research at the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research. He served as the 57th President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). He founded the Doctoral Program in Leadership and Systemic Innovation at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA), and he directed the Doctoral Program in Management at Tecnológico de Monterrey (EGADE) in Mexico, where he was a member of Mexico’s National Research System. He has taught at the Presidio School of Management, the California Institute of Integral Studies, Saybrook, Sonoma State University, and Bainbridge Graduate Institute. He has held visiting appointments at the London School of Economics and the European University Institute.
He has written more than 100 publications, including What Is Reality? The New Map of Cosmos and Consciousness (with Ervin Laszlo), and he serves on the editorial boards of several systems science journals. His awards include the Sir Geoffrey Vickers Memorial Award of the ISSS. He speaks English, French, Spanish, and Italian, and holds a 6th-degree black belt and the title of Master in Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do.
