Emanuel Proença

With a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Instituto Superior Técnico, he began his career at the consultancy firm The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), moving between Lisbon, Paris, London, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro between 2007 and 2014. In 2011, he took an MBA at INSEAD, with stints in Singapore and Fontainebleau, but also at the Wharton Business School.

In 2014, he is hired by one of the largest and most experienced Iberian venture capital firms, ES Ventures (now Armilar Venture Partners), where he worked with European start-ups linked to high technology.

The following year, he was invited to become CEO of the Piedade Group, the third largest cork producer in the world, which at the time had 3 factories, 12 international subsidiaries and over 230 employees. After leading the company’s turnaround, he initiated the process of merging the Piedade Group with the French group Oeneo, the world’s 2nd largest cork producer.

In 2016, he was invited to become a Director of the PRIO Group, where he accumulated responsibilities, including the management of PRIO Supply, PRIO Bio, PRIO Gas and various support areas of PRIO Energy. PRIO was the first Portuguese company to surpass 1.500M€ in revenues in a period of less than fifteen years, having gained strength and national dimension in the last 7 years. It is today the leading green energy company for mobility in Portugal, operating the largest green fuel factory in the country, a fuel processing and production terminal for all brands and innovative ultra-sustainable fuels, one of the largest electric charging networks in the country and more than 250 service stations.

Emanuel is today CEO of PRIO Bio and PRIO Supply and President of the Advanced Bioenergy Association, which promotes the development of the sector in Portugal and Europe. He was the winner of the “Business Leaders of the Future” award in 2018, an initiative of the Expresso newspaper and FAE.

He is a Father of three daughters and a happy husband, and enjoys enjoying his free time with his family, playing sports and travelling.