Ilídio Pinho: “Católica can play an exceptional role in responding to the cultural and structural challenges Portugal faces.”

 

What are your memories of childhood?

I was born before the Second World War, in 1938, in a place known as the land of milkmen and mountain people. In Vale de Cambra, there were no paved streets or roads; everything was dirt tracks. Cars were carts and most people walked barefoot, in very harsh conditions. Electricity was scarce and of very poor quality and healthcare practically did not exist. When I compare that time with today, I often think we are ungrateful when we complain. People suffered much more and under truly inhuman conditions. That reality taught me to fight wastefulness, and I never stopped carrying that lesson into my professional life. I value the little as much as the lot.

 

“(...) whoever lacks a spirit of sacrifice and the ability to endure hardship will hardly succeed as an entrepreneur.”

 

Did that childhood shape the way you look at work and companies?

Completely. When I came home from school, I would go straight down to the workshops and say to my father: “I’m here.” From then on, my time would be spent there. We worked six days a week and on Sundays we still drew, calculated and prepared quotations. That was the reality in which I grew up. And perhaps that is why I also say that whoever lacks a spirit of sacrifice and the ability to endure hardship will hardly succeed as an entrepreneur.

 

How do you look at the evolution of Vale de Cambra and Portuguese industry?

Vale de Cambra did not have the conditions to become an industrial municipality. Access roads were poor, electricity was terrible, there was no healthcare support, no technical schools and no nearby justice system. And yet, today it has become one of the country’s largest technological platforms, with companies capable, as a cluster, of supplying complete factories to any part of the world. That demonstrates the extraordinary capacity of Portuguese metalworking industries. Today, companies from that region export to dozens of countries and maintain global commercial relations. When I look back, I deeply feel the suffering involved in the path that was taken.

 

Despite that evolution, Portugal is still often referred to as one of the least developed countries in Europe…

I love my country with patriotic passion and that gives me great sorrow. We are, in fact, one of the least developed countries in Europe in technological and scientific terms. And that happens because technological culture has never truly been valued as it should have been. For 17 years, Fundação Ilídio Pinho promoted the programme “Ciência na Escola” (Science in Schools), in which around half a million students and teachers participated. Thousands of innovative projects emerged. The idea was to bring schools closer to universities and companies, creating a scientific culture from an early age. Unfortunately, the Minister of Education at the time decided to end this project, causing enormous damage to technological culture in schools.

 

Why do you consider it so important to establish that connection to science early on?

Scientific initiation should begin in pre-primary education. Just as a tree depends on the quality of its roots, a society also depends on the foundational education it gives its young people. The programme “Ciência na Escola” allowed students to work in groups, debate ideas, improve projects and discover vocations. And that is decisive and strategic for the country. Many young people arrive at university without truly knowing what their talent or vocation is. On the other hand, when students bring science and technology home and begin talking about it with parents, siblings and family members, they are also culturally transforming society. And it was precisely the end of that scientific culture, created by Fundação Ilídio Pinho in partnership with the Ministry of Education, “Science in Schools”, whose absence has been an enormous loss for Portugal.

 

From whom did you inherit your entrepreneurial spirit?

My mother came from a family connected to the dairy industry. Vale de Cambra was, in fact, considered the birthplace of that industry. On my mother’s side there was a strong commercial vocation. My father had an extraordinary talent for work. He was a born worker. He began by working in a factory, became a foreman and, after marrying my mother, started his own business. I grew up in that environment. From childhood, I sorted scrap and learned how to reuse materials. I learned how to draw, calculate and work with my hands. Throughout my youth, I lived very closely connected to production and technology. At the same time, I became dissatisfied in the best sense of the word. I always felt I wanted more. Half of my time as a student was spent imagining what I wanted to do and how I could build something different. My whole life became linked to production, technological development and industrial organisation. It was that path that prepared me, in 1964, to found COLEP.

 

How did you manage to transform COLEP into an international reference?

