Manuel Muñiz is Rector of IE University in Madrid and Professor of International Relations. From 2017 to 2025, he served as Dean of IE's School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs. Between 2020 and 2021, he was Secretary of State for Global Spain, where he coordinated the 2021–2024 Foreign Action Strategy and led the development of the National Strategy on Technology and Global Order. Previously, he pursued his academic career at Harvard University. In 2023, he was elected President of APSIA, becoming the first Spaniard to hold the position, and was appointed a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

He holds a degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid, a Master's in Stock Markets and Financial Markets from IEB, a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Oxford. He currently chairs the Board of IE New York College and is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Club de Madrid, a trustee of the Ortega-Marañón Foundation, a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations and a full member of the Royal European Academy of Doctors. His distinctions include the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit and the David Rockefeller, Munich Young Leader, Millennium and Eisenhower fellowships.