Catarina Pinto Ferreira, an alumna of Nova SBE's Master's in Management, seized the opportunity that the study program offered her at the time and spent a semester in New York, where she had the chance to study and do an internship at the same time.  

The internship at a public relations company linked to the luxury segment was her first step toward an area she had long wanted to explore.   

"Nova SBE has played a crucial role in my journey," revealed Catarina Pinto Ferreira, who participated in a panel discussion on "Crossroads of Innovation in different industries" during the Career Fair on February 21. "The fact that the Master's allowed me to spend a semester in the USA, through the school's partnership with an institute with numerous partnerships with companies from different sectors of activity, gave me a chance to finally have experience in an industry I had long wanted. This first professional experience, in an internship in buying and merchandising, made me realize that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life."  

After the internship, Catarina decided to invest in a buying and merchandising course in London, followed by a few years working in consultancy. After completing her Master's in Management from Nova SBE, she worked for Hugo Boss in Stuttgart and in Hamburg, and she returned to Portugal in 2021 to join the Portuguese brand Hey Harper.  

Although, she admitted, "for many years I have been a consumer of fast fashion brands", Catarina Pinto Ferreira realized that although this industry has a diversified offer, there is little or no focus on varied and timeless pieces.   

This awareness and a vital concern for sustainability motivated her to create her clothing brand, The Walk. At The Walk, the aim is to bring to the market the concept of the capsule wardrobe, which presupposes that the garments that make up the closet are both of high quality and combined with being timeless and offering countless combinations, reducing unbridled consumption.   

"When it comes to fashion, people try to keep up with the main trends, but stores have such a vast offer that, at some point, they feel overwhelmed by so many different pieces that, in the end, they sometimes don't even make it possible to build a complete 'outfit'," he explained. In the case of The Walk, the goal is the opposite: "the capsule closet is still a concept that is not very well received because there is still the misconception that it is made up of uninteresting pieces that are all the same. It's this stigma that I'm trying to deconstruct with my brand, which seeks to bring more differentiating models to the table, even if they are transversal because my goal is to diversify but within what is practical and comfortable, always maintaining quality and ensuring that all the pieces go together for countless combinations."   

The process of planning and developing the brand was laborious. Still, Catarina Pinto Ferreira drew on her academic and professional experience to present the market with a brand based on consolidated pillars.   

"Working in companies from different sectors and sizes allowed me to experience various business areas, which was extremely useful when creating my project." At the same time, said Catarina Pinto Ferreira, the academic learning in management, enhanced by the Master's degree she completed at Nova SBE, allowed her to acquire "basic notions of the different areas that make up a business and the complexity behind the creation of an entrepreneurial project."  

Catarina wants to continue consolidating The Walk and looks forward to the brand's future.