Our Experts

Francisco Almeida Leite (FAL) is a senior level corporate executive, currently serving as Member of the Board of Directors in Elevo Group and as Executive Director in Normetal Group. He is also the President of the Banking Union, Insurance and Financial Institutions of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (UBSIF- CPLP). UBSIF-CPLP is a non-profit private law association designed to develop institutional and commercial ties between CPLP financial institutions, as a way of enhancing economic development of the member countries, which include Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and Sao Tome and Principe. He previously served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, overseeing the Portuguese government’s diplomatic relations with many African sovereigns. Whilst working in the official sector, Francisco was also an Executive Board Member of SOFID, a Portuguese Development Financial Institution operating with a public-private partnership model that aims to contribute to the sustainable development of countries with less developed economies, with a core focus on Africa.
 

Pedro Esteves is Partner at Africa Monitor (intelligence production and consultancy company on Africa) since 2016 (www.africamonitor.net). He also been involved in competitive intelligence training as well as international business development, mostly on Africa and the Arab World. He worked for several years in the Portuguese intelligence service, as Defense Directorate bilateral relations director and Minister of the Interior political assistant. He published several academic articles, opinions in the press and books on intelligence and international politics. He graduated in International Relations, with a master in Political Science and post-graduation course on International Security at St. Andrews University.
 

Xavier de Figueiredo is the founder of the Africa Monitor information service, with several decades of experience in the field of intelligence. Former delegate (Maputo and Bissau) of the Portuguese news agency ANOP, he was also the first editor of Desk Africa. He was a consultant for several business projects in African countries, as well as a researcher and author of several books about his native Angola.