Olga Martins, CEO and Commercial Director of Lavradores de Feitoria, was awarded the rank of Officer of the Order of Business Merit, Agricultural Merit Class by the President of the Republic, Cavaco Silva. The ceremony took place yesterday in the city of Porto, at the Institute of Douro and Port Wines (IVDP), having been decorated six more personalities linked to winemaking and the remaining six personalities linked to the Republic of winemaking.
Honoured and happy are two adjectives that Olga Martins used to describe how she felt about receiving such an award. She stressed that this is not just her award, but also that of all the associates and team that run Lavradores de Feitoria on a daily basis. Dirk Niepoort, who in addition to his own project (Niepoort Vinhos) is a director and shareholder of Lavradores de Feitoria, was also one of those honored by the Head of State, this time with the rank of Commander. It is worth remembering that he was Olga Martins’ great mentor at the company. “It was under Dirk’s guidance that I began to develop the commercial department of Lavradores de Feitoria. He has always encouraged me and has been a great support and, above all, a friend. I feel grateful for this and honored to experience this moment by his side,” stresses Olga Martins.
Olga Martins' award comes one year after she was elected 'Executive of the Year 2013', an award given as part of the 'Máxima Mulher de Negócios 2013 Award', an initiative promoted by Máxima magazine and Jornal de Negócios with the aim of rewarding female leadership and management in Portugal. In the past, Olga Martins saw her professional career distinguished again in 2014, when she received a 'Vote of Praise', awarded by the Vila Real City Council, the town where she grew up and lives.
Looking back on her career, Olga Martins enrolled at university to study chemical engineering, but soon realised that this was not the right path for her, having discovered her passion for oenology. She changed course and did an internship at Quinta do Noval, in Sabrosa. After completing her degree, she went to Bordeaux as an intern in 2000, where she worked at Chateaux Cantenan Brown and Pichon Longueville, part of the AXA group. Back in Portugal, she worked at Clubvintage.com as head of wine selection until, in 2001, she was invited – by Dirk Niepoort – to join Lavradores de Feitoria. The proposal was to start a sales department, a challenge that, although it seemed “strange” to her at first, she accepted, because of the possibility of being close to production. The decision proved to be the right one: in 2003, she joined the Board of Directors of Lavradores de Feitoria and, in 2006, she made the leap to CEO of the company, a role she continues to combine with her role as Commercial Director.
Ceremony (video, photos and speech by the President of the Republic): http://www.presidencia.pt/?idc=10&idi=90224
