# Paulo Rosado

> Portuguese engineer and entrepreneur Paulo Rosado founded OutSystems in 2001 after encountering the cost and difficulty of changing enterprise software. He led the company as CEO for 24 years, through international expansion and major funding rounds, before becoming chairman and strategic advisor in May 2025. His public interviews connect software adaptability with organizational autonomy and the challenges of building global businesses from Portugal.

- **Role:** Founder, Chairman of the Board and strategic advisor at OutSystems
- **Organizations:** OutSystems, Intervento, Altitude Software, Oracle
- **Nationality:** Portuguese
- **Education:** Degree in Computer Engineering, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Master’s in Computer Science, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Built OutSystems over 24 years as founding CEO., Led OutSystems through its 2018 unicorn funding milestone., Received Portugal’s 2024 Prémio Nacional de Inovação personality award.

## Career timeline

- **1990s** — Studied at Stanford and worked at Oracle in Silicon Valley, including research and development and product management.
- **1997** — Co-founded Intervento, a software company.
- **1999** — Intervento combined with Altitude Software; Rosado took an executive role in global marketing and strategy.
- **2001** — Founded OutSystems in Portugal.
- **2007** — Changed OutSystems from upfront software sales to a service model.
- **2018** — OutSystems raised $360 million from KKR and Goldman Sachs at a valuation above $1 billion.
- **2021** — OutSystems raised $150 million at a $9.5 billion valuation.
- **2024** — Received the Prémio Personalidade at Portugal’s Prémio Nacional de Inovação.
- **2025** — On May 20, handed the CEO role to Woodson Martin and remained chairman and strategic advisor.

## Achievements

- Built OutSystems over 24 years as founding CEO.
- Led OutSystems through its 2018 unicorn funding milestone.
- Received Portugal’s 2024 Prémio Nacional de Inovação personality award.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — At SIM Conference in Porto, argued that European structural constraints impede company growth and that Portugal’s small domestic market encourages global ambition.
- **2026-01** — Appeared on Bitalk episode 263 to discuss company building, internationalization, AI and the chairman role.
- **2025-05** — Became chairman and strategic advisor following Woodson Martin’s appointment as CEO.

## Links

- Website: https://paulorosado.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulorosado/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/paulorosado

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/paulo-rosado
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22