Dr. Juan Manuel García Samaniego is an Ecuadorian economist and higher education leader with over two decades of experience in university teaching, academic management, and public policy. He currently serves as Director General of Institutional Evaluation and Quality at Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), where he leads strategic initiatives in accreditation, rankings, and quality assurance.

He holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics and Sustainable Development from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development Management from the Catholic University of Temuco in Chile, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from UTPL. His academic and professional trajectory includes serving as President of the Council for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (CACES), Dean of the Faculty of Business, Entrepreneurship and Economics at UEES, and advisor to national institutions on sustainable development and bioeconomy policy.

Dr. García has coordinated key national projects, including the White Paper on the Sustainable Bioeconomy of Ecuador, and has published extensively on environmental economics, higher education governance, and quality systems. He is an international peer reviewer and evaluator for EQUAA and RIACES, and regularly participates in global academic events and forums on university transformation, innovation, and sustainability.