EO Portugal Lighthouse event attendees knew they were going into an unforgettable weekend in September, when they accepted the challenge to do Stand-Up Paddle, Big Wave Surfing and Ocean Sailing, cruising from the lovely Cascais Bay to the challenging Guincho beach, all packed into a delightfully hectic couple of days.

Moving swiftly forward across choppy waters while standing on a thin strip of fiberglass felt weirdly close to the way they had to manage across business squalls and high investment hurdles; learning from world-class champions how to ride a foaming beast does bring facing potential investors across a boardroom table into perspective; and trying to operate as an efficient crew (albeit made up of mostly landlubbers) in order to beat your competition across the finish line, well, let’s say it rang more than that finishing bell…

Of course there were wonderful breathing pauses, like an al fresco traditional Portuguese lunch overlooking the stunning Bay of Cascais and even the opportunity to drink in a good portion of cultural nourishment during the exclusive visit to Paula Rego Museum.

But while most members were looking forward to have a drink with the president of EO Portugal and the rest of the Board, they never expected to be rubbing elbows and taking selfies with THE President. And yet, that’s exactly what happened, when Prof. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal, joined the group to say hello and give a perfect pitch about Portugal’s finest trades. What the EO members and guests learnt on top of everything else, over the weekend, was that the President, while not quite qualifying to be a member, turned out to be a true entrepreneur at heart.