Born and raised in Porto since 1978, Miguel Portela has a degree in Economics from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Porto. He has taken several courses at the most prestigious management schools in Europe: Porto Business School, IESE Barcelona, London Business School, IMD Lausanne, and IE Madrid.

He began his professional activity at the Bial Group as an intern in the Production, Warehouse, Marketing and Sales, Human Resources, Procurement, Finance, and Economic Advisory Departments. In 2005, after having worked as a Technician in the New Projects Department, he was appointed General Management Technician, providing support to the General Manager of Bial Portugal. In 2007, he became the head of the company's Human Resources and Logistics departments, having been appointed Manager.

From September 2010 to February 2023, Miguel accumulated the roles of Board Member and General Manager in the Corporate Division of Bial Group. He is the Executive Vice-President and Chief Corporate Officer since March 2023 and has been overseeing areas including Human Resources (since 2010), Digital Business (since 2010), Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls CMC (since 2019), Regulatory Science (since 2022), Legal and Intellectual Property (2022 - April 2025), Audit (2020 - September 2025), Corporate Compliance (2019 - September 2025), Supply Chain (2010 - 2022 and now from April 2025), as well as Production, Quality, and Engineering & Maintenance (from April 2025).

He has been a Board Member of Bial Foundation since February 2013 and, since April 2015, a Member of the Porto Business School Supervisory Board. In May 2021, he became a Member of the Founding Board of the Casa da Música Foundation and, since December of that same year, has been a Member of the Board of Trustees of the AEP Foundation (FAEP).

He was a top-level competitive swimmer, having been national champion for six consecutive years, breaking several national records – with emphasis on the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle – and having also proudly represented his country’s national team.