Casa Mendes Gonçalves establishes foundation to manage family business

Carlos Mendes Gonçalves, the CEO of Casa Mendes Gonçalves, is transitioning the management of his family company to a foundation to ensure its long-term legacy in Golegã, Portugal.

The company began in 1982 when Carlos and his father started a small business transforming local figs into vinegar. Over the last 44 years, the business grew from a small family operation into a group that exports Portuguese products globally.

Carlos took over the leadership at age 15, driven by a desire to work and a goal to create a unique product that distinguished the company from competitors. The company expanded by acquiring and transforming brands like Paladin and Dieze. While the business currently employs 15 people in an innovation department, Carlos is moving the company toward a professional management model. He donated his available shares so that the foundation now owns more than 40% of the company.

This foundation will eventually elect a board of directors to oversee the business, moving away from traditional family inheritance to ensure professional stability. The foundation focuses on three main objectives: nutrition, education, and regeneration. While Casa Mendes Gonçalves continues to operate as a profit-seeking economic entity to generate jobs and movement in the region, the foundation uses those results to fund social projects. These projects already include activities in local schools in nearby towns such as Chamusca, Alcanena, and Barquinha.