Luís Portela

Born in Porto in 1951, he graduated in Medicine from the University of Porto, having also trained in Management. He practiced medicine at the S. João Hospital only for three years and lectured Psychophysiology for six years at the University of Porto.

He abandoned his medical and university career to focus on company management. His business career began when he was 21 years old, and at 27, he became executive Chairman of Bial Laboratories, a job he held until January 2011, when he became non-executive Chairman. He is also President of the Health Cluster Portugal, President of the General Council of the University of Porto and Director of COTEC.

Under his leadership over a period of about thirty years, Bial has become the first international innovative pharmaceutical company of Portuguese origin, operating currently in more than 40 countries. Within the Bial group, he has created and developed two Research Centres, one in Trofa and the other in Bilbao, where 117 people currently work, among which 28 have doctorates. The first drug resulting from Portuguese R&D was created in the Trofa Centre and launched on the global market in 2009.

In 1994, in conjunction with Bial Laboratories and the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities, he set up the Bial Foundation, whose objective is to encourage research focused on Man, both physical and spiritual. The foundation has since then financed more than 1.000 research grants from 27 different countries in Neuroscience. It also awards one of the most important European Health prizes - the Bial Award.

His pleasure for reading and reflection has led him to write, and he does this permanently in a number of newspapers. He has published seven books in Portuguese: - Para Além da Evolução Tecnológica, À Janela da Vida, Esvoaçando, Serenamente, Encarar a Realidade, Os Poemas da Minha Vida and O Prazer de Ser – and one in English – Spirit of Life.

At 40 years of age, he was decorated by the President of the Portuguese Republic with a "Comenda da Ordem do Mérito" and at 50 with the "Grã-Cruz da Ordem do Mérito". He was distinguished with the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cádiz, Spain, and by the University of Porto, Portugal. In 1998, he was distinguished with the Neurosciences Prize of Louisiana State University, in the USA.  In 2008, he was distinguished as "Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Rotary International. In the year of 2009, he was elected "Correspondent Academic" by the Portuguese Academy of Medicine and "Personality of the Year" by the newspaper Jornal de Negócios.
 

(Last updated: 17 March 2011)