COLEP’s success was based on one fundamental idea: controlling the entire value chain. COLEP began by manufacturing simple biscuit tins. Over time, it integrated the entire production chain. That integration made the company extremely robust. If one area faces difficulties, the others compensate. It was this strategy that allowed COLEP to become one of the largest European companies in the sector, with factories in several countries. I also learned that success depends on the ability to seize life’s opportunities. Opportunities arise for everyone, but only those who are prepared take advantage of them. And that preparation, combined with vision, work and the determined courage to decide, was decisive.

 

“Speed is now a decisive factor in competitiveness.”

 

How do we prepare ourselves to seize life’s opportunities?

With work, talent, vision and, above all, knowledge. An entrepreneur is a creator. I often compare entrepreneurs to artists. They are people who are never satisfied, who are always imagining how to do more and better. But preparation comes, above all, through knowledge. An entrepreneur cannot limit themselves to understanding only the reality of their own country. They must know the world, understand how other societies live, how other companies operate and what solutions already exist in other markets. Otherwise, they may think they are innovating when, elsewhere, that idea is already obsolete. That is what I sought to do throughout my life: travel, visit factories, observe different cultures and learn continuously. I never retired from that desire to learn.

 

In what way is technology transforming the way companies do business?

Technological science has brought a new strategic factor: speed. In the past, waiting was acceptable. Today, waiting is a form of suffering. We live in a time in which it is necessary to respond immediately. That speed has become a fundamental requirement of the contemporary economy and forces companies and institutions to rethink their processes and decision-making capacity. That is one of the great issues of our time. Speed is now a decisive factor in competitiveness. Those who take too long to respond lose opportunities. Portugal and Europe must understand that time has acquired strategic value.

 

Throughout your professional career, innovation has been a constant. How do you define innovation?

Einstein used to say that everything that is possible is not innovation. Innovation is only what today seems impossible. That is what excites me most: humanity’s ability to turn into reality what, at first glance, appears unthinkable.

 

“Universidade Católica is an institution with unique characteristics (...)”

 

You are a distinguished patron of Universidade Católica Portuguesa. You were awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa, received the University’s Gold Medal and, more recently, became a founding partner of the Centre for Impact in Global Management (CIGMA). What does this close connection to the University represent to you?

The feeling that the Católica “is home” for me has very deep roots and results from a relationship built over more than forty years. I was a member of the Administrative Committee of Universidade Católica - in Porto - for twelve years, I followed very important moments in its history and I have always maintained a very close relationship with the institution. When I enter Católica, I do not feel that I am entering just any institution. I enter a place that is part of my life.

 

In your view, what does Universidade Católica represent in the Portuguese context?

Universidade Católica is an institution with unique characteristics, due to its international relations, its symbolism and the Christian humanist principles on which it is founded. I believe that the Católica can play an exceptional role in responding to the cultural and structural challenges Portugal faces. It is a university with the capacity to think strategically about the country and to contribute decisively to its development.

 

Do you believe Portugal can assume a more relevant role in the world?

Without a doubt. For many years, Portugal was seen as a peripheral country in Europe. Today, that view no longer makes sense. The geopolitical changes currently underway and the need for greater European autonomy have transformed Portugal into a highly strategic country. Due to its location, the size of its maritime space and, above all, the excellent historical relations it maintains with all continents, Portugal can become a platform connecting Europe to the world.

 

“I dream of a great Portugal.”

 

Is the country aware of its potential?

Unfortunately, not yet. Portugal has unique conditions to assume a much more relevant role in the international context, but it has not yet defined a sufficiently ambitious strategy to fulfil that potential. We are not just this small continental territory. We are a country with enormous maritime projection and with a historical and cultural presence recognised throughout the world. That represents an extraordinary strategic advantage.

 

What is your dream for Portugal?

I dream of a great Portugal. A country aware of its value, its talent and its strategic position. A country that invests in knowledge, technology and people’s education. A country that creates confidence and stability, because without political confidence and stability there is no investment. I would truly like to see Portugal fully capable of taking advantage of its competitive strengths and asserting itself as a centre of knowledge, innovation and connection between Europe and the rest of the world.