CATÓLICA-LISBON secures two podium places at the FAE/CGD Case Study Award 2024

Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics has claimed second and third place in the FAE/CGD Case Study Award 2024, an annual initiative by the Fórum de Administradores e Gestores de Empresas (FAE) in partnership with Caixa Geral de Depósitos. This award recognizes the best business management case studies of Portuguese companies or foreign companies operating in Portugal.

At the award ceremony, held on February 19, 2025, at the University of Évora, António Mateus and Mafalda Gouveia, graduates of the International MSc in Management at CATÓLICA-LISBON, were individually awarded a monetary prize of €2,000. The FAE/CGD Case Study Award 2024 also featured a finalist case study by Celina Pfeiffer, a fellow graduate of the International MSc in Management at CATÓLICA-LISBON, represented at the event by Margarida Oja da Silva, a research associate at CATÓLICA-LISBON.

António Mateus secured second place with a case study on Vasicol, an SME in the ceramic industry specializing in utilitarian and decorative products. Supervised by Professor Ricardo Reis, the study focused on the company’s internationalization process. “Writing this case study was an enriching experience, both academically and professionally. I believe this award is a valuable initiative for fostering academic and business talent, enabling educational institutions to access national success stories”, said António Mateus.

Mafalda Gouveia earned third place with a case study on Ervideira, exploring the dynamics of family-owned businesses in the wine sector and the strategies they use to stand out in a competitive market. “Developing this study challenged me in many ways, from identifying the company’s profile to collecting and analyzing relevant information. It was an academically enriching experience with strong real-world applications”, noted Mafalda Gouveia, whose study was also supervised by Professor Ricardo Reis.

“The achievements of our graduates, securing two podium places for the best business case study of the year, reflect the academic excellence of our students and faculty, as well as CATÓLICA-LISBON’s commitment to shaping leaders and highly skilled professionals in management and economics. This contributes to the competitiveness of our companies and the success of our economy. In particular, we are focused on supporting the crucial segment of national family businesses in their internationalization process. Congratulations to our graduates and their supervisors for the outstanding work on their Master's thesis, now recognized with this award”, stated Filipe Santos, Dean of CATÓLICA-LISBON.