Who is Pedro Reis, the man “who has an easy relationship” with companies who want to make the economy grow

He studied at Harvard, was the president of the agency responsible for supporting the internationalization of the Portuguese economy and now wants to revolutionize the Portuguese economy

A source close to Pedro Reis describes the 56-year-old manager as a person with an “easy relationship” with the business world. He was president of AICEP, the agency responsible for supporting the internationalization of the Portuguese economy, during the troika years and is one of the four coordinators responsible for the economic plan that the Democratic Alliance took to elections. He is now the man chosen by Luís Montenegro to ensure the “ambitious” electoral promise of making the Portuguese economy grow 3.5% per year.

With a degree in Management and Business Administration from Universidade Católica Portuguesa, he continued his academic career in the United States of America, at Harvard Business School, with a course in Strategic Finance. For more than 20 years, he was a manager and consultant for several companies from different sectors and industries, notably banking, with a stint at the largest Portuguese private bank, Banco Millennium BCP.

From December 2011 to April 2014 he was president of AICEP, the agency responsible for supporting the internationalization of the Portuguese economy. Those who know him describe him as a “friendly and pleasant person”, capable of creating dialogues with Portuguese companies. In 2014, he became a senior advisor to the BCP Executive Committee and, in 2015, executive director of BCP Capital. Two years later, in 2017, he took over as Strategic Marketing Director.

In August 2021, Pedro Reis ran for president of the Order of Economists, arguing that it was necessary to provide “the breath of a new dynamic that is much needed in view of the demanding times that are approaching for the exercise of the profession”.

A year later, he was invited by Luís Montenegro to coordinate the Believe Movement, a “platform for political discussion” between social democrats and civil society, with a view to preparing the Government program.

It was from this platform that some of the main electoral promises of Luís Montenegro’s candidacy would emerge. Pedro Reis argues that it is necessary to reduce taxes in Portugal and attack bureaucracy to get the Portuguese economy growing. “The fiscal shock is a Gordian knot of release of growth potential and social justice”, he argued in an interview with Público and Rádio Renascença.

His plan is ambitious, but Pedro Reis guarantees that it is “realistic”. The economist argues that some structural changes in the economy are necessary to achieve growth of 3.5% by 2028. “It is a realistic and demanding scenario, since alignment is needed to make it happen. If nothing structural is changed in the Portuguese economy, this scenario may seem somewhat optimistic. But it is realistic, attainable and desirable”, he insists.

One of the main proposed changes involves lowering the IRS for young people up to 35 years of age. Montenegro’s objective is to place the Portuguese economy “on a growth path above the European Union average”, creating a “lasting cycle”.

With no taboos regarding the return of PPPs in Health, Education and Housing, Montenegro’s chosen one guarantees that he does not want the State to leave “people in the lurch”, but emphasizes that it is necessary to “liberate absolutely overwhelming taxation that is installed in a model of society”.