Vantage point matters. When leadership is holistic with an all-around approach, it holds the power to transform the world around it wholly. In today’s VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) times, such influential leadership is a prerequisite for shaping the future with modern global talent development.
That is what Ignacio Bonasa, as the President of the European Association for Wellbeing, stands for.
From the Peak of Success to the Center of the Soul
Your viewpoint defines your point of view. It’s either macro–outside–in or micro–inside-out. It’s either top-down, bottoms-up or side-by-side. However, can it be all and encompass everything at once?
Yes. When you begin from the center point.
Ignacio Bonasa knows what it means to lead from the top. But he chose something far more revolutionary: to lead from within.
With a law degree, an MBA from ICADE, and a PDG from IESE, he has spent over two decades as a top executive in the financial sector. He held high-ranking positions in institutions such as Banco Exterior, Argentaria, BBVA, Caja Rural de Aragón, and BBVA Portugal—where he was CEO—and served as President of BBVA Dinero Express.
But as his career soared, something within him was quietly sinking: his connection with purpose, emotion, and soul.
“I was trained to lead through control. But I discovered that KPIs don’t measure true leadership—it’s measured by inner coherence,” he says.
That internal rupture gave way to a personal rebirth. He founded Liderarte, his soul-and-talent-driven project. He created programs like Resetéate (Reset Yourself), which has transformed over 15,000 people, and launched the social movement Dale la vuelta a la tortilla (Flip the Tortilla), which transforms pain into soul-vitamin—a movement now supported by hundreds of people and the European Association for Wellbeing itself, where it’s promoted as a community-based tool for emotional health and resilience.
With this journey, Ignacio Bonasa has been appointed President of the European Association for Wellbeing, where he leads a quiet yet unstoppable revolution: bringing wellbeing back to where it truly belongs—the heart of life, organizations, and society.
But his impact doesn’t stop there. Ignacio also serves as President of the European Association of Soulful Organizations, promoting human, conscious, and sustainable business cultures.
Both presidencies—Wellbeing and Soul—nourish each other. Because there can be no wellbeing without soul… and no soul without wellbeing.
Born to Care for the Invisible
Invisibility is the shadow of visibility. And almost all the time, it is hidden behind what is seen. To see through the visible and confront invisibility, one must break the illusion.
The European Association for Wellbeing, founded in 2014, has a profound mission: to place emotional, social, and organizational wellbeing at the heart of Europe and Latin America. Ignacio Bonasa has revitalized this institution with a vision that blends academia, lived experience, and art.
Vision: To be Europe’s beacon for holistic, emotional, organizational, and community-based wellbeing.
Mission: To support, train, empower, and inspire individuals, leaders, organizations, and institutions to build a new culture of purposeful wellbeing.
Values: Humanity, compassion, coherence, art, emotional health, beauty, deep learning, practical spirituality, sustainability, and transformative action.
As the President, Ignacio has launched an ambitious strategic plan:
- Wellbeing Ambassadors Network in 10 countries.
- European Congress on Integral Wellbeing (Madrid, 2025).
- European School of Wellbeing, with training programs for leaders, educators, and healthcare teams.
- Conscious Wellbeing Seal, based on scientific and emotional criteria.
- European Observatory of Happiness and Workplace Wellbeing.
- And a flagship project, BienestART, which integrates performing arts, mental health, and emotional learning as a path for social transformation.
The “Feliciologist” Who Transforms with Art and Truth
Every soul craves happiness. Yet, in this conflicted world, happiness is what eludes the soul the most.
That is why Ignacio Bonasa defines himself as a feliciólogo (feliciologist): “I study happiness, I design it, I share it. But not from theory… from the soul.”
His passion for the performing arts is not a hobby—it’s a path of transformation. He has turned theatre, music, bodywork, and spoken word into vehicles for learning and wellbeing. In his programs, art is not a tool. It is the heart.
And there’s another lifelong passion that defines him: traveling. Not for tourism—but for the soul. Because every journey is a metaphor for leadership: to leave, discover, expose oneself, listen, and return changed.
These two passions—art and travel—have led him to create experiential methodologies such as Aprendizaje por el Arte® (Learning Through Art) and to promote initiatives like Dale la vuelta a la tortilla, the social movement he leads alongside the European Association for Wellbeing, bringing emotional health to individuals, neighborhoods, schools, and vulnerable communities.
“We want no one to be left out of wellbeing. That’s why we go to people—we don’t wait in an office,” he says.
The Recipe for Wellbeing
Being overtly well is not holistic wellbeing. Only when the fountain of inner delight spreads through the spirit does one get immersed in the real happiness that leads to wholesome wellbeing.
In 2025, Ignacio Bonasa’s new book will be released: “La receta del bienestar: una fórmula para ser más feliz” (The Wellbeing Recipe: A Formula for Greater Happiness).
It’s not a manual—it’s a declaration of intent.
The recipe is based on eight dimensions of holistic wellbeing that Ignacio has developed through his life and professional journey:
~Body – Taking care of the vehicle that carries us through life.
~Mind – Creating space for silence, reflection, and focus.
~Emotions – Feeling, naming, managing, and releasing.
~Purpose – Connecting with what gives life meaning.
~Relationships – Relating from nourishment, not need.
~Profession – Working with coherence and vocation.
~Finances – Using money as energy, not as a prison.
~Technology – Engaging with the digital world consciously.
The book will offer tools, exercises, reflections, art, and real-life stories to guide each reader on their personal journey toward wellbeing—not as decor, but as deep-rooted truth.
Leading with Soul, Caring with Vision
Ignacio Bonasa leads the European Association for Wellbeing not from status but from coherence. His life, choices, and words are aligned.
From Liderarte, his core project, he has developed pedagogical experiences that now nourish the Association:
- Resetéate,
- BienestART,
- Artelicidad,
- Womentoring,
- Dale la vuelta a la tortilla,
- Organizaciones con Alma (Organizations with Soul),
- Aprendizaje por el Arte® (Learning Through Art).
This synergy between institution and project allows him to scale impact without losing the essence. Because with Ignacio, there’s no difference between the professional and the human being—everything beats in unison.
The Association’s roadmap is clear:
- Bringing art to companies as organizational medicine.
- Bringing mental health to schools through creativity, play, and emotion.
- Bringing wellbeing to cities through soulful public policy.
- Building a network of leaders who care—and are cared for.
- Creating a culture where feeling good is not a privilege but a right.
- And above all, touching souls—not from theory, but through experience.
Epilogue – The Wellbeing Revolution Has Already Begun
Ignacio Bonasa doesn’t talk about the future—he builds it.
He doesn’t speak of happiness as a destination—he practices it as a path.
And he doesn’t lead with formulas—he leads with soul.
Through the European Association for Wellbeing, he is launching a profound movement that unites art, science, emotion, and purpose. And with the European Association of Soulful Organizations, he is building a network of organizations that understand that wellbeing is not a cost—it’s an investment.
And through his own life, he inspires thousands to ask themselves: “What would need to change in my life to truly live in peace?”
Ignacio Bonasa doesn’t seek followers—he seeks to be of service.
He doesn’t aim to convince—he aims to inspire.
Because wellbeing cannot be imposed.
It must be ignited.
And this revolution, though serene, has already begun.
Will you dare to join?
