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CEO of Ambitious dies aged 49

Feb 21, 2025 Portugal

A key figure in the Portuguese footwear industry, Paulo Martins, CEO of Portuguese footwear manufacturer Celita and the Ambitious brand, has died at the age of 49

We spend our lives in a constant race. Sometimes against time, asking it to slow down, sometimes in favour of time, hoping it will become shorter and lighter and allow us to break records. In this great race we call life, of which we know little or nothing, the finish line is not always clear and often seems closer than expected. Paulo Martins arrived at the finish line too soon.

He felt the races on his skin, and perhaps that is why this metaphorical place is the starting point for the words we stubbornly avoid writing because we know their pain. While acknowledging that this pain comes from a place of deep admiration and recognition, these words are, above all, well deserved.

At the end of the day, in the impossibility of judging a person’s life, we’re left with more than memories and achievements; we’re left with the people he touched, the way he did it and the example he (left us) with.

Paulo leaves a lot behind. He leaves a lot to be said and done. He leaves a legacy of unparalleled leadership, having taught us that it is possible to create a work team that becomes a second family and a second home. And that it is possible, with commitment and dedication, to build exciting and disruptive projects to which we are not indifferent.

He leaves an example of openness and care. In the dimension of memory to which we now cling, the friend remains in the true sense of the word: present, available and a deep and inexplicable generous.

On a business level, he was a key figure in the Portuguese footwear industry. As CEO of Indústria de Calçado Celita, a Guimarães-based company with more than 30 years of experience, he has had a remarkable career launching his own brand. Launched in 2008, Ambitious is now a cross-border success story.

At an association level, he has been Vice-President of APICCAPS since 2004 and a member of its governing bodies since 2020. His contribution has been decisive for the progress of the footwear industry in Portugal.

In life, he had a second home on the kart track. As a driver, he was recently crowned National Karting Champion. At the beginning of 2024, he was honoured by the Portuguese Automobile and Karting Federation (FPAK) at the Gala of Champions after becoming the National Karting Champion in the DD2 category.

At a time when words are scarce, the governing bodies, all the members of APICCAPS and the Portuguese footwear industry will be eternally grateful to him. We have all lost a great reference.

Source and Image Credits: portugueseshoes.pt

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