Microsoft appoints Andrés Ortolá as General Manager for Portugal. Paula Panarra becomes Global Sales Director for the Retail and Consumer Goods area

  • ECO News
  • 2 December 2021

The changes come after five years of Paula Panarra's leadership at Microsoft Portugal.

Starting from January 1, Andres Ortolá will be the new General Manager of Microsoft Portugal, replacing Paula Panarra, who will assume the position of Global Sales Director for the Retail and Consumer Goods area, the company announced this Thursday.

“I am very excited to be part of the Portuguese team and continue the excellent work that has been developed so far. We have a great opportunity ahead of us, only matched by the expectations of our customers and partners. I’m looking forward to the start of the new cycle,” says Andres Ortolá, quoted in a statement.

The Argentine manager will lead Microsoft in Portugal at a time when the organisation already has more than 1,400 professionals in the country, and has already announced plans to strengthen the team in the near future.

“Andres Ortolá will be focused on supporting the business segment, the public sector and partners in their Digital Transformation processes, as well as establishing new alliances and collaborations that help boost the areas of Innovation and Sustainability, but also increase confidence in Digital,” Microsoft reports. In Portugal, the company has an ecosystem of more than 3,700 partners.

Panarra leaves Portugal to embrace an international role

After five years leading Microsoft in Portugal, Paula Panarra has now been appointed new Global Sales Director for the Retail and Consumer Goods area, making her responsible for developing the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform business, in this sector, worldwide.

Under her leadership, Microsoft “doubled the size of its business” in the country, accelerated a transformation to the Cloud; welcomed 1,000 new employees and “consolidated Microsoft’s brand reputation, accumulating distinctions including the leadership in the ranking of the strongest brands in Portugal this year, being the only one to achieve the level of excellence (Source: BrandEnergy™ 2021, OnStrategy)”, says the company.

Microsoft Portugal also established “strategic alliances with major companies and public entities, elevated the initiatives of more than 3,700 national partners and set in motion projects with high social impact, such as Building the Future and Ativar Portugal”.