More About Emily Portugal
She has worked in sales and marketing for over 20 years, been an entrepreneur for the last 15, and a creative since the early 80s. Known for her creative approach, she maximizes both the business and the brand opportunity by consistently delivering new, surprising ideas
At Burson, Emily leads the agency's growth initiative for the U.S. region, partnering with U.S. leadership and global growth teams to drive impact for prospective clients. She's also a co-lead on the Burson Pulse, now in its second year, a nationally representative research program tracking American sentiment on the economy and institutions, and surfacing findings like the "credibility gap" facing U.S. business leaders.
Prior to Burson, as a new business lead at Edelman, Emily built a prospecting initiative across sectors like health, tech, and financial services, assembling nimble teams to pursue whitespace opportunities. In its first 24 months, the initiative significantly boosted growth and added a wealth of new clients to Edelman's roster. Emily was recognized in Crain's Chicago's first issue honoring Notable LGBTQ+ Executives and co-founded Edelman Out Front, helping clients connect with the LGBTQ+ community. She also collaborated on the Human Rights Campaign's Ally Gap platform, driving innovation in corporate allyship.
Emily spent the first half of her career working in architecture and construction and has been consulting with real estate developers for the last decade, branding multi-family properties and delivering lifestyle photography campaigns on a national level. Like Ice Cube, she thinks she's "unique to the game ‘cause of my versatility.”