Paula Panarra is the General Manager at Avanade UK & Ireland. Previously, she served as the Global Business Applications Sales Lead for Retail and Consumer Goods at Microsoft Portugal, where she was the General Director from 2016. In this role, she guided the organization through the digital transformation of the Portuguese economy, empowering people and organizations with technology.

She joined Microsoft in 2010 as the CMO Lead, later becoming the Marketing & Operations Lead in 2013, and the Public Sector Lead in 2016. Before her tenure at Microsoft, Paula spent 15 years at Procter & Gamble Portugal and Iberia, holding various roles in Finance and Marketing, including Corporate Marketing Director, Finance Group Director, and Communication Director. Paula graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Instituto Superior Técnico in 1994. She is known for her optimism, solution-oriented mindset, and commitment to doing the right thing. Outside of her professional life, she is a proud mother of three daughters, an avid reader, a music lover, and an adventurous traveler.

Check out the career journey here: Paula Panarra