Ana Cristina obtained her Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) specialising in Marketing from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, after having completed her BA (Hons.) in Business Administration and BA (Hons.) in Public Administration at the same University.

Ana Cristina started off her working life within an insurance brokerage in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and later moved to Malta where she took on the post of Marketing Executive at Simonds Farsons Cisk plc. Ana Cristina joined Middlesea Insurance (today a member of the MAPFRE Group) as a Technical Specialist (Marketing) in 1993, where she embarked on a career which has seen her assume responsibility for the marketing function at Malta's leading insurance provider. She currently holds the position of Chief Officer- Marketing, Communications and PR at MAPFRE Malