Pestana Group names former Secretary of State for Tourism

The former Secretary of State for Tourism in the governments of António Costa, Rita Marques, will join the executive committee of the Pestana group. In a statement, the hotel group reveals that the former government official will take charge of information technology and marketing. The note sent on Wednesday by the Pestana group states that before joining the group, which owns more than 100 hotels, Rita Marques was president of the Lello Book Foundation and a course director at Porto Business School. According to her LinkedIn profile, she left the presidency of the Lello Foundation in February of this year but remains in the Porto Business School. Rita Marques was the Secretary of State for Tourism between October 2019 and December 2022, in the second and third governments of António Costa. After leaving the Government, her move to The Fladgate Partnership, where she managed the Wow cultural quarter, was controversial. As Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques granted the definitive status of tourist utility to the project less than a year before she was chosen to manage it. The former official ended up not taking the position because she understood she did not have the "qualifications" to accept it. Now, four years after leaving the Government, Rita Marques is once again appointed to lead a company in the tourism sector. Before entering the Socialist Government, Rita Marques was the CEO of Portugal Capital Ventures. Along with the appointment of Rita Marques, the Pestana group also announced the choice of Helena Soares de Moura for the executive committee, where she will be responsible for the areas of corporate human resources and communication and institutional relations. Helena Soares de Moura was a member of the board of directors and the executive committee of Banco Montepio between 2018 and May of this year. She was also a non-executive administrator of SIBS and held "management functions" in the insurance group Ageas. "These two appointments represent an important renewal of the executive committee and strengthen the Pestana Hotel Group in strategic areas for its development. The new members of the executive committee bring distinct and complementary backgrounds, which add new skills to our management and the Group's capacity to continue to grow, innovate, and consolidate its presence in the different markets," said the CEO of the Pestana Hotel Group, José Theotónio, in the statement. The Pestana group is the largest hotel group in Portugal and is present in 17 countries. It has a partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo, in the CR7 Lifestyle Hotels brand, and also holds the concession for the Pousadas de Portugal. Last year, as reported by the Jornal de Negócios, the Portuguese Tourism Authority communicated to Pestana the intention to take over 100% of the Pousadas de Portugal.