Professor at ISCTE-Executive Education, coordinator of the Empowerment postgraduate program at the same institution, and one of the most sought-after executive trainers and speakers in Portugal. Having delivered presentations to over 150,000 people in nine different countries, André holds a Master’s degree in Management from ISCTE-IUL, specializing in motivation, strategy, entrepreneurship, and public speaking.
Born in Angra do Heroísmo, he demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit from a young age. At six, he started a door-to-door flower business; at 24, he sold all his belongings, secured sponsorships, and embarked on a solo round-the-world expedition to meet entrepreneurs, an experience he documented in his first book, “Make it Happen” (2015). Author and co-author of several books published in Portugal and Spain, he wrote and presented the television series “Make it Happen” (Canal Q).
In 2016, he was named one of the “seven young people who are changing the world” by the Pangea association (Madrid) and, in 2017, one of the “twelve young leaders of Portugal” by the National Youth Council (Portugal).
He is the founder of several companies. He has raised thousands of euros for social causes and helped hundreds of people realize their dreams and projects. The contacts he has established with over 400 successful managers and entrepreneurs worldwide have allowed him to extract the lessons he shares in his work.
At the tender age of 24, André Leonardo – the Azorean from Terceira Island – set off on a year-long journey around the world that would take him to 23 different countries. His aim was simple: to seek energy as well as a spirit beyond the ‘ crisis ‘ and ‘ debt ‘, to establish contact with positive people, Both in business and in life, learning from people who overcome all sorts of adversities and that more than creating companies or promoting projects, Made it happen by staring at the present and the future with optimism and the ability to dream. It was urgent to collect these cases scattered all over the world by radically different societies, cultures and political-economic contexts – And yet all connected by the same will to make it happen.
André is the host and author of “Faz Acontecer” (Make it happen) TV Series.
“Faz Acontecer” is a Portuguese travel and entrepreneurship show that airs on the portuguese channel CanalQ. In it, André Leonardo visits cities where he meets and reports stories of inspiring local entrepreneurs and at the same time gets to know the local culture, people, habits and cuisine.
André Leonardo travelled alone to the 4 corners of the world taking only a backpack and a camera. He gathered inspiring entrepreneurship stories throughout his 126-thousand-kilometer journey and which he presents us in his book. Here the word entrepreneurship takes on a new meaning and definitely reveals itself as a lifestyle. An attitude towards life regardless of the environment and time we live in.