Miguel Pereira de Melo

Miguel Pereira de Melo

Client facing leader across Iberia. Business development, onboarding, customer success and complex delivery. Luxembourg based.

Based in Luxembourg Fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English Working on my French Web3 since 2016
✉️ miguel@pereirademelo.org 🔗 LinkedIN 📱 (+352) 661 117 892

Who I Am

I am a client facing leader with 20 years of experience across Portugal and Spain, built on business development, onboarding and delivery, always at the intersection of people, expectations and execution. I thrive when I am the bridge: listening deeply, translating complexity into clear action, aligning stakeholders and following through until outcomes are real.

At the same time, I am deeply aspirational by nature. I feel we are living through a generational transformation in how our species coordinates, creates and exchanges value. I stay close to that shift, not as a spectator but as a participant. Since 2016 I have lived Web3 personally through blockchain, DeFi and the communities around them. I believe tomorrow’s world will be powered by AI, running on blockchain with a Web3 interface, yet what will always matter most is the human layer: presence, culture, trust, connection and community.

That dual posture gives me agility. I can operate comfortably in structured environments like banking and insurance, as well as in fast moving tech and crypto teams, because I bring the same fundamentals everywhere: clear communication, sound judgement, meaningful follow up and a real sense of responsibility. I am committed to working on the human layer of this new era, helping clients and teams adopt change with confidence and clarity. I am looking for an opportunity where I can invest my loyalty, time and energy fully, because for me it only makes sense if I can give everything I have.

Professional Experience

Expansion Manager, YUM! Brands KFC Lisbon, Portugal | 2020 to 2024

  • Sole corporate representative for Portugal and islands, leading national development from pipeline to opening across long permitting cycles
  • Delivered 50 plus openings and shifted the portfolio from mall heavy to drive thru led growth, including a strategic relocation from mall to drive thru
  • Built strong franchisee governance and sped up location approval decisions, helping Portugal meet and exceed targets during COVID and stand out across EMEA
  • Developed a competitor intelligence model using McDonald’s and Burger King footprint and sales estimates to prioritise territories and reduce site selection risk
  • Managed end to end coordination across site selection, feasibility, permitting, contractors, equipment and opening readiness

Expansion Manager, Papa John’s Portugal Lisbon, Portugal | 2019 to 2020

  • Opened the first four company owned units, setting standards and routines for future scale
  • Built the Lisbon metro expansion plan, mapping priority zones and delivery coverage based on profitability and access
  • Owned the full lifecycle from site selection and lease negotiation through permitting, opening and facilities follow up, managing capex and brand standards end to end

Expansion Manager, Restalia Group Lisbon, Portugal | 2017 to 2019

  • Led commercial development and real estate strategy for 100 Montaditos and The Good Burger in Portugal
  • Scaled the footprint from 7 to 24 units through investor acquisition, site sourcing and coordinated openings
  • Managed the investor lifecycle from pitch decks and business case presentation through franchise negotiation and project delivery
  • Sourced and secured retail locations, negotiated lease terms and coordinated stakeholders through permitting and opening

Account Manager Team Leader, BNP Paribas Securities Services Lisbon, Portugal | 2014 to 2017

  • Led a dedicated client coverage team servicing Banco Popular within an institutional custody and operations outsourcing model
  • Acted as primary client contact and ran monthly governance, reviewing SLAs, incidents and service performance
  • Oversaw settlement and reconciliations, driving timely resolution of breaks and ensuring operational accuracy
  • Coordinated across internal specialist teams including cash settlements, corporate actions, tax and fixed income, consolidating updates and pushing issues to closure
  • Improved procedures, documentation and team training to strengthen controls, consistency and handovers

Regional Sales Manager, EBSCO Information Services Madrid, Spain | 2013 to 2014

  • Owned the Spain and Portugal territory across biomedical and corporate accounts, managing pipeline, executive relationships and renewals
  • Conducted high volume client meetings, negotiating renewals and price increases and delivering presentations and trainings
  • Partnered with inside sales to execute offers and territory plans and aligned quarterly with EMEA leadership on forecasting and strategy
Built with focus on the human layer of technology.