Chitra Stern, CEO Martinhal Hotels and Resorts, United Lisbon Edu Hub, Board member United Lisbon International School

The British-Swiss Entrepreneur Chitra Stern, with Singaporean roots and Indian heritage, is the owner and founding board member of Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts

Chitra is a passionate entrepreneur and real-estate and hotel developer, working alongside her business-partner and husband, Roman, on their projects in Portugal.

Together with her husband, and her 4 children – all born in Portugal, she has been living in Portugal over 20 years and developed the flagship Martinhal Beach Resort & Hotel in Sagres and its unique luxury family concept from the ground up. After opening Martinhal in 2010, the brand has successfully grown over a period of 5 years to a multi-million-euro hotel trade. Their most recent hotel opening was in June 2023 – of Martinhal Lisbon Oriente and Martinhal Residences, an innovative hybrid hospitality with luxury branded residences.

All their hotels have received several industry accolades, awards, and mentions across international publications.

Developments Beyond Hospitality

With a passion for education and the exchange of innovation and ideas, Chitra and her husband also developed Lisbon’s first international school and campus with an international school curriculum, at an Education Hub project in Lisbon, between the Park of Nations and the International airport.

The United Lisbon International School opened in September 2020. The school forms part of a wider Edu Hub – with innovators, tech companies and an academy that all have something to contribute to education and that aim to bring together and foster an exchange of minds from different nationalities, cultures, religions, generations, and disciplines. The school is a K-12 International School with an international curriculum culminating in IBDP, which currently already has 615 children with the first cohort for the IBDP about to graduate. In 2022, Chitra and Roman entered a partnership with the Dukes Education Group from the UK for the United Lisbon International School, which was the group’s first step into Europe. Since then, Dukes has formed partnerships with 2 further schools in Portugal.

Geoffrey Graham – Senior partner at Edge International Lawyers

Geoffrey is a solicitor registered with the Law Societies of England and Wales and Ireland, as well as being a Portuguese lawyer registered with the Portuguese Law Society. After studying law at Birmingham and York, he started his legal career by practicing in Belfast, followed by London and then Lisbon where he assisted in the acquisition of two international law practices. Geoffrey has now lived and worked in Portugal for 21 years and has a strong connection to the international communities and institutions in Portugal, including the British and Irish Embassies, having been appointed as Honorary Legal Advisor to the British Ambassador since 2012. He is also a legal advisor recommended by the Irish Embassy, a founder and Director of the Ireland Portuguese Business Network as well as sitting on the Council of the Portuguese UK Chamber of Commerce.

Geoffrey is one of the founding partners of EDGE International Lawyers, a full-service international law firm. EDGE has been one of the pioneering and leading firms in the Portuguese residency by investment and tax programs, including the Golden Visa and NHR programs. With their global portfolio of clients and specialties in areas such as, corporate, and commercial, real estate, company, and tax, EDGE has provided legal support to international investors on a wide variety of investments and transactions. EDGE’s offering of legal support services to both start-up investors and boutique private clients enables them to provide the full range of services, assisting investors throughout their personal and professional journey to one of Europe’s top 10 start-up hubs.