
Alexander Laszlo (*1964) is a
polycultural systems scientist
Systems science, also referred to as systems research or simply systems, is a transdisciplinary field that is concerned with understanding simple and complex systems in nature and society, which leads to the advancements of formal, natural, socia ...
, currently residing in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
.
Laszlo was the 57th President of the
International Society for the Systems Sciences
The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is a worldwide organization for systems sciences. The overall purpose of the ISSS is: to promote the development of conceptual frameworks based on general system theory, as well as their im ...
(ISSS), known for his work on systems theories and "education ecosystems". He, furthermore, is the President of the Board of Directors of th
Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(BCSSS), based in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. He also functions as the director of research at th
Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research(LINPR), which is based in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
With his research and work Alexander Laszlo has delivered outstanding contributions in the fields of leadership, systemic innovation, and sustainability.
Life
Alexander Laszlo was born in
Fribourg, Switzerland in 1964, is the son of
Ervin László and Carita
Jägerhorn af Spurila
The Jägerhorn af Spurila family is a nobility, noble family, registered with number 114 in the Swedish House of Nobility and number 5 in the Finnish House of Nobility. Members of this family live in Finland, Sweden, France and the United States.
...
whose family home is in
Tuscany, Italy
Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
. Due to his extensive travels and activities in the
USA
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
,
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
,
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
, and
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
he is fluent in several languages, including French, Italian, and Spanish. He is the father of one child, Kahlia Paola.
Laszlo earned an
International Baccalaureate Diploma
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...
from the
United Nations International School
The United Nations International School (UNIS) is a private international school in New York City which was established in 1947. Many members of the United Nations staff arriving with young families found unexpected difficulties with the school s ...
in 1982, with a focus on
Social and Cultural Anthropology. He then received a
BA from
Haverford College
Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...
, with a major in
International and Comparative Political Science and a minor in
Human Physiology
The human body is the entire structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organs and then organ systems.
The external human body consists of a head, hair, neck, ...
, in 1985. At the University of Pennsylvania, he received his
MA i
History and Sociology of Science in 1987, and a
PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in the interdisciplinary field of
Science and Technology Policy, in 1992.
Laszlo is an instructor of Martial Arts and holds a 6th Degree Black Belt in
Chung Do Kwan style of Tae Kwon Do and 2nd Degree Black Belt in
Shotokan style of Karate. He, furthermore, is a skilled classical flutist and follows several hobbies, including alpine skiing, mountain biking, science-fiction and poetry.
Work
Laszlo was the founding director of the Doctoral Program in Leadership and Systemic Innovation at the
Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA), in Argentina. He was also involved with the
MCI Management Center in Innsbruck, Austria, where he functioned as visiting lecturer in International Business at The Entrepreneurial School. At the Giordano Bruno Global''Shift'' University, Laszlo was a member of the scientific advisory board as well as the Chief Learning Officer of Curriculum Innovation. Laszlo was faculty member at Sonoma State University, in Rohnert Park, USA, in Master's in Organizational Development program, at the Green MBA of the
Dominican University, in San Rafael, USA, in the Executive Certificate Program, and at the
Brainbridge Graduate Institute (now Pinchot University), in Seattle, USA, where he also worked as an adjunct professor in Systems Science and Evolutionary Development. At the
Presidio School of Management, in San Francisco, USA, he functioned as Core Faculty and Administrative Leadership Team Member. Laszlo worked as a professor at the
Tuoro University, in Cypress, at the
California Institute of Integral Studies
The California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is a private graduate school (with limited undergraduate offerings) in San Francisco. Founded in 1968 as the California Institute of ''Asian'' Studies, the name was changed in 1980. CIIS has b ...
, in San Francisco, where he taught in the field of Learning and Human Development, at the
Saysbrook Graduate Institute & Research Center, also in San Francisco, in the field of Systems Science and Design, and at the
Monterrey Institute of Technology
Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM; ), also known as Technological Institute of Monterrey () or just Tec, is aresearch university based in Monterrey, Mexico, which has grown to include 35 campuses located across 25 cit ...
(EGADE-ITESM), in Mexico, in Administration and Leadership. At the ITESM Laszlo also worked as the Director of the Doctoral Program in Management, as well as director of research at the Center for Knowledge Systems, and was named a Level I Member of the
National Research Academy of Mexico (SNI). Laszlo, furthermore, has held visiting appointments with th
London School of Economicsand the
European University Institute
The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral research-intensive university and an intergovernmental organisation with juridical personality, established by its founding member states to contribu ...
.
Laszlo was involved as a researcher, consultant, and scholar with several more international higher education institutions, as well as public and private institutions, including the
Italian Electric Power Agency, th
UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology for Europein Italy, as well a
Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, USA. He continues to teach and consult on evolutionary leadership, collaboration, and systems thinking at a variety of MBA and Doctoral programs internationally.
Awards
Very early in his academic career Alexander Laszlo began to receive awards. Thus, he was awarded th
Gertrude Albert Heller Awardin 1984 for his research and preparation of a bio-ethics paper presented at the
International Academy of Philosophy of Science, in Brussels, Belgium. He also is the recipient of the
Sir Geoffrey Vickers Memorial Award
The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is a worldwide organization for systems sciences. The overall purpose of the ISSS is: to promote the development of conceptual frameworks based on general system theory, as well as their im ...
, presented for outstanding student papers at the pre-doctoral level in the field of the
systems science
Systems science, also referred to as systems research or simply systems, is a transdisciplinary field that is concerned with understanding simple and complex systems in nature and society, which leads to the advancements of formal, natural, socia ...
s. The award is given by the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) and Laszlo received it in 1987. He was also the winner of th
Förderpreis Akademischer Klub Awardof the
University of St. Gallen
The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistent ...
, Switzerland, for his work in social innovation and sustainable development, and finalist for the 2003 Beyond Gray Pinstripes Award of the
World Resources Institute
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. Subsequent presidents include Jonathan Lash (1993– ...
and the
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home.
Its stated miss ...
for educational work in sustainable business.
Selected publications
Alexander Laszlo is on the Editorial Boards of ''
Cybernetics and Human Knowing
''Cybernetics and Human Knowing: A Journal of Second Order Cybernetics, Autopoiesis & Cyber-Semiotics'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering autopoiesis, biosemiotics, cognition, complexity, cybersemiotics, hermeneutics, infor ...
''; ''
Systems Research & Behavioral Science''; ''World Futures: The Journal of New Paradigm Research''; ''
Kybernetes: The International Journal of Cybernetics, Systems and Management Sciences''; ''Systema · Connecting Matter, Life, Culture and Technology''; ''Markets and Business Systems''; ''Organisational Transformation & Social Change''; and ''Managing Global Transitions: International Research Journal''. An active member of several
systems science
Systems science, also referred to as systems research or simply systems, is a transdisciplinary field that is concerned with understanding simple and complex systems in nature and society, which leads to the advancements of formal, natural, socia ...
societies, among them Chair of Curating Emergence for Thrivability SIG at
International Society for the Systems Sciences
The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is a worldwide organization for systems sciences. The overall purpose of the ISSS is: to promote the development of conceptual frameworks based on general system theory, as well as their im ...
(ISSS), Alexander Laszlo is author of over 100 journal, book, and encyclopedia publications, with ''Syntony Sense: Evolutionary Intuition for World Changers'' forthcoming.
*"Technological racism and unnatural selection: Foreseeable systemic impacts of a genetic screening of the workforce" (with Ervin Laszlo). Forum for Correspondence and Contact, 15(1), March 1985. pp. 31–35.
*"The ethical implications of the social impact of genetic screening for employment" (with Ervin Laszlo). In La responsabilité éthique dans le développement biomédical, Archives de l’Institut International des Sciences Théoriques, vol. 28. Luvain-la-Neuve: CIACO, 1987. pp. 331–341.
*"Cognitive maps and the energy-culture interaction." World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, 30(3), December 1990. pp. 8–13.
*"The electric industry and its interaction with local cultural values in late 18th and early 19th century Italy" (with Ignazio Masulli). In the ENEL encyclopedia by G. Mori (Ed.), Storia dell’industria electrica in Italia, vol. 1: Dalle origini alla vigilia della Prima Guerra Mondiale (1882-1914). 5 vols. Rome and Bari: Laterza, 1992. pp. 645–696.
*"The contribution of the systems sciences to the humanities" (with Ervin Laszlo).
Systems Research and Behavioral Science
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is exp ...
14.1 (1997): 5–19.
*"Systems theories: Their origins, foundations, and development" (with Stanley. Krippner). In J.S. Jordan (Ed.), Systems theories and a priori aspects of perception. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 1998. Ch. 3, pp. 47–74.
*"Evolutionary systems design: A soft technology for hard challenges." World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, 1999, Vol. 54. pp. 313–335.
*"The epistemological foundations of evolutionary systems design."
Systems Research and Behavioral Science
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is exp ...
18.4 (2001): 307–321.
*"The systems sciences in service of humanity" (with Ervin Laszlo).
Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS)'','' F. Parra-Luna (Ed.). EOLSS Publishers, Oxford, UK (2003).
*"The evolutionary challenge for technology." World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, 2003, Vol. 59, No. 8.
*"Evolutionary Systems Design: A praxis for sustainable development." Organisational Transformation & Social Change, 2003. Vol. 1, No. 1. pp. 29–46.
*"The nature of evolution." World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, Vol. 65, No. 3, April 2009, pp. 204–221.
*"A systems view of Ervin Laszlo, from one generation to the next: An edited and annotated autobiographical piece" (with a contribution by Christopher Laszlo and incorporation of original material from Ervin Laszlo). World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, 67:4-5, 2011, pp. 219–243.
*"Growth, Development and Evolution – the parameters of change in a dynamic world" (with Stefan Blachfellner). Special double-issue of the Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change dedicated to "The Fundamental Concept of Growth: Limits in an Unlimited World?" A. Laszlo and S. Blachfellner (Guest Eds.). Vol. 9, No. 1, 2012, pp. 41–61.
*"Virtual Learning in a Socially Digitized World" (with Regina Rowland, Gail Taylor and Todd Johnston). World Futures: The Journal of Global Education, Vol. 68, No. 8, November 2012, pp. 575–594.
*"Thrivable Education" (with Jean Russell). In E. Laszlo and K. Dennis (Eds.), Dawn of the Akashic Age: New Consciousness, Quantum Resonance, and the Future of the World, Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2013, pp. 168–176.
*"Connecting the DOTS: The Design Of Thrivable Systems through the power of Collective Intelligence" ISSS Yearbook Special Issue of
Systems Research & Behavioral Science, A. Laszlo (Guest Ed.). Vol. 31, No. 5, 2014.
*"Living Systems, Seeing Systems, Being Systems: Learning to be the systems we wish to see in the world" Spanda Journal, Vol. 6, No. 1, June 2015 issue on Systemic Change. pp. 165–173.
*"Conversation Communities in Context: A Retrospective Perspective." Special issue of Constructivist Foundations on Composing Conferences: Exploring Alternatives to the Traditional Conference Format, M. Hohl & B. Sweeting (Guest Eds.), Vol. 11, No. 1, 15 November 2015. pp. 45–56.
*What Is Reality? The New Map of Cosmos and Consciousness (with E. Laszlo), New York, NY: SelectBooks, Inc., 2016.
*"Educational Ecosystems for Societal Transformation" (with Pavel Luksha, Joshua Cubista, Mila Popovich, and Ivan Ninenko). Produced by Global Education Futures (GEF), ReàEngineering Futures, and the Global Venture Alliance (GVA). Moscow, Russia: GEF Press, 2017.
*"Systemic Innovation, Education and the Social Impact of the Systems Sciences" (with Dino Karabeg and Pavel Luksha). ISSS Yearbook Special Issue of
Systems Research & Behavioral Science, J. Kineman (Guest Ed.). Vol. 35, No. 5, 2017. Pp. 601–608.
*"Living the New Paradigm: Syntony and Spark in Life, Being and Becoming." In The Handbook of New Paradigm Research. A publication of the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research. Cardiff, CA: Waterfront Press, 2018.
*"Education for The Future: The Emerging Paradigm of Thrivable Education" In World Futures: The Journal of New Paradigm Research. ; . May 2018.
*"Attracting our Future into Being: The Syntony Quest" (with Anneloes Smitsman and Kurt Barnes). World Futures: The Journal of New Paradigm Research. ; . September 2018.
*"The Leadership of Co-Creative Innovation – Systems, Technology, Society". Preface to the Special Issue of
Systems Research & Behavioral Science on Co-Creating Responsible Futures in the Digital Age: Selected papers from the 5th Business Systems Laboratory International Symposium of 2018, A. Laszlo (Guest Ed.). Vol. 35, No. 4, August 2018.
External links
Bertalanffy Center for the study of systems scienceThe Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research*
International Society for Systems Sciences
*Alexander Laszlo o
LinkedIn
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laszlo, Alexander
1964 births
Living people
American systems scientists
Pinchot University faculty
People from Fribourg
Presidents of the International Society for the Systems Sciences