António Saraiva

António Saraiva is currently the President of Portuguese Red Cross.

Considered one of the most influential people in Portuguese society, he is currently a strategic consultant and specialist in corporate diplomacy and associations, to which he has devoted more than 40 years of his life. António Saraiva embodies the concept of the self-made man. He started his professional life at the age of 17 as a metallurgical worker at Lisnave, the largest ship repair company in Portugal. He is also a strategic advisor to some of the most influential and disruptive companies in the national and international market, while continuing to be a highly influential voice is society in Portugal, Spain and Italy, among others. In addition to his consulting work, he is now President of Taguspark, the largest science and technology park in Europe. He is also Chairman of SPAL, a highly respected Portguese company in the ceramics sector, and a non-executive director of Grupo Bel and Global Media, one of Portugal’s largest media groups. For 13 years, he was President of CIP – Confederação Empresarial de Portugal, the most influential business association in Portugal. He was also Vice-President of BusinessEurope, the Confederation of European Business, which represents the main business federations in 35 European countries.

He was Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council og the CES and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Metalúrgica Luso-italiana, SA. He is a member of the Strategic Council of SOFID – Society for Development Financing, Instituição Financeira de Crédito, SA. At the academic level, he is a member of the School Council of ISCSP – Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences, member of the Board of Trustees of ISCTE – Higher Institute of Labour and Employment Sciences, member of the Advisory Board of Católica Porto Business School and member of the General Strategic Council of Lusófona University of Humanities and Technologies.

He teaches Corporate Diplomacy at ISCSP – Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences. He also teaches Economic Development at Coimbra Business School. He was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa by the Lusófona University. He was made a Knight of Honour by the Italian Republic of Portugal and, more recently, the Grand Cross of the Order of Economic Merit, Class of Industrial Merit.