Building Global Innovators

Catarina Rodrigues is a Graphic Designer and Communication Specialist at BGI - Building Global Innovators. She works on branding, marketing materials, and digital experiences, with focus on developing cohesive brand identities and visual content across print and social media channels.

Clara Pais is the Agrifood Hub Manager at BGI - Sustainable Ventures. She brings over a decade of marketing and business development experience across consumer goods, healthcare, innovation, and cultural sectors, with expertise in branding, strategy, project management, and digital marketing. She holds a degree in management, a master's in marketing, and specialized qualifications in business sustainability management and leadership and change management, and is fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.

Filipe Rollo is a Project Manager at BGI - Sustainable Ventures focused on agrifood innovation, sustainability, and biotechnology. He manages R&D initiatives including projects such as AmpliAqua, PRR – Sustainable Foods Testbeds, Tech4RegenAg, and AquaMicrobiomeDB, while providing financial analysis and support services to early-stage ventures. With over a decade of experience in life sciences and biotechnology, he facilitates collaboration between startups, SMEs, and research institutions to advance sustainable innovation.

João Rabaça is Director of Operations for Innovation & Sustainability at BGI - Building Global Innovators, where he oversees programme design and delivery across water, greentech, agrifood, blue economy and mobility sectors. His background spans sustainability and innovation strategy across Europe, Africa and Latin America, working with scientific innovators, early-stage ventures and industry partners on validation, partnerships and market readiness. He has held roles with EU institutions, EIT KICs, UN agencies, development banks and national innovation actors, focusing on translating strategic objectives into operational programmes and measurable impact.

Madalena d'Orey is a Digital Marketing & Communications Associate at BGI - Sustainable Ventures with five years of experience in internal communications, corporate messaging, and social media management. Her background includes employee engagement, brand narrative development, and digital platform strategy, with recognition through multiple awards for communications initiatives.

Ricardo Nunes is Chief Financial Officer at Building Global Innovators. With over thirty years of experience in accounting and financial management consulting, he has overseen administrative processes, financial reporting, budgeting, and group consolidation across multiple sectors including insurance brokerage, personal services, and direct sales. Nunes established an accounting practice in 1999 that serves companies in commerce and services, and is completing a Master's degree in International Accounting and Finance.

Sami Haraketi is a Content Manager at Building Global Innovators based in Lisbon, Portugal. With background expertise in graphic design, web design, and video editing, Haraketi has experience in strategy conception, development, and execution.

Sofia Boléo is a Certified Accountant and Financial Manager at BGI - Building Global Innovators, with experience in financial performance improvement and continuous improvement initiatives. She is multilingual in Portuguese, English, and Spanish and has participated in innovation competitions. Boléo holds a controller-level background and works across multicultural environments.

Soraia Caetano holds a PhD in Biology and serves as Project Manager at BGI - Building Global Innovators. She specializes in designing and scaling science-driven programs and partnerships across health, sustainability, and systems change, with experience managing EU-funded initiatives and multi-stakeholder collaborations connecting research institutions, startups, corporations, and public organizations.