Mirco Martins
Mirco Martins (born 15 March 1977) is an international businessman and entrepreneur. Born in Luanda, he has established several businesses in Angola, the United Kingdom and Portugal, with commercial projects on infrastructure, agro-processing/industry, energy and health sectors.
Having lived and studied abroad in the United Kingdom, Portugal and the USA, Martins has other business interests that span the EMEA region with a particular focus on projects in Angola, the United Kingdom and Portugal.
Early life[edit]
Martins was born in Luanda, Angola. He is the eldest son of Marinella Vicente with three brothers and two sisters and is the stepson of Angola's Vice-President, Manuel Vicente.
Martins spent his early years in Luanda where he attended a public school. He travelled abroad to attend university in the United Kingdom and graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor's degree in Electronic and Electronic Engineering at Salford University, Manchester.
He continued his education by obtaining a Master's degree in Business in Global Management from the Thunderbird Graduate School (USA) in August 2003. He has also attended courses at the London Business School, Harvard Business School, IMD and INSEAD.[1]
Career[edit]
Whilst at university, Martins became interested in the application of engineering in business. He applied for and was granted an internship with British petroleum (BP), whilst still a student.[2]
Following his graduation, he joined BP. He initially worked as a development engineer and later worked offshore for two and half years as a production engineer for the Schiehallion oilfield (North Sea), where he volunteered to spend his rest and recuperation (R&R) weeks onshore in the BP office in order to gain business experience.[3]
Having spent three years at BP, Martins then co-founded private equity firm Vernon Group in 2002, together with his friend from university, Fernando Santos.[4] Vernon Group worked to attract international investment to Angola from the oil, infrastructure/construction, hotels and tourism and agriculture industries.[5]
In 2004, Martins founded a real estate management company based in Portugal, Great Cente SA.[6]
In 2005, Martinsco-founded AOC Telecommunications in Angola and later in Dubai. AOC was the official distributor of mobile phones for Nokia, Samsung, LG and Sony-Ericsson between 2002 and 2009.
Opinions[edit]
Martins has been the subject to some public criticism in respect to his family connections to the Angolan Government. He has publicly denied all such allegations and has reaffirmed that he has no political aspirations and no commercial interest in Edimo, BIG or World Capital.[7]
Martins has recently been described in the media as an example of a new generation of African entrepreneurs who are "committed to making a positive contribution to the development and growth of Angola".[8]
Philantropy[edit]
Martins is a founding member, together with his wife and brothers, of the private and non-profitable foundation "Fundaçao Kuculá" to support and promote education, culture and health care among young children and teenagers in Angola. [9]
Personal life[edit]
Martins is married to Emma Martins with whom he has two children. [10]
References[edit]
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