Living in Barcelona, Spain · ESADE-CEMS-TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY
João Rawes Freitas
Finance first. Markets, valuation, and risk.
I use tools like Cursor, Python, and models where they tighten research and controls on top of
disciplined finance, not where they replace it.
My day sits on three rails I actually use, not three logos on a slide: Obsidian is
where thinking becomes notes and links I can revisit; VS Code is where files,
configs, and small automations stay honest; Cursor is where I move faster on
drafts, refactors, and experiments without confusing speed for judgment.
I wire them together so an idea can travel from a rough capture in the vault to a checked script
or model output, with a trail I can explain in an interview or on a desk. That matters to me
because finance work is already full of invisible steps: reconciliations, valuation bridges,
controls. I want my personal stack to respect the same rule: nothing ships without an
owner.
AI agents sit inside that stack the way a strong junior would: they search,
summarise, and propose; I still own the assumptions, the limits, and the sign-off. The story I am
building is simple: tools and agents multiply leverage, but the line of accountability stays on
the human side, the same discipline I carry from markets and audit into everything I do next.
// experience
Professional Experience
Haitong Securities - Lisbon, Portugal
2026
Intern, Corporate Derivatives
Summer internship on the Corporate Derivatives desk, with exposure to
structuring, risk, and client-facing workflows in a global markets context.
KPMG Portugal - Lisbon, Portugal
2023 – 2025
Full time, Corporate Audit Associate
Conducted risk-based financial audits for 10+ clients across
construction, pharma and NGOs, uncovering €5M+ in accounting
discrepancies and communicating findings with actionable recommendations to 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
Trainee, Capital Markets Finance Officer (Global Markets)
Monitored and reconciled accounting and economic P&L for
Capital Markets business lines across Derivatives, FX, Bonds, Equities and
Commodities, aligning Front and Middle Office positions on
€20M+ in monthly transactions.
Performed in-depth quantitative and qualitative break analysis, challenging
P&L figures recognised by trading desks to ensure reliability of financial and
accounting data.
Co-developed an Excel framework to automate break detection across
large datasets, reducing identification time by 20% and improving
analytical efficiency.
// 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 (Sep 2026 – Jul 2027).
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
2024 – 2026
MSc in Finance
ESADE Fellow, selected to represent the school in admissions
& academic initiatives.
HKU Study Tour delegate,
Entrepreneurship and Finance in Hong Kong.
Thesis:Private Equity Value Creation: Financial and Operational Drivers of Outperformance.
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 a desk challenges my numbers.
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
markets actually feel. Valuation, M&A, modelling, 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 Business Management (Accounting minor)
BA (Hons) Business Management, Accounting minor, Bath Spa
University.
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
I started at Bath Spa University because I wanted a serious
undergraduate foundation without hiding in a crowd. Bath Business School
is built around teaching quality and support. National surveys consistently highlight
strong satisfaction with teaching and feedback on business and management programmes,
and that matched how I learn best: close enough to ask hard questions, accountable
enough to improve week on week.
I took the BA (Hons) Business Management with an
accounting minor on purpose: I wanted the story of how organisations
work, plus the grammar of how numbers lock that story to reality. Stepping up as
course representative was part of the same bet: translating between
peers and faculty when standards and clarity matter. I carry that discipline into the
audit and markets work I do now; it is the base layer under everything that came after.
Excel advancedPowerPoint advancedPower BI intermediateStata intermediatePython learningGitCursor
// proof of work
Proof of Work
Selected ESADE MSc assignments (equity research, activist-driven valuation). PDFs
are not linked directly on this page. Enter your name and email to submit a
request. You will receive an automated confirmation, and I will email the file to
the address you provide.
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 Capital Markets & Finance
Long-form notes on markets, risk, and the tools that sit behind the tape:
frameworks, workflows, and what actually moves P&L.
