On a Mission to Restore Meaning in Leadership!
In a world obsessed with productivity, targets, and high performance, there are still those rare leaders who remind us that the deepest transformations come not from speed, but from meaning.
Ignacio Bonasa is one of those leaders.
With a past in high-level banking and a present immersed in soulful innovation, Ignacio chose a different path, one where leadership is not measured by power or prestige, but by the ability to humanize, to heal, and to inspire.
From the founding of Liderarte, a pioneering talent development platform that uses art as a tool for transformation, to his leadership of multiple associations like the European Association for Wellbeing, the European Association of Soulful Organizations, and the global movement Dale la Vuelta a la Tortilla, Ignacio has created an ecosystem of “projects with soul” that challenge the way we work, learn, and live.
His story is not one of disruption for the sake of novelty, but of restoration, meaning, and human connection.
He is a creator of dreams, a designer of systems, and an artist of purpose.
In this exclusive interview, Ignacio opens up about his journey, his unique vision of leadership, and why the future belongs to those who dare to lead not only with strategy, but with soul.
The Soul of a Visionary Leader
For Ignacio, visionary leadership with soul is not a strategy or formula, it’s a way of being. He believes true leadership stems from an inner truth, from that quiet voice within that doesn’t demand attention but gently guides. To him, a soulful visionary leader is not someone obsessed with forecasting the future, but someone deeply committed to creating an authentic present, one that inspires, uplifts, and transforms. The soul, in his view, acts as a compass, moral, emotional, and spiritual, ensuring that vision doesn’t turn into cold calculation.
Each morning, Ignacio doesn’t wake up asking how he can grow. Instead, he asks how he can serve better. His day isn’t dictated by metrics or milestones alone. It’s shaped by emotions, relationships, and questions that matter: Will this bring more humanity? Will it restore someone’s dignity? Will it spark something alive in another person? If the answer is yes, he moves forward. If not, he steps aside.
At Liderarte, this philosophy comes to life in the smallest yet most meaningful ways. Meetings often begin with music. A colleague in need might be met with a hug rather than a formal check-in. An emotional workshop might take precedence over a high-stakes pitch. For Ignacio, the soul doesn’t replace action, it fuels it. And that’s the kind of leadership he believes the world is craving now: less about control, and more about connection.
From Executive Success to Soulful Impact
Ignacio remembered it vividly. He was in a board meeting. Everything appeared flawless, the balance sheets, the suits, the speeches. And yet, something inside him was breaking. He realized he had become an efficient cog in a system that was inefficient for the human soul. In that moment, he knew his life had to change.
His executive career has been solid, BBVA Portugal, BBVA Dinero Express, board roles, performance indicators, and growth. But he began to see the difference between success and fulfillment. He had followed the script, but he hadn’t written his own. And that hurt.
That was the beginning of his rebirth. He let go of everything to embark on a new path, bold, uncertain, but true. That’s how Liderarte was born, followed by a constellation of soul-driven projects: Resetéate for emotional management, BienestART for corporate wellbeing through art, ArtESPACIO Experience to transform spaces with beauty, Organizaciones Vitamina, and the social movement Dale la Vuelta a la Tortilla.
It wasn’t a comfortable decision, but it was deeply aligned with his life’s purpose: to bring well-being and happiness to society by addressing the failures of traditional education and organizational systems. From that day on, he never emptied himself to fill Excel sheets again. He began to fill himself up by helping others ignite their souls.
Art as a Loving Act of Rebellion
Ignacio describes art as his loving act of rebellion. In a world consumed by productivity, art becomes a reminder to pause, feel, and reconnect. At Liderarte, art is not just decoration, it’s the driving force behind transformation. Their unique 4A methodology, Aprendizaje (Learning), Actitud (Attitude), Alma (Soul), and Acción (Action), puts artistic experience at the heart of both human and organizational growth.
He explains that when people paint, dance, act, sing, or simply create together, a profound shift happens. Masks come off, emotions surface, and purpose takes shape. Ignacio shares powerful moments he has witnessed: senior executives moved to tears during theatrical exercises about values; leadership teams redefining their mission after jazz improvisation sessions; silent employees discovering their voices through music.
For Ignacio, art awakens what conventional training dulls. This is the core strength of Liderarte, they don’t just train leaders; they transform them from within. Art is their language, emotion is their message, and transformation is their ultimate goal.
Breaking Through Resistance
Ignacio recalled one of the clearest examples from his work with a major tech company. He had presented Resetéate, his flagship program that blends theater, storytelling, and emotional awareness to foster well-being. The company’s executive team, known for their rational and skeptical mindset, dismissed it as “too soft” or “too abstract” for their environment.
Understanding that words alone wouldn’t be enough, Ignacio proposed a pilot session. Instead of merely observing, the executives were invited to participate. Through role-playing and artistic expression, they revisited their leadership challenges firsthand. They laughed, they cried, and in the process, they recognized patterns of disconnection they hadn’t seen before. What once seemed “soft” transformed into something deeply powerful.
From that moment on, the company not only embraced the program but integrated it into their leadership development pathway. For Ignacio, this experience revealed an important truth: resistance often masks itself as fear disguised in logic. And sometimes, the most effective way to break down that resistance isn’t through debate, but by inviting people to truly feel.
The 4A Framework
Ignacio’s leadership philosophy is deeply anchored in four fundamental values, which he calls the 4A framework: Learning, Attitude, Soul, and Action. For him, these aren’t just abstract ideas but practical forces that shape every project they create at Liderarte.
Learning, to Ignacio, means more than passively absorbing content; it’s about active, experiential awakening. Attitude reflects the conscious choice to lead with compassion, courage, and authenticity. Soul is an invitation to reconnect with one’s true self, beyond the roles and masks people wear. And Action is about transformation that is embodied and visible, never left just as theory.
By weaving these values into organizational cultures, Ignacio believes it’s possible to create real, deep-rooted change. Teams start to communicate more honestly, leaders become more human, and companies discover that well-being is not the enemy of productivity but it’s true fuel. For Ignacio, these values serve as a compass, guiding the way toward a more human, sustainable, and soulful approach to leadership.
Projects with Soul
Ignacio explained how many people see soul-driven projects as beautiful yet vague, but at Liderarte, they prove otherwise. Inspiration there always walks hand in hand with strategy. Every initiative, from BienestART to Vitaminarte, is built on clear objectives, solid impact indicators, and continuous feedback systems.
He described their hybrid methodology as a blend of emotional design and operational excellence. That’s why they surround themselves with a multidisciplinary team, artists, consultants, therapists, educators, and corporate leaders, who together ensure that each project is not just poetic but productive.
Ignacio emphasized that they don’t launch projects simply because they sound nice. They launch them because they heal, activate, and deliver. Their passion is paired with a method. This combination makes their soul-based ecosystem not only inspiring but also replicable, scalable, and ready for real impact.
A Lesson in Patience and Depth
Ignacio shared how the journey of Womentoring gifted them a powerful lesson. In the very first pilot, they tried to move too fast, eager to reach more women, more quickly. But they soon discovered that the soul cannot be rushed. Transformation takes time. Trust takes time. Listening takes time.
Some participants needed space to open up, to reconnect with their voice, to feel safe. That experience taught them that depth matters more than scale. Today, they prioritize intimacy and connection over metrics. Under the inspiring leadership of Lilian Brando, Womentoring has grown into an international network of emotional support and female leadership.
That “failure” shaped their entire methodology: now they plant seeds with patience, knowing that authentic transformation always blooms from within, and at its own rhythm.
Purpose as a Compass
Ignacio explained how purpose serves as his guiding compass. While working with companies that demand measurable results, he never sacrifices the soul that drives him. He believes the true power lies in proving that emotion and performance are not adversaries but allies. He pointed to projects like Orchestral Leadership with Juan Manuel Alonso and Creative Gym with Fernando Bercebal as living proof that creativity and empathy can enhance cohesion, spark innovation, and deliver sustainable business results.
He described how, when organizations experience the impact of art-based interventions—when they see how people engage more, care more, and create more, the pressure for outcomes shifts from being a threat to becoming a partner. For Ignacio, this represents a revolution: putting soul and well-being at the center of strategy instead of relegating them to the margins. That’s the way he leads and transforms.
Vitamin for the Soul
Ignacio shared that at Liderarte, they have a practice they call “Vitamin the soul.” In every project, they intentionally carve out time for human connection and mutual recognition. It’s not treated as an add-on; instead, it stands as the very foundation of their work.
He also expressed their belief in art as a refuge during the storm. To paint, sing, or write is not considered a luxury but rather a way of returning to oneself. For them, art becomes a form of therapy.
