Business Roundtable Portugal: leaders from the largest portuguese private companies united to help accelerate Portugal's economic and social development

A group of 42 leaders from the largest private companies operating in Portugal have combined forces to create the Business Roundtable Portugal Association, that aims to help Portugal attain a much higher growth rate, by valuing and qualifying Portuguese people, supporting the creation, development and scale of our companies, and, improving the performance of the State.

The Association aims to leverage its members' experience, resources and wide-reaching knowledge to discuss and formulate concrete proposals that will help policy makers and society take decisions, in line with the common goal of returning Portugal to the Top 15 European countries in terms of wealth per capita. It also considers that strengthening the qualifications of Portuguese people and the competitiveness of companies and the national economy will help Portugal boost its employment rate, productivity, opportunities, wages, innovation, and improve quality of life and promote a fairer society, while simultaneously creating the conditions and necessary resources for greater protection of disfavoured groups in society.

In the opinion of Vasco José de Mello, the Chairman of the Business Roundtable Portugal Association, 'This initiative is the result of a commitment assumed by a group of business leaders and private companies for everyone's benefit: People, Companies and the State. We believe in Portugal, in the capacity of the Portuguese people, with whom we share the ambition to build a fairer, more developed and more sustainable country. We propose to place our diversity, business and investment experience in Portugal and our capabilities at the Country's disposal, and thereby contribute, in a collaborative manner, with concrete proposals in structural areas of the national economy and society, so that Portugal can regain competitiveness among its European counterparts and once again rank as one of the 15 most developed countries in Europe.'

To achieve these objectives, the BRP will recommend the adoption of specific measures, supported by in-depth studies and analyses, that will increase the qualifications of Portuguese people, the competitiveness and agility of the private sector and the role of the State, in particular through the promotion of conditions conducive to higher domestic growth and economic development.

The Business Roudtable Portugal consists of 42 leaders of companies and business groups, of relevance in terms of their added value, employment, investment and overall contribution to Portugal. The association includes different sectors of economic activity, different geographic locations and companies at different stages of development. The group of 42 business leaders is represented by a board, that consists of nine members, appointed on a rotating basis, for three-year terms.The Association is chaired by Vasco de Mello (José de Mello Group) and its deputy chairs are Claúdia Azevedo (Sonae) and António Rios de Amorim (Corticeira Amorim). The directors include Fernando da Cunha Guedes (Sogrape), Guy Villax (Hovione), João Castello Branco (Semapa), Nuno Amado (Millennium bcp), Paulo Rosado (OutSystems) and Sandra Maria Santos (BA Glass).

Over the next decade, the Association believes that the country must strive to return to the European TOP 15, in terms of wealth per capita, attaining a much higher growth rate than in the recent past, and be considered a success story of economic and social development worldwide.