Eduardo Piedade follows Bright Pixel Capital run with Chief Development Officer role at Sonae

Eduardo Piedade has ended his day to day involvement with VC firm Bright Pixel Capital to take on the role of Chief Development Officer at Sonae, a Portugal-based company with a portfolio of businesses in retail, financial services, technology, investments, real estate and telecommunications.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “After more than seven years leading Bright Pixel Capital and over 20 years within Sonae, I am honoured to begin a new chapter as Chief Development Officer. It has been an extraordinary journey building Bright Pixel from the ground up - from the first investments to portfolio milestones, from the highs of success to the lessons in challenge. I’m profoundly grateful to the founders, teams, and colleagues who made this possible.”

He added: “As I step into this new role, I carry those lessons and partnerships with me. This is a unique opportunity to connect people, purpose and progress in ways that define who we are and where we're headed. I'm honoured to help shape Sonae's vision for the future, fostering long-term impact and innovation, firmly rooted in our values.”

“Though I’ll be stepping away from day to day responsibilities, I remain closely involved with Bright Pixel as a Non-Executive Director - and always just a message or call away. Exciting times ahead - shaping tomorrow, today.”

Record breakers

Earlier this year, Sensei partnered with Sonae on the opening of a new Continente Bom Dia location, in Leiria, Portugal, pitched as the world’s largest autonomous supermarket.

Sensei said: "This revolutionary achievement is a record breaker on so many levels, setting a new benchmark for the future of retail: 1.676 cameras; 1,200 sq m2; 2,000 scales; 21 servers; 10.000 SKU’s."

"With democratic entry (no app or card tapping needed), assisted sales (fresh fish counter), simplified real-time basket checkout, discrepancy detection (a first!), and many more, bringing the shopping journey to a whole new level."

It concluded: "We changed everything, challenging the retail status quo, without changing anything - except for the groundbreaking checkout process, it’s just a really simple, smooth and seamless shopping experience."

"This new store represents a significant milestone in the innovation and modernisation of the retail sector, combining the support of our employees with Sensei's technology to create a unique shopping experience," said Luís Moutinho, CEO at MC (Sonae Group). "We are excited to witness how this innovative store will serve the community and are confident in the experience it will provide to our customers."

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Autonomous stores will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.