José Miguel Coutinho is currently the Managing Director of the Polmlek Group, the largest private dairy company in Poland, with 100% Polish capital (13 dairy production plants in Poland, 1 dairy production plant in Morocco and 1 fruit juice production plant in Poland), – being responsible for the group’s commercial and marketing operation in Poland and in all the international markets to which the company exports.

Academically, he has a higher education diploma from the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business. She also attended an executive program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics at the Portuguese Catholic University.

He began his professional career in Portugal in the Operations department of the Schwarz Group – LIDL Portugal in 1996, the largest European retailer and one of the five largest retailers in the world. He was Head of Sales in the North and Center regional areas, contributing to the rapid development and opening of new stores, management and leadership of the discount chain’s teams in Portugal.

Between 2000 and 2016, she worked at Jerónimo Martins Poland, in the Operations Department from 2000 to 2004 as District Manager – Szczecin, Wrocław and Poznań, and in the Purchasing Department from 2005 to 2016 as Senior Buyer, Category Director and Buying Director – Warsaw. He contributed to the success of the Biedronka chain of stores at an operational level, with the expansion, opening and management of stores, and at a commercial level in the negotiation and management of branded products, creation, negotiation and development of Biedronka’s own brand in various categories, such as:Dairy Products, UHT Milk and Fresh Milk, Eggs, Cereals, Frozen Food and Ice Cream, Fruit and Vegetables, Canned Food, Sauces and Spices, Fruit Juices and Waters, Beers and Alcoholic Beverages, Soft Drinks and Energy Drinks. It is currently Poland’s largest retailer and the country’s second largest company by sales volume, with more than 3,500 stores and 80,000 employees, making it the country’s largest private employer.

José Miguel Coutinho has been a member of the Portuguese Diaspora Council since April 2024.