Paula Hortinha currently serves as the Executive Director of CORE, the Center for Consumer Well-being and Retail Innovation at Católica Lisbon. She is also the founder of retailwis, a consultancy and training firm specialized in retail. At Católica Lisbon, Paula teaches undergraduate and master's programs, supervises Master's theses, and mentors in The Lisbon MBA program.
With over a decade of CEO experience across the retail, FMCG, and healthcare sectors, Paula has held various C-suite and managerial roles. She has overseen Store Operations, Marketing, Merchandise Buying, Private Labels, and Sales at prominent companies such as Jerónimo Martins (Pingo Doce, Recheio, JMD), Reckitt Benckiser, and Intermarché. Her international experience includes managing Iberian sales and serving countries like Colombia and Poland as Global IT Strategy Director at Jerónimo Martins. In the healthcare sector, Paula served as the CEO and board member of the startup miMed.
In recognition of her career achievements, Paula received the "Master Carreira" award from the Instituto de Negociação e Vendas.
Paula holds a PhD in Marketing from ISCTE Lisbon, an MBA and MSc from Católica Lisbon, and a degree in Chemical Engineering from IST Tecnico. Her research has been published in international journals. Before joining Católica Lisbon, Paula taught at Nova SBE and IPAM .
Paula Hortinha is a consultant specialising in retail and services and a professor at Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, where she teaches undergraduate, master’s and executive education programmes in retail and distribution channel management.
She has more than 25 years of experience across the retail, distribution, FMCG and healthcare sectors, including over a decade in CEO and General Management roles. She held senior management positions at Jerónimo Martins, Reckitt Benckiser and Intermarché Portugal, leading areas such as Store Operations, Marketing, Procurement, Private Labels and Sales. She was General Manager of Lojas Amanhecer, Managing Director of Jerónimo Martins Distribuição and CEO of miMed, a network of clinics now integrated into CUF. She also has international experience in commercial roles and in business and technology transformation projects. She received the Master Carreira Award from the Instituto de Negociação e Vendas.
Paula holds a PhD in Marketing from ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, an MSc in Management and an MBA from Universidade Católica Portuguesa, and a degree in Chemical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico. She also completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD and the Digital Transformation Program at IMD. Her research on innovation has been published in international academic journals.