Pedro Varela was born in Lisbon in 1978. He holds a degree in Economics from the Nova School of Business and Economics (1996-2000), having completed a semester at the University of Bonn, Germany, through the Erasmus program. In 2005, he completed a Postgraduate degree in Finance at the same institution, and in 2008, he attended an Innovation program at IMD, Lausanne.

He began his professional career at Nestlé Portugal in 2001, where he has held various roles over the years. He started as Financial Co-Pilot in the Coffee, Foodservices, and OOH channel business in Portugal. Later, he served as Global Financial Co-Pilot for the Food category (frozen, chilled, and culinary) in Switzerland from 2008 to 2012. Between 2012 and 2015, he was Corporate Controller and Head of Strategy for the Oceania market, covering Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. From 2015 to 2020, he was part of the global Mergers & Acquisitions team, also in Switzerland. Since 2021, he has been the CFO of Nestlé Brazil, the company’s third-largest global market.

Pedro Varela has been a member of the Portuguese Diaspora Portuguesa since September 2024.