João Bento will step down as head of CTT at the end of April. Major shareholders recommend Guy Pacheco as his successor
Having reached the age of 65, João Bento has decided to end his executive career. The four main shareholders recommend the election of the current CFO, Guy Pacheco, as CEO of the postal company.
CTT – Correios de Portugal announced on Wednesday that CEO João Bento, “having reached the age of 65, has decided, in accordance with his personal plans, to end his executive career at the end of the current term of office of the Board of Directors” of the company, thus concluding his duties at the next annual general meeting, to be held on 30 April 2026.
In a statement, CTT said that, under the current succession policy, “a careful selection process has been developed, which will culminate in a proposal from a group of shareholders including the Manuel Champalimaud Group, Indumenta Pueri, Greenwood Investors and the Sousa Group, so that Guy Pacheco will be elected at the next annual general meeting as CEO and João Sousa as CCO for the 2026-28 term”.
The CTT executive committee will thus retain a core group of executives already involved in defining and executing the strategy of the last two terms, the company explained.
“I feel very honoured, privileged even, to have had the opportunity to lead CTT through this phase of its life”, said João Bento, quoted in the statement. “I had long since decided to step down from executive duties at the age of 65, and only a sense of unfinished business would have made me change that decision.”
“Fortunately, not only is this not the case, but the succession is also assured in a very solid manner, so I will leave feeling very fulfilled with what I have helped to achieve and very calm about the future of the company and its leadership”, he stressed.
The acquisition of Cacesa and partnership with DHL were recent milestones
João Bento was appointed to the Board of Directors of CTT on 20 April 2017 as a non-executive director and became CEO on 22 May 2019. “During his tenure as CEO of CTT, he led a cycle of profound and successful transformation of the company, which went from being a Portuguese postal operator to a leading player in logistics in the Iberian Peninsula”, the postal company said.
According to CTT, some of the key milestones in this cycle included the reopening of all closed stores in county seats; the turnaround of the Express & Parcels business in Spain; the defence of the need for a new postal law and the resulting new public service concession contract for postal services; the growth and consolidation of Banco CTT and the establishment of a capital partnership with Generali; the creation of an Engineering Division following the development and expansion of Locky lockers; the acquisition of Cacesa and the establishment of a joint venture partnership with DHL.
“As a result, between 2018 and September 2025, CTT’s revenues and recurring EBIT grew at an average rate of 8.5% and 7.5%, respectively, and the Express & Parcels business became the largest contributor to revenues and recurring EBIT – 47% and 46% –, and growth”, he added. “During this period, CTT also established a clear shareholder remuneration policy and implemented three share buyback programmes, totalling 11% of the previous share capital.”
Guy Pacheco was appointed to the Board of Directors of CTT in December 2017 as CFO “and has since played a key role in the company’s journey, being directly involved in defining and executing CTT’s strategic, operational and capital allocation decisions over two full management terms”.
