Carmo Sousa Machado discusses leadership and success in an interview with Executiva

With a long-standing career in law, Carmo Sousa Machado highlights in an interview with Executiva her high standards — including those she sets for herself — as well as her sense of organisation, resilience, ambition, and the importance of teamwork. She states that the combination of these factors enables one to work towards success and to enjoy “a full life outside the office”.

The Abreu Advogados partner also reveals that she has always wanted to be a lawyer: “I have something of an obsession with the concept of justice, and this is one of the professions where we can most actively contribute, in our own way, to correcting injustices.” She emphasises that her move to Abreu Advogados in 1996 marked a significant step, joining an ambitious project with clear goals for growth and modernisation.

A pioneer in Portuguese law, Carmo Sousa Machado was the first woman to hold the positions of managing partner (2004) and chairwoman (2017) at a law firm in Portugal. Her career reflects a determined style of leadership, something she says “happened naturally”. “I never worked to become a leader,” she explains — it arose from her “way of being”.

Read the full interview here.