New Bond girl
Rita Costa Almeida is a talent from The Startracker network in London.
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“My address is Bond. New Bond.” This could be written on the visiting card, not of the sexiest and most popular spy in the world, but of the new shop of the well-known brand Louis Vuitton, in London; in New Bond Street, to be more precise, where we meet a young Portuguese talent. She isn’t one of the Bond girls, but she is mad about the LV brand. Her name is Costa Almeida. Rita Costa Almeida.
With a degree in Economics from Lisbon’s Universidade Nova, Rita began her career as a strategic consultant for The Boston Consulting Group, followed by an MBA in New York, at the Columbia Business School, and a return to the Universidade Nova for two years, as a lecturer in Management and Entrepreneurship. She tell us that these were productive years that enabled her to develop more in-depth analytical and strategic skills. But with an enterprising father and a mother linked to the arts, there were new adventures on the horizon for Rita Costa Almeida. She found herself between two worlds that she didn’t want to separate. The MBA left her curious to get to know new pastures, people and ways of thinking and so, after two years dedicated to her father’s business, a company that distributes luxury brands, she went in search of an internationally established business group. This was her vision of the crossover between the two worlds, it was this that would satisfy her analytical and aesthetic senses and fulfill her professional ambitions. A company which, apart from being a leader in terms of management, would allow her to be directly linked to the creative side. The opportunity arose through Futura, a leadership programme of the LVMH group for MBA-qualified professionals.
The adventure began with the challenge of spending more than a year managing one area of business in one of the brand’s shops. “In the beginning it was difficult because the world of a shop was very different to what I was used to”, Rita explains. Nevertheless, she now believes that that experience is the key to the business’ success. Rita is working as Leather Goods and Accessories Division Manager in the Louis Vuitton New Bond Street Maison, a huge operation with over 100 employees of 30 different nationalities. It is, at the very least, a challenging diversity! In the workplace, she is always learning, and in the capital of the UK she is continually growing. She feels that the cultural offering in London is unparalleled, and because of this, what she recommends above all to anyone who goes there is a visit to the new Maison LV, which opened in May. There you will find, apart from the brand’s products, pieces of art by Richard Prince, Basquiat and Gilbert & George decorating the different spaces, and an art reference bookshop. She also recommends the Yauatcha restaurant, with its oriental cuisine, a play at the National Theatre and an excursion to the Tate Modern. On a personal level she admits that living away from home allows her to know an environment in which she does not have roots better. Married with two children, she misses the rest of her family and good friends who are in Portugal. And there is also nothing quite like the Portuguese sun!
The Star Tracker network enables Rita to stay in contact with Portuguese talents abroad, especially in London. “The international environment is one of the best things about London, but it is also really good to meet people who are homesick for the same things as we are!”
by Madalena Proença
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