Just two months after he said he would complete his five-year mandate, João Cotrim de Figueiredo has resigned as president of Portugal’s tourism board. The decision was announced yesterday (February 11) over “personal reasons”.
“My resignation is a conscious decision at a time when the country can be proud of Turismo de Portugal (TP),” he said in a statement.
“At the root of the sector’s undeniable success is not only notable work of companies and public entities, but also the winning strategy of TP executed with professionalism and independence.”
In December, Figueiredo said that although a new government was in power he intended to complete his mandate (which started in December 2013 and would end in 2018).
He even vowed resignation was “not an option”, writes Dinheiro Vivo.
But now the 54-year-old has told Diário Económico that the time has come to “preserve” his professional independence, “as well as the political independence of the sector”.
For now, no names have been tipped as likely successors.
A source from the Ministry of Economy has thanked Cotrim de Figueiredo for his work but refused to comment further.
João Cotrim de Figueiredo was named president of TP on December 8, 2013, less than a month after his predecessor Frederico Costa retired.
He has an economics degree from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the Universidade Nova in Lisbon, and had held several corporate and academic positions since 1979, such as administrator of Faber Ventures, president of the executive commission of Compal and Nutricafés, and general director of TVI.
