Corporate leadership news in Portugal

BiogRHafia: Isabel Heitor (ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal). A life guided by the purpose of caring for others

A profile of Isabel Heitor from ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, focusing on her career and her personal drive to support others.

RHmagazine8 Oct

João Dolores to be the new CEO of Sonae

Cláudia Azevedo will step down as CEO of Sonae to become chair of the board of directors. The group's leadership will be assumed by João Dolores, the current chief financial officer.

Sonae: Cláudia Azevedo leaves the group's executive presidency

After eight years as CEO of Sonae, Cláudia Azevedo will chair the Board of Directors. João Dolores is the person proposed by the Board of Directors to lead the group's executive management in the next term. It is a new cycle in the group's leadership.

Janis Rey appointed CEO of ENGIE Energy Local Infrastructures Spain and Portugal

Leaders League29 Sept

Etienne Huret takes on coordination of Natixis hubs in Portugal and India

Etienne Huret will now oversee the operations of Natixis hubs in both Portugal and India.

Jornal Económico15 Sept

Dany Pinheiro takes over as Director of Operations at McDonald’s Portugal

Dany Pinheiro has been appointed to lead the operations department for McDonald’s in Portugal.

Executive Digest2 Sept

Dany Pinheiro takes over as McDonald's operations lead in Portugal

Dany Pinheiro is the new Operations Director for McDonald's Portugal. He succeeds Pedro Marques, who will take on the role of Operations and Franchising Director for McDonald's Spain. Dany Pinheiro began his association with the fast-food chain at age 16 in Canada. After transitioning to the Portuguese structure, he held operational roles.

Ana Maria Lopes to lead Microsoft Portugal

She is the third woman to reach the position.

RHmagazine31 Aug

Ana Maria Lopes is the new General Manager of Microsoft Portugal

Ana Maria Lopes has been appointed as the new General Manager for Microsoft's operations in Portugal.

Grande Consumo21 Aug

Microsoft Portugal appoints new managing director

Telecompaper20 Aug

Microsoft appoints Ana Maria Lopes to lead Portugal

Ana Maria Lopes appointed General Manager of Microsoft Portugal

Ana Maria Lopes, former leader of the EMEA technology modernisation area, succeeds Andrés Ortolá and assumes the role on 1 September.

Leadership change at Microsoft Portugal: Ana Maria Lopes is the new General Manager

Microsoft announced this Tuesday (August 18) the appointment of Ana Maria Lopes as General Manager of Microsoft Portugal, effective September 1, 2026. She succeeds Andrés Ortolá, who led the Portuguese subsidiary from 2022 to July 2026. The leadership change aligns with the company's new fiscal year and the evolution of Microsoft's European structure. In her new role, Lopes will report to Charles Calestroupat, President of Microsoft South Europe, overseeing local strategy, partnerships, digital transformation, and the adoption of Artificial Intelligence. A Chemical Engineering graduate from Instituto Superior Técnico, Lopes is the third woman to lead Microsoft in Portugal, bringing extensive experience from previous local, regional, and global leadership roles within the company.

Ana Maria Lopes to be the director of Microsoft in Portugal

The name of the person succeeding Andres Ortolá as the leader of Microsoft Portugal is now known. The American tech company announced this Tuesday the appointment of Ana Maria Lopes as the new general manager starting on September 1, 2026. Ana Maria Lopes, an internal hire, will report directly to Charles Calestroupat, president of...

Ana Maria Lopes to replace Andrés Ortolá as head of Microsoft Portugal

Ana Maria Lopes has been appointed to succeed Andrés Ortolá in the leadership position at Microsoft Portugal.

jornaleconomico.sapo.pt18 Aug

Black women: with degrees, but far from the top of companies in Brazil and Portugal

An analysis of the professional landscape for black women, highlighting the disparity between their educational achievements and their representation in executive leadership roles in Brazil and Portugal.

Sandro Cardoso is the new general manager of Mondelēz Portugal

Sandro Cardoso has been appointed as the new general manager for Mondelēz in Portugal.

Imagens de Marca15 Jul

Mondelēz International appoints Sandro Cardoso as General Manager in Portugal

Mondelēz International has named Sandro Cardoso as the new General Manager for its Portuguese operations.

Jornal Económico14 Jul

American owner of Toblerone and Oreo replaces Sandra with Sandro in Portuguese leadership

The US-based parent company of Toblerone and Oreo has appointed Sandro to replace Sandra as the head of its operations in Portugal.

Jornal de Negócios14 Jul

Mondelēz appoints new general manager for Portugal

Mondelēz has announced the appointment of a new general manager to lead its operations in Portugal.

Distribuição Hoje14 Jul

VivaGym appoints Luis de Mello as General Manager for Portugal

VivaGym has named Luis de Mello as the new General Manager for its operations in Portugal.

Jornal Económico13 Jul

Hitachi Rail Portugal has new leadership after 36 years with the appointment of Joaquim Santos as CEO

Hitachi Rail has appointed Joaquim Santos as CEO in Portugal with immediate effect, succeeding João Araújo, who had held the position since 1990, when the company began its railway operations in the country. An Electronics and Telecommunications engineer from the Lisbon Higher Institute of Engineering, Joaquim Santos joined the company in 1992 (then Alcatel Portugal) and has accumulated over 30 years of experience in the sector, working in Portugal and markets such as France, India, the UAE, Australia, and Brazil, the company highlights in a statement. Prior to his appointment, he served as Vice President of the Integrated Communication and Supervision Systems business segment, leading operations in 14 countries and a team of over 1,400 employees—responsibilities he will retain alongside his new role as CEO. Throughout his career, the press release notes, he has participated in landmark metro and railway network projects (New Delhi, Cairo, Sydney, Dubai, Doha, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Latin America) and held management roles at the headquarters in Paris. It is worth noting that Hitachi Rail Portugal resulted from the integration of Alcatel Portugal's railway activities into Thales and the latter's acquisition by Hitachi Rail in 2024, having taken a prominent position in the modernisation of national railway infrastructure, particularly in signalling, communications, and supervision.

Portuguese national Pedro Penalva to lead Aon across Latin America

Aon, the world's second-largest insurance broker, has appointed Portuguese manager Pedro Penalva as CEO of the LATAM (Latin America) region, effective July 1, 2026. Penalva will report directly to Greg Case, Aon's global President and CEO, and will take a seat on the Executive Committee.

Verisure appoints Marcelo Santiso as General Manager in Portugal

Verisure announced on Thursday, the 14th, the appointment of Marcelo Santiso as General Manager in Portugal, as part of a strategy to consolidate the company's sustained growth in the national market and complete the rebranding carried out six months ago. The company, which is celebrating 25 years in Portugal, has approximately 800 employees in the country. Santiso, who joined Verisure in 2020 and had been leading the Transformation area in Portugal since 2025, will have as priorities consolidating the brand change, strengthening the customer experience—with an emphasis on response speed and service quality—and ensuring the integration of Verisure's global innovations into the Portuguese market, the security multinational revealed in a statement. He will report to António Anguita, President of Southern Europe, Latin America, and the Nordic Countries. The appointment reinforces a commitment to internal leadership with knowledge of the organization, the company maintains, highlighting Santiso's profile, which includes previous experience at Boston Consulting Group in strategy and transformation projects and an MBA from INSEAD. The executive is also expected to focus on investment in training and team development, which the company points to as a differentiating factor. Quoted in the document, Marcelo Santiso says that 'the priority will be to consolidate the path we have been building with a focus on the customer experience. We want to continue to raise the standards of our market segment, combining technological innovation, in a context of rapid and constant evolution, with a strong human component.' Securitas Direct becomes Verisure in Portugal, strengthening its presence in the security sector.

Verisure appoints Marcelo Santiso as General Manager in Portugal

Verisure has announced the appointment of Marcelo Santiso to the position of General Manager for its Portuguese operations.

SAPO14 May

Marcelo Santiso is the new General Manager of Verisure in Portugal

Marcelo Santiso has been appointed as the new General Manager for Verisure's operations in Portugal.

Executive Digest14 May

Joaquim Inácio takes over the management of MPI in Portugal

Joaquim Inácio has been appointed as the new director of MPI's operations in Portugal.

tnews.pt11 May