Savoy Signature appoints Roberto Santa Clara as Chief Executive Officer

Savoy Signature has just announced the strengthening of its Board of Directors and the incorporation of Roberto Santa Clara as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

The director, with over 20 years of experience in executive positions, will, from July 17, lead the Executive Committee of the Hotel Group. This decision is based on the need to strengthen the management team due to the growth we have seen over the past few years and the absolute desire to strengthen the operation in Madeira and expand into mainland Portugal.

Until then, Savoy’s premium destinations will be managed by Roberto Santa Clara, Director of Madeira Airports, with responsibility for defining and implementing the group’s strategy, with a particular focus on brand coordination and expansion.

“I am very motivated to accept the challenge of joining Savoy Signature, with an already proven track record in the hotel business, as a result of the vision of the shareholders and the staff team, but also with a strategy for the future based on expansion and quality customer service. Being able to join this team in The stage of growth and the consolidation of its position in the market is very gratifying. Savoy Signature is already a winning project recognized, for its brand value and human resources, but also for its excellence and this is the right time to take the brand even further. So I am very happy”, adds Roberto Santa Clara.

With a background in marketing and advertising, Roberto Santa Clara is known for his extensive experience in managing large organizations and market leaders, more specifically in the airport sector, travel and tourism, and in mass consumption.

He started his career in 1996 as Director of Marketing at Empresa de Cervejas da Madeira, where he also managed teams in the Azores and Cape Verde Islands and executed several marketing and image campaigns for products with a bad reputation in the market. In 2004 he joined the airport activity with an upward trajectory, first as a member of the Steering Committee of ANAM, then as Deputy Director of Madeira Airports – ANA Aeroportos de Portugal and then as Deputy Director of Lisbon Airport, where he was until June 2015 of that year, Roberto Santa Clara accepted the challenge to join to the Madeira Promotion Association as Executive Director, the entity in which, until mid-2019, he led the promotion of Madeira Destination. Within the scope of these functions, he created a business team that allowed the much desired concentration of tourism promotion in Madeira into a single entity. Emphasis on the work carried out in terms of repositioning the destination image, with the aim of retaining existing markets, but also reaching younger and more active target audiences. In October 2019, he returned to the ANA Group and in February 2020 he assumed the position of Director of Madeira Airports, with a path guided by proactive management at the national level and effective in the context of the pandemic. Under his leadership, the first base of a low-cost airline, Ryanair, was installed in Madeira, the first direct Madeira-USA (JFK) flight was completed, and there was strong growth of Wizz Air and EasyJet operations at Madeira airports.

With a strong competence in business development, relations and international cooperation as well as strategic planning, Roberto Santa Clara’s profile is distinguished by his managerial skills and vision, but above all by his proven leadership skills and team management skills.

In addition to Roberto Santa Clara, the Savoy Signature Executive Committee includes Bruno Freitas as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Ricardo Farinha as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Executive Vice President, Ricardo Nascimento as Chief Operating Officer (COO), Noelia Reis and Nuno Antunes as Executive Directors of the Board Administration.