GFCC and Universidade Católica Portuguesa Sign Agreement to Advance Executive Education

The GFCC has signed a new collaboration agreement with its member Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) to join the executive training program CEO Future Ready Academy as a global partner, alongside the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP) and COTEC Portugal.

The Academy, delivered through Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics, centers on the "Accelerating Internationalization" program, a Board and C-suite course focused on strategic thinking, international growth, value creation, and route-to-market execution.

Since its first edition, the program has built an ecosystem of 35 companies, including 13 large enterprises, 5 mid-caps, and 17 SMEs, involving 64 participants, 87% of them at Board or C-suite level. The program has been rated "Excellent" on international NPS criteria across three editions.

As part of the partnership, GFCC Executive Director Roberto Alvarez will deliver the "Foresight 2026: GFCC Call to Action" masterclass at the opening of the program's in November, addressing AI, geopolitics, geoeconomics, and global value chains. UCP and GFCC also plan to jointly develop "Valuing Exports," a new program for mid-caps and SMEs launching in 2027, focused on value-added exports and market diversification.

The agreement builds on an established collaboration between GFCC and UCP and reinforces the GFCC's mission to co-create with members, sharing competitiveness strategies that drive productivity, sustainable growth, and prosperity for nations, regions, and communities.

In July 2025, the GFCC's University and Research Leadership Forum (URLF) held its Lisbon Study Trip in partnership with UCP, exploring how UCP is leveraging place-making innovation with local leaders. GFCC leaders visited the Unicorn Factory Lisboa, Grupo Nabeiro's Innovation Hub, Diverge, the Siemens Portugal Tech Hub, the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, and other innovation sites and had the opportunity to exchange with local leaders driving the ecosystem.

"The GFCC is delighted to join UCP in a new initiative on what we believe is amplifying the potential for one of the core competitiveness drivers for any region and nation: the cultivation and empowerment of the people who innovate and, ultimately, compete to drive economic and productivity growth and prosperity. I want to acknowledge the visionary leadership of UCP President Isabel Capeloa Gil and Vice-Rector Miguel Athayde Marques in coordinating the co-creation of this extraordinary program," says GFCC Founder and President Deborah L. Wince-Smith.

The agreement was signed September 17, 2026, by Miguel Athayde Marques, Vice-Rector of UCP; Margarida Ramalho, Executive Director of Católica-Lisbon SBE; and Roberto Alvarez, Executive Director of GFCC.

More information about enrollment will be released shortly.