In a world where people are living longer, healthier lives, the way businesses think about aging and life stages is fundamentally changing. One visionary at the forefront of this shift is Mafalda Honório, Head of Longevity Marketing at Fidelidade, Portugal’s leading insurance company, where she’s transforming how longevity is understood, embraced and integrated into corporate strategy.
Traditionally, companies focused on short-term results and static life stages. Yet today, they are increasingly creating new roles such as Mafalda’s to embed long-term thinking about health, workforce, and customer lifecycle into the highest levels of strategy.
From FMCG to longevity strategy
Mafalda’s career didn’t start in insurance, she spent over 15 years at Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, in roles spanning customer development and marketing across multiple product categories. That experience taught her a fundamental truth: the customer must always come first. It’s a principle she’s now applying to one of the most important societal trends of our time.
In 2022, Mafalda was invited to lead Fidelidade’s longevity initiative, a strategic pillar designed to prepare the company for the reality of longer life expectancies and evolving life journeys. Rather than seeing aging as a problem, she saw longevity as an opportunity, for the company and for society.
Redefining longevity beyond old age
Mafalda’s work at Fidelidade exemplifies a wider transformation in how corporations are thinking about the future. Instead of treating longevity as a challenge, she positions it as a strategic asset that can strengthen customer trust, deepen engagement over decades, and foster meaningful societal impact.
- Her mission is to ensure the company is “longevity ready”, so not just reacting to demographic shifts, but proactively shaping solutions that support people throughout their entire lives through its Longevity Manifesto. Her approach goes far beyond traditional product design or marketing campaigns:
- Holistic customer insight: Mafalda champions a deep understanding of not just older adults, but all life stages — from “Elders of Today” to “Elders of Tomorrow.” This allows Fidelidade to tailor products and communications with empathy, relevance, and impact including the 60+ Offer
- Strategic collaboration: She works across departments — from product teams to communications — to embed longevity thinking into everything the company does, shifting the business from a fragmented view of customers toward a lifelong partnership perspective.
- Challenging mindsets: One of Mafalda’s biggest personal learnings has been identifying and breaking down the outdated belief that longevity equals decline. Instead, she frames longer life as a phase filled with opportunity, purpose, and potential for innovation.
Celebrating longevity in culture and communication
Mafalda’s leadership also extends into how longevity is portrayed culturally. Under her guidance, Fidelidade’s “New Age. New Life” campaign was recognised internationally as one of the best in class, celebrating longevity, highlighting not just financial security, but vitality, aspirations, and joy at 60 and beyond. This recognition underscores her belief that longer lives are not just lived longer, but lived better.
The future of longevity leadership
Mafalda Honório’s journey from global FMCG marketing to longevity leadership at a major insurer is more than a career transition. It’s a sign of how business strategy must evolve in response to one of the most transformative forces shaping society: a 100-year life. As leaders like her continue to reshape corporate thinking, industries will be better equipped not only to serve customers but to empower them through every stage of a longer, richer life.
Watch the “New Age. New Life” video (Portuguese with English subtitles) New Age. New Life with Longevity
