Bernardo Villa

smart Europe GmbH

Chief Executive Officer, smart Portugal

Mr. Bernardo Villa serves as CEO of smart Portugal. In his role he oversees the building up the national smart organization – some 20 years after he did exactly that with the first generation of smart models.

With a degree in economics and a career in consulting, Bernardo joined Mercedes-Benz Portugal as district manager in 2000. In 2001, he assumed responsibility for introducing the smart brand to the country. After the integration of smart into the Mercedes-Benz organization in 2006, he enjoyed plenty of success in setting up a fleet department and rolling out first contracts with lease companies before being appointed Sales Director for MB Cars Portugal in late 2007.

In 2011, Bernardo returned to smart Portugal as Sales & Marketing Director. He raised the brand’s awareness to new heights with various innovative campaigns, resulting in Portugal being recognized as “smart Market of the World” in 2013 and 2017 for its sales and marketing performance. In recent years, Bernardo and his team have concentrated on improving the seamless customer journey, creating partnerships for charging solutions and preparing the dealer network for the challenges of e-mobility.

With his background and in his new role as CEO as of August 2021, Bernardo is optimally prepared to continue the success story of the smart brand in Portugal.