Living in Barcelona, Spain · ESADE-CEMS-TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY
João Rawes Freitas
FX & Rates Derivatives · Global Markets
ESADE Finance · CEMS · Tsinghua
KPMG
Haitong Bank
BNP Paribas
Markets first. FX and rates derivatives: structuring, pricing, and P&L.
I use tools like Claude Cowork, Python, and models where they tighten research and modelling on top of
disciplined finance, not where they replace judgment.
In Barcelona for the CEMS MIM home term at ESADE, fresh off the
MSc in Finance and a summer on Haitong Bank's Corporate
Derivatives desk in Lisbon (FX and rates structuring).
Outside class: co-responsible for Macro Research in the Asset Management division
of the ESADE Master's in Finance Club, padel lead at CEMS Club Barcelona, and
competing in the
Bloomberg Trading Challenge.
From February 2027, Beijing via Tsinghua SEM for the CEMS host term, a
different market and operating context, deliberately so.
The tools I use across all of it, Claude Cowork for most of the research and
analysis work, Obsidian for notes, and Cursor for code, exist to
compress the distance between an idea and something I can defend under scrutiny. Nothing ships without an owner.
Experience
Professional Experience
Haitong Bank - Lisbon, Portugal
Jun - Aug 2026
Corporate Derivatives Summer Analyst
Worked on the front-office Corporate Derivatives desk supporting live FX hedging
mandates and structuring workflows; used Bloomberg FXFA and
OVML for forward and vanilla FX option pricing, sizing notionals and
maturities against EUR/USD and GBP/EUR corporate FX exposures.
Contributed to live deal preparation on collars, interest rate swaps and payer
swaptions; used Bloomberg SWPM to model swap cashflows and review rate
sensitivity on structures for indicative client pricing.
Authored a 33-page director-level research paper on AI adoption in FX
and rates corporate treasury workflows.
KPMG Portugal - Lisbon, Portugal
2023 – 2025
Corporate Audit Associate
Conducted financial analysis and audits for 10+ clients across
construction, pharma and NGOs, uncovering €5M+ in accounting
discrepancies; presented findings to client CFOs and senior management.
Engaged directly with client CFOs in audit adjustment
discussions, translating complex financial findings into clear recommendations for
senior stakeholders.
Collaborated on the implementation of AI-driven audit solutions,
streamlining procedures and cutting manual workload by
5-10% compared to prior audit cycles.
BNP Paribas - Lisbon, Portugal
2022 – 2023
Capital Markets P&L Trainee Analyst - Global Markets
Monitored and reconciled accounting and economic FX P&L for Global
Markets, aligning Front and Middle Office positions on
€20M+ in monthly transactions.
Performed quantitative and qualitative break analysis on FX P&L, challenging
figures with trading desks to ensure reliability of financial and accounting data.
Co-developed an Excel framework to automate break detection across
large FX datasets, reducing identification time by 20%.
Education
Education
CEMS - Barcelona,Spain/Beijing,China
2026 – 2027
Master in International Management
CEMS MIM: Global Alliance in Management Education;
home: ESADE (Barcelona) · host: Tsinghua University,
Beijing (from Feb 2027).
Padel lead at CEMS Club Barcelona (weekly sessions).
One-year international double-degree with cohort mobility, leadership, and
cross-cultural collaboration across markets.
Network of 34 partner schools worldwide for electives, exchange,
and joint projects.
Locations
About the alliance & universities
I chose CEMS on purpose: it is not a single campus. It is a global
alliance of leading business schools and corporate partners, and the
Master in International Management is built for motion. I want to
lead across borders, not read about them from a distance. I am here for the cohort,
the mobility, and the standard. The network is consistently named among the strongest
pre-experience master's alliances in the world, and that is the bar I hold myself
to.
My home leg is ESADE in Barcelona: one of Europe's reference
business schools, with the rigour and corporate proximity I want while I anchor in
European markets and practice.
My host leg is Tsinghua SEM in Beijing: a flagship in China for
economics and management, internationally accredited (AACSB,
EQUIS), with a mission to develop leaders for China and the world.
For me, Barcelona and Beijing are not stamps on a CV. They are two operating systems
I am learning to read, negotiate, and execute inside. That contrast is the product I
am buying with this year.
ESADE - Barcelona,Spain
2025 – 2026
MSc in Finance
ESADE Fellow, selected to represent the school in admissions
& academic initiatives.
Co-responsible for Macro Research, Asset Management division,
ESADE Master's in Finance Club.
HKU Study Tour delegate,
Entrepreneurship and Finance in Hong Kong.
Coursework: Derivatives · Fixed Income · Investments · Stata for
Empirical Finance · Advanced Financial Modelling.
Locations
About the university
I came to ESADE because I wanted a finance education that behaves
like the market. Rankings and placement power matter to me, but so does culture:
case-heavy teaching, serious corporate access, and a city that runs like a living
lab for banks, growth companies, and risk takers. I am not interested in finance on a
slide deck alone; I want the discipline that holds when someone challenges my numbers under
pressure.
The MSc in Finance is where I am sharpening that edge: deep technical
work, professional tools in the finance lab, and a cohort that mirrors how global finance
actually works. Derivatives, valuation, modelling, M&A, and reporting are the
language I am investing in, because it is the language I plan to defend under pressure when
it counts.
Bath Spa University - Bath,UK
2019 – 2022
BA (Hons) Business Management (Accounting minor)
Financial accounting, innovation management, and data-led business analysis.
Course Representative, liaison between students and faculty on
programme quality and feedback.
Locations
About the university
UK undergraduate base before ESADE: BA (Hons) Business Management
(accounting minor), including course rep; the foundation under the
degrees and roles you already see on this page.
Excel advancedPowerPoint advancedOutlook VBA intermediatePower BI intermediatePython basicGitClaude CoworkCursor
Proof of work
Proof of Work
Selected ESADE MSc work: CME futures trading, equity research, and valuation projects. PDFs are
not linked directly on this page. Enter your name and email to submit a request; I will send the
file to that address after I process it (typically within a few business days).
ESADE · Derivatives · Feb 2026
CME Futures Trading Challenge
10-day discretionary CME futures strategy on S&P 500 E-mini, WTI crude and EUR/USD;
hard stop-losses and contract-level sizing; +$6.7k net P&L on a $100k
simulated mandate (Group 9).
ESADE · Equity Research · Nov 2025
AstraZeneca (AZN.L)
Full equity research report on AstraZeneca: market context, financial analysis,
DCF-based valuation, and investment view with supporting assumptions.
ESADE · Valuation · Mar 2026
easyJet (EZJ.L): Activist scenario
Two-scenario valuation (AS-IS DCF vs activist plan): operational and corporate
restructuring levers, UFCF and margin bridge, and implied value per share.
Impact
Volunteer Experience
IV
International Volunteer HQ - Buenos Aires, Argentina
AR
Education & Sports Volunteer
Provided classroom support, English language tutoring, and sports coaching
for underprivileged children in Buenos Aires. Worked across inclusion
programmes, supporting children's development through structured activities
and mentorship.
Location
Follow me
Thoughts on Finance, Markets & AI
Long-form notes on markets, risk, and football finance, plus where
practical AI helps research and controls and where it does not replace judgment.
Essays are on Substack; subscribe for MFin, desk reality, club accounts, and AI
workflows.
Enter your name and email. I receive the request, then I send the PDF to you by email
when I approve it (typically within a few business days). Optional LinkedIn helps context.
Request document
Enter your name and email. I will send the PDF to the address you provide after I
process the request (typically within a few business days).