When someone on the team loses direction, they help bring that person back to their “why.” Ignacio explained that in the fog, the one thing that never fails is the lighthouse of purpose.
This belief keeps them hopeful, no matter the uncertainty. It serves as a reminder that they don’t just build projects, they build meaning.
Cross-functional Innovation is Key to Evolution
Ignacio believes the key is to speak a shared language. For him and his team, that language is art. While the corporate world focuses on KPIs, education emphasizes competencies, the social sector measures impact, and artists express emotion, Ignacio strives to orchestrate these diverse voices into a harmonious symphony.
At Liderarte, they have crafted hybrid programs like ArtESPACIO Experience and Vitamin Organizations to blend these different worlds. In ArtESPACIO, for example, a choreographer, a CEO, and a therapist come together to co-create a cultural intervention within a company.
What connects them is not their job titles, but their shared humanity.
And when professionals meet as humans first, Ignacio knows, innovation arises not just across sectors but across hearts.
Soulful Approach to Technology
Ignacio was never afraid of technology itself, what concerned him was the risk of dehumanization. Whenever a new digital solution was introduced, he would pause and ask himself a crucial question: “Does this empower the soul, or does it overshadow it?”
At Resetéate, Ignacio and his team used artificial intelligence not as a flashy gimmick, but as a mirror to foster emotional self-awareness. Similarly, in La Receta del Bienestar (“The Recipe for Wellbeing”), they created immersive content designed to ignite sensory and emotional experiences, rather than merely collecting data.
For Ignacio, technology was not the enemy, if it could be made an ally of the soul. His approach was clear and intentional: technology with purpose, serving the essence of being, never overshadowing it. He believed in tools that expanded consciousness and deepened human connection, not ones that replaced them.
Bold Dream for European Leadership
Ignacio’s boldest dream was to witness the emergence of a new European leadership, one brave enough to show courage through vulnerability. This vision led him to found and take on the presidency of the European Association of Soulful Organizations (Asociación Europea de Organizaciones con Alma).
Alongside Gemma González, the CEO of the initiative, and a dedicated network of soul-driven ambassadors, Ignacio was planting the seeds for a continental shift. Their mission was clear: to certify companies that lead with humanity, to shine a light on those that truly care, and to support leaders unafraid to bring compassion into their boardrooms.
What Ignacio imagined for the future was not just a distant hope, it was already beginning to take shape.
FINAL CLOSING: A Soul in Motion That Chose to Transform the World
Ignacio Bonasa is not just a name.
He is a compass.
A bridge-builder between strategy and emotion, between spreadsheets and soul.
His professional life, once structured among balance sheets and executive offices, found its true purpose when he chose to trade power for purpose. Since then, he has never stopped opening new pathways for those who want to lead with authenticity, live with purpose, and work with meaning.
Today, he serves as the president of Liderarte, a talent factory where art becomes a vehicle for human development. He also presides over three associations that reflect his transformative vision:
- The European Association for Wellbeing
- The European Association of Soulful Organizations
- The International Association ‘Dale la Vuelta a la Tortilla’ — a global social movement turning pain into purpose.
But if there is one thing that defines Ignacio, it is the team that walks beside him.
Because behind every soul-driven project there are extraordinary people:
- Juan Manuel Alonso (Orchestral Leadership)
- Fernando Bercebal (Creative Gym)
- Lilian Brando (Womentoring)
- Lorena Martínez (Liderarte Publishing)
- Marta Sanguino (Kilómetro 0)
- Alicia Torrego (Vitaminarte)
- Vicky Bigio (Top 10 Human Skills)
- Gemma González (Soulful Organizations)
- Maitena Servajean (Artementoring)
A swarm of talent that multiplies his vision and turns dreams into action.
A passionate lover of the performing arts, a tireless traveler, and a creative artist of ideas, Ignacio believes the soul of a leader is nourished through sensitivity. That’s why he travels, listens, and observes. That’s why he dreams of an educational system where wellbeing is no longer a luxury, but the foundation.
His life purpose is clear: to bring wellbeing and happiness to society by addressing the gaps left by traditional education systems. And in every project, every classroom, every company, he plants that seed.
Because where others see data, Ignacio sees stories.
Where others chase outcomes, he seeks transformation.
Where others command, he inspires.
He doesn’t just lead.
He leads with soul.