Geoffrey Graham, Senior Partner at EDGE International Lawyers in conversation with Chitra Stern, CEO, Elegant Group, Portugal.
Hear their experiences of living in Portugal for several years as foreigners, doing business in Portugal and how Portugal has fared in the pandemic.
What does the future in our #postcovidworld hold for foreign investment in Portugal?
They bring with them a unique combined experience in Portugal regarding a variety of topics relevant to how Portugal will be faring in the next years – the NHR program, Golden Visa, real estate, tourism, FDI and international schools in Portugal.
This talk is for those who are considering a move to Portugal, investing in Portugal or thinking of any other residence migration program.
Geoffrey Graham
Geoffrey is a solicitor (LLB with Honours) and is registered with the Portuguese Ordem dos Advogados, the Law Society of England and Wales and the Law Society of Ireland. After studying law at Birmingham and York, he started his legal career by practising in Belfast, followed by London and then Lisbon where he assisted in the acquisition of two international law practices and where he has now lived and worked for 21 years. Geoffrey has a strong connection to the international communities and institutions in Portugal, including the British and Irish Embassies, having been appointed as Honorary Legal Advisor to the British Ambassador since 2012 and being a legal advisor recommended by the Irish Embassy. He is also a founder of the Ireland Portuguese Business Network and is currently one of its Directors.
Geoffrey is one of the founding partners of EDGE International lawyers, a full service international law firm, and EDGE has been one of the pioneering and leading firms in the Non Habitual Residency and Golden Visa programmes. With their global portfolio of clients and specialties in areas such as real estate, corporate and commercial, company and tax, EDGE has provided legal support to international investors on a wide variety of investments and transactions. In addition, EDGE has connections with some of the long established and historic family businesses in Portugal and provides legal support to boutique Private Clients.
Chitra Stern
Chitra Stern is the recipient of the prestigious Deloitte Institute “Accomplished Entrepreneur Award” at the London Business School, “Person of the Year” Award by the international Family Travel Association and the “Family Traveler Award” for special contribution to the Family Travel Market. She is an Electronic Engineer, Chartered Accountant and MBA (London Business School). Between 2017 and 2019, Chitra was on the Committee of Portugal IN, a special task force created by the Portuguese Prime Minister’s office to further enhance Foreign Direct Investment into Portugal (www.portugalin.gov.pt). She is also an invited professor for Luxury Marketing at the Nova School of Business and Economics and is the incoming President of the Entrepreneurs Organization (www.eonetwork.org) in Portugal.
Owner and founding board member of Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts (www.martinhal.com) , Chitra is a passionate entrepreneur and real-estate & hotel developer, working alongside her business-partner and husband, Roman, on their projects in Portugal. They developed the Martinhal Resort in Sagres in the Algarve from scratch and have successfully expanded the “Martinhal” brand across 3 other properties in the best and most prestigious locations in Portugal – with one more branded hotel residence (www.martinhalresidences.com) coming up in Lisbon. They have had 4 children during the process of building up their businesses. They are also working on commercial real-estate projects and an Education Hub project in Lisbon, between the Park of Nations and the airport. The school, United Lisbon International School will open in September 2020 (www.unitedlisbon.school). The school forms part of a wider Edu Hub (www.eduhublisbon.com) – with innovators, tech companies and an academy that all have something to contribute to education. The school will be a K-12 International School with an American-based Curriculum and IB diploma. It will be operated by International School Services from Princeton, NJ.
