Native and static: Your typical Portuguese CEO

Portuguese native and long-time employee at the same company or group – that is your typical Portuguese CEO, according to OECD’s latest Corporate Governance Factbook 2019, although the organisation admits that the increasing foreign capital flows to the country and into national companies might change this landscape.

“The market for CEOs is mainly internal with a few exceptions as to foreign board members (most of them representing a qualified foreign shareholder)”. The report highlights that “an increase in foreign executives has been verified in the context of share capital increases underwritten by foreign investors and M&A transactions.”

Foreign investment has surely gained expression in Portugal, especially during the financial crisis, when, for example, Chinese capital entered the energy companies EDP and REN or Spanish capital entered banks like Santander or BPI. Despite foreign capital bringing some influence on the management model, there is still little representativity of foreigners in top management positions in Portugal.

“Traditionally, CEOs stay in the company through several mandates. Despite some degree of mobility within companies of the same group, there is no significant mobility from one group to another”, the organisation has said.

OECD also highlights Portugal as one of eight countries (out of a total of 32) that facilitates the most the participation of minority shareholders. “Brazil, India, Portugal, Spain and Turkey have also established special arrangements to facilitate the influence of minority shareholders in the process of board nomination and election”, the organisation mentioned.