MDS teams up with João de Macedo to ride a giant wave

MDS is the new technical partner and main sponsor to João de Macedo, a surfer who intends to take part on the Big Wave Tour. As a result of this partnership, the surfer will participate in the competition at Nazaré, whose waiting period starts October 1. He's got his eye on a spot in the Big Waves World Tour, as well as the waves of Mavericks in California.

The partnership stems from shared values between MDS and João de Macedo, namely in risk management. Big wave surfing carries significant risk, so risk management is key to success in the sport and to protecting athletes' health and well-being. For MDS, risk management is the heart of its business. MDS seeks to help clients guard against risk exposure through the design and implementation of insurance programmes that suit their needs.

Ricardo Pinto dos Santos, MDS CEO, states: "MDS is highly skilled in risk management and insurance consultancy, skills that gain increasing recognition from clients and partners in Portugal and abroad. This partnership with João de Macedo is of extreme relevance, as it includes the aspect of a heightened sporting challenge, and the aim of fostering excellence in everything we do. But what makes it special is our shared values, namely at the level of risk management, which entails knowledge, preparation and hard work."

João de Macedo chimes in: "Partnering with MDS lets me go for the big wave circuit with even more ambition, looking especially at competing in Nazaré and then Mavericks. The goal is to go back on the Big Waves World Tour, where I competed for two seasons and ranked among the world's top five. And now I have MDS backing me."

MDS has supported sports projects that advance excellence and self-overcoming. Case in point: Driver Miguel Ramos at the International GT Open and the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, or Portugal Ultra Triathlon, the biggest, longest triathlon in the world.

João de Macedo was born June 1, 1977, in New Haven, Connecticut (USA), to Portuguese parents. He started bodyboarding at the age of seven in Praia Grande, Sintra (Portugal), and in the unforgiving Atlantic he found the defining passion of his life: big waves. This passion turned into a career on the ocean.

João was the first pro surfer from Portugal, or Europe, for that matter, to compete in the paddle-in Big Wave World Tour of the World Surf League, finishing among the top 5 in the 2012/2013 season. He is recognized for his contribution to making paddle-in big wave surfing a permanent feature at Praia do Norte.

João holds a degree in Economics. In the year 2000 he started the Surf Academia school (www.surfacadamia.com) at Praia Grande and Carcavelos. He was also a co-founder and project manager of the World Surfing Reserves movement in California (www.worldsurfingreserves.org).