IPBN members based in Porto had the chance to meet up and network on Thursday, March 27, with a delegation of Invest Northern Ireland client companies participating in the "Leadership Team Ambition to Scale" Programme. The lunch took place at the Porto Business School, an IPBN Academic Partner.

Special thank you to Emma Naismith, Regional Director of Southern Europe at Invest Northern Ireland based in Madrid and Sandra Fernandes and Inês Postiga Nunes from the International Development department at the Porto Business School!

Check out the IPBN's LinkedIn post here for more pictures. And see what other partnerships the IPBN has created in 2025 here!

The Invest NI Leadership Team Programme is focused on transforming the skills, behaviours and relationships of the top team in order to achieve business growth. Provided in partnership between Invest NI, Dublin City University Business School and Wilson Sloan Consulting, the programme combines the following key elements: World Class Education, Business Coaching, and Peer Networks. 

Access to global best practice in leadership and international growth delivered by an internationally recognised business school.

The sessions are specifically geared towards SMEs with high growth potential, delivered by some of the best practitioners and thought leaders in the world focusing on strategy, leadership, people, sales and marketing, and finance. They are brought to life through case studies, practical business activities and guest speakers.

Tailored business coaching will provide the leadership team with a specialist business coach to help challenge, support and translate learning from the programme into a plan for growth. The teams are also challenged to build leadership competencies and drive effective changes through the use of specialist business and behavioural diagnostics.

Business to Business learning will provide an opportunity for similarly ambitious leadership teams from a range of sectors to engage, share experiences, learning and potential business growth opportunities.