Joao Barreto

Head of Innovation & PMO at Nestle

João is a critical thinker and solution-oriented business management professional with over 12 years of experience in different countries and industries. Specialised in innovation strategy, he has designed and implemented several internal and external initiatives, fostering strong creative cultures in his organisations.

For the past few years, João has been working at Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region, where he recently launched the Nestlé Hatcher, an open innovation platform aiming to challenge the local ecosystem to develop business solutions, create excitement in connecting corporates with startups and support a sustainable business for entrepreneurs.

He focuses his work on contributing to the growth of innovation ecosystems and their talent by inspiring corporate leaders to invest and support new ventures that can positively impact their businesses.