laiatutzo
sailor.manager.broadcaster
Intro CV
About Me
BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1980, Laia began her professional career as an athlete in sailing, representing the Spanish Olympic Sailing Team from 1998 to 2012. During these years, she achieved multiple international titles, including podium finishes at World and European Championships, and competed for Spain in the 470 class at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. While pursuing her sailing career, she also earned a law degree, graduating in 2004. She successfully balanced professional sports with leading a family office in the consultancy sector. After the Olympics, in 2008, she was appointed Director of the Barcelona International Sailing Center, a high-performance training facility in Parc del Fòrum, known for its innovative solutions and data-driven approach to training international sailing teams and organizing major sailing events. (Her own experience as an athlete, where she saw a lack of data-driven insights, motivated her to champion the integration of analytics into the sport.) In 2014, drawn by the startup ecosystem, she co-founded Smartsea, a Barcelona- and San Francisco-based company that developed disruptive solutions for boat owners and amateur sailors. The company provided extended data insights and plug-and-play mobile tools to enhance sailing experiences. Smartsea won several prestigious awards, including the IMPACT Accelerator, StartupBIT Awards, and Barcelona Developers. In 2016, as the Rafa Nadal Academy prepared for its launch in Mallorca, Laia stepped out of the nautical sector to gain experience in a new sports discipline. She took on the role of Operations Director, overseeing the Boarding, Technical Office, Customer Service, and Health departments. Since its inception, the Academy has experienced significant growth in both player numbers and international expansion, establishing multiple tennis centers worldwide. During her tenure, Laia spearheaded various R&D strategic projects, including RNA 360—a data analytics-driven tool designed to track players’ overall development and performance on and off the court. In 2022, after successfully leading the launch of the iconic Rafa Nadal legacy Academy, she returned to the sailing world with a clear mission: to build a sustainable business structure within the Spanish Sailing Federation, increasing its competitiveness and market appeal while elevating the institution to the next level. The year 2024 has been one for the books, with the Olympics and the America's Cup taking center stage in Barcelona, marking a historic moment for Spanish sailing.
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EDUCATION
February 2022
Leadership and Innovation - MIT
Program built for professionals with the skills to drive innovation through technology forecasting, roadmapping, innovation management, and data analysis, enhancing decision-making in tech investment and design
June 2012
PMD General Management - ESADE
Senior management program aimed at accelerating the careers of an organisation's executives, strengthening management skills and strategic behaviours, and enabling them to advance towards tomorrow's leadership.
June 2012
Sports Management Master Degree - UPF
Master’s program for international students that provided a comprehensive view of the sports industry, allowing Laia to specialize in the most in-demanded areas of the sports business fast-evolving market"
June 2005
High Degree Sports Law - ICAB
High degree in sports law (Col.legi Advocats de Barcelona) that lead toward her future specialization in professional sports environments
June 2002
Law Degree - UAB
Laia studied law, establishing the foundation for her professional development and gaining strong core legal skills, persuasive communication and problem-solving techniques, and negotiation abilities.
Testimonials
TESTIMONIALS
"Laia and I were hosts of the VIP Hospitality Club during the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona. She is an amazing presenter, public speaker, and communicator, but what I learned during those three months is what an incredible leader and teammate she is. Like any top athlete, entertainer, or professional the ability to deliver in the moment is always the result of the effort and focus that is put in behind the scenes and Laia was so driven offstage that it enabled her to deliver excellence on stage. Above all else, Laia is an incredible leader who sees the entire big picture and enables everyone around her to do their job better as well."
"I had the pleasure of spending years with Laia on the Olympic Sailing Team, both as a sailor and as a sports management professional. In both roles, her performance was exceptional, standing out for her excellent teamwork and her proactivity. in facing any challenge. In the business sphere, Laia is an expert at identifying sponsorship opportunities and, most importantly, at maximizing those partnerships to achieve mutual benefits, always seeking the best for both parties."
"Laia impressed me from the get go. I met her when she was a student at one of my ESADE classes and I could tell she had done her research in advance. She is passionate about digital and reliable at all times. So much so that as soon as I had the chance I hired her for La Twitertulia radio show. There, she showed her confidence stepping into new challenges without hesitation. Her positive attitude combines really well with her deep curiosity, her growing experience and her innate skills. If every team had a Laia, success would not be a matter of "if" but a matter of "when""
"Laia is a charming person, with a lot of work capacity and always brings joy and optimism, a fundamental basis for a team to function. I recommend it and I am sure it will far exceed the expectations of those who do not know it"
"Sharing a project with Laia is an incredibly stimulating intellectual exercise and a high burden of learning, both professionally, and personally. Laia has a special talent to make a world of ideas and actions, with no apparent connection between them, and multiply happen to form a homogeneous universe where everything fits perfectly. Balanced way thoroughness in her approach with a global and very current look on reality"
"Laia belongs to the core team of the academy since its opening. She’s a focused all round team worker and leader with abilities to function under pressure. Laia has organised from scratch several strategic areas of the academy including players desk-customer service, boarding, health and technical office teams. As a former athlete and world champion, She has a 360 vision of the business that permits her to act as a nexus between several departments and consolidate the level of service to players"
SKILLS
PERSONAL SKILLS
Laia has been sailing across several professional oceans, like every all round sailor and adventurous soul does. According to her team mates, those are the features that have accompanied her along the way. RELIABLE, TEAM WORKER, CONSISTENT, OPTIMISTIC, LEADER, ANALYTICAL, HONEST, PASIONAL, COHERENT