Learn Arounds: Inside Women-Built Businesses
As part of your Lisbon experience, you will step inside businesses built and led by local women entrepreneurs.
Each Learn Around is hosted by the founder herself—offering direct access to how she thinks, decides, builds, and leads. These are not tours. They are small-group experiences designed to give you a clear view into the realities of building and scaling a business in a specific context.
You will:
- See how these businesses operate behind the scenes
- Hear firsthand the decisions, challenges, and trade-offs behind their growth
- Ask questions and engage directly with the founder in an intimate setting
From hospitality to agriculture to global wine production, each experience reflects a different approach to leadership, resilience, and long-term thinking.
You will select your Learn Around after registering for the Summit. Spaces are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Casa Ermelinda Freitas with Leonor Freitas
Step into one of Portugal’s most iconic family-owned wineries, where tradition, innovation, and female leadership come together in powerful harmony. Hosted by Leonor Freitas, CEO of Casa Ermelinda Freitas, this Learn Around offers an intimate look into how a multi-generational business has scaled globally while staying deeply rooted in heritage, community, and excellence. From vineyard to vision, you’ll experience the story of resilience, reinvention, and leading with purpose.
During this experience, you will learn:
- How Leonor transformed a historic family winery into an internationally recognized brand
- What it takes to balance legacy, innovation, and long-term growth
- Lessons in leadership, stewardship, and building a values-driven business culture
Quinta do Arneiro with Luísa Almeida
Discover a regenerative farm where sustainability is not a trend, but a way of life. Hosted by founder Luísa Almeida, Quinta do Arneiro invites you into an inspiring model of conscious entrepreneurship, where agriculture, community, and impact intersect. This Learn Around is a chance to explore what it means to build a business in partnership with nature, and how purpose-led leadership can create both economic and environmental resilience.
During this experience, you will learn:
- How regenerative practices can shape the future of business and leadership
- What it means to build a company rooted in ecology, ethics, and long-term impact
- How to create resilient systems that serve both people and planet
Martinhal with Chitra Stern
Join visionary entrepreneur and EO Portugal Member, Chitra Stern, for an inside look at one of Europe’s most celebrated hospitality and lifestyle brands. Martinhal is known for redefining luxury through family-centered design, innovation, and world-class guest experience. This Learn Around will explore how Chitra built a category-defining business that blends entrepreneurship, community, and intentional living, while setting new standards for modern leadership in hospitality.
During this experience, you will learn:
- Leadership lessons in building experience-driven businesses with heart and strategy
- How entrepreneurship can shape communities, culture, and the future of hospitality
- How Martinhal scaled into a globally admired brand through innovation and customer obsession