Catarina Pais is one of the many examples of CATÓLICA-LISBON Alumni who started here an academic and professional trajectory of great success!
Catarina graduated in Economics at Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics in 2009. Then, she chose to pursue her Master's degree at CATÓLICA-LISBON in the Double Degree CATÓLICA-LISBON / ESCP Europe (Paris), where she also received the ESCP Prize for best student, among 860 students of that Grand Master École.
After a few years of upward career, she decided to take an MBA from INSEAD, which she completed last January. She was honored with the Ford Award for best MBA student at that Business School, considered by the Financial Times as the best MBA in the world.
With this award, Catarina Pais became the first Portuguese woman to receive this distinction. Only four other Portuguese personalities were already awarded the Henry Ford Prize, among them António Horta Osório and Joaquim Goes, also alumni of CATÓLICA-LISBON.
For Catarina, "I had an amazing year at INSEAD. Even after having studied in top schools, such as CATÓLICA-LISBON and ESCP, the intensity of this year and the diversity of experiences that I lived, as well as the new people I met and the new cultures I saw gave me a better perspective of the world and widened my horizons. Receiving the Henry Ford Prize is a great honour, not only for the school’s legacy, but also for its present and future ambitions. On the one hand, the prize’s rich history of recipients includes very relevant international business figures among which are 4 fellow Portuguese INSEADers. This history is becoming an even brighter present and future after the INSEAD MBA was considered the best in the world for 2 consecutive years. On the other hand, the extraordinary quality of my MBA colleagues amongst whom I stood out gives me the feeling of a true Primus Inter Pares praise and adds even more to its value. In addition to my hard work throughout the year, it is clear to me that both my earlier education at CATÓLICA-LISBON and the demanding nature of my professional career so far have contributed a lot to this success, being thus the first Portuguese woman to receive this distinction."
Catarina Pais is now launching a very promising international career, joining Goldman Sachs (London) in June.
Many Congratulations Catarina! It's a pride for us to see your achievements!