Critical Careers - Women Building Careers in Digital Infrastructure - Book - Page 78
Critical Careers
SENIOR LEADER
What have been the de昀椀ning decisions or
moments that have shaped your career?
I started out on a very traditional path, joining a law 昀椀rm straight out of law
school. It was a new, international 昀椀rm entering the Portuguese market,
very focused on training and development. I rotated across multiple areas
before specialising in M&A and 昀椀nance, which gave me a really strong
foundation and a broad understanding of how businesses operate.
The 昀椀rst big turning point came when I decided to leave private practice
and move in-house. I realised I was more interested in being closer to the
business, not just advising on transactions, but actually being part of the
decision-making. That led me into real estate, where I spent several years
working on the redevelopment of buildings in Lisbon. It was a very handson role, not just legal, but also 昀椀nancing, stakeholder management, and
working closely with investors. That’s where I really started to broaden
beyond a pure legal role.
Daniela
Silva e Sousa
GENERAL COUNSEL | START CAMPUS
76
From there, I was invited to join a bank as Head of Legal, which
represented a step up in both scale and responsibility. The bank was later
acquired by Santander, the largest bank in Spain. That transition created
new opportunities but also brought the challenges of operating within a
much larger organisation. It ultimately pushed me to grow, and a few years
later I was leading the entire legal function — a milestone that was both
professionally and personally signi昀椀cant. The most recent, and probably
boldest decision, was leaving that role to join Start Campus. Leaving a very
established position was quite risky, but I felt that if I didn’t make that kind
of move at that stage in my career, I probably never would.
What drew me was the scale and ambition of the project, as well as the
opportunity to be part of something being built from the ground up. Start
Campus is a project with the potential to help position Portugal at the
centre of Europe’s digital future, through the development of large-scale,
next-generation digital infrastructure.
