Luis Gallardo
Founder and President of the World Happiness Foundation and the World Happiness Festival, and will write the Introduction
Author and director of the Gross Global Happiness program at the United Nations University for Peace.
A social and innovative entrepreneur, he has dedicated his career to promoting happiness as a human right, driving human development, social innovation, and more prosperous societies.
The chapters offer something precious: a chorus of perspectives grounded in science and lived experience, practical enough to be applied and profound enough to transform. This is the kind of work that goes beyond trendy words and touches the essential question: what does it mean to be well, together, as we build, serve, and create?
I am grateful to Claudia Cardillo for conceiving and organizing this volume, Culture of Happiness and Mental Health at Work, and to Luciana Tierno and Chirles de Oliveira for the editorial care that brings so many voices together in a coherent and meaningful invitation. Each author expands the map. And the map we need now is not a path back to the old “normal.” It is a map toward a more human, productive, and healthy future of work.
As you read, I invite you to notice where the text intersects with your own life. Ask yourself: what would change in my organization if happiness were treated as a human right and a leadership responsibility?
Luis Gallardo
About Luis Gallardo
Founder and President of the World Happiness Foundation and the World Happiness Festival. Author of Happytalism and The Exponentials of Happiness. Director of the Gross Global Happiness program at the United Nations University for Peace.
Luis Gallardo is a social innovator and entrepreneur with the higher purpose of raising the planet’s vibration, developing ideas, connecting thought leaders, activists, and communities, and increasing awareness about the science of happiness, holistic education, and smart innovation.
Over the years, Luis has served as a consultant to CEOs, opinion leaders, entrepreneurs, Nobel Prize laureates, and influential figures in political and institutional spheres, assisting them with strategic personal positioning and brand building. This access to some of the brightest and most conscious minds inspired him to understand that the world needs new perspectives to achieve growth and to comprehend how humans and societies can thrive.
Luis has also worked in the corporate world as a global executive, playing a leading role in transforming sectors such as professional services and the internet. He served as an international observer with the UN and OSCE in post-conflict contexts, promoting democracy and voting rights.
For Luis, happiness is a human right and a life choice, a facilitator of human development and social innovation. That is why he dedicates himself to creating, through initiatives such as bē, the World Happiness Foundation, and the World Happiness Festival, spaces for academics, activists, social innovators, scientists, government leaders, institutions, and leaders in general to share, learn, feel, understand, and act toward a happier world and prosperous societies.
Luis maintains a private practice as a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Professional Mental Health Coach, and Master in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), in addition to serving as Instructor of the Well-Being Director Program.
"The world needs new perspectives to understand growth and how humans and societies can thrive."
Introduction Theme
Happytalism
In the introduction, Luis Gallardo proposes a paradigm shift: mental health ceases to be an individual concern and becomes the responsibility of organizational culture. With the concept of Happytalism, he argues that sustainable performance and well-being go hand in hand.
The text connects conscious leadership, psychological safety, and purpose, showing that healthy companies are born from environments that foster belonging, meaning, and collective human development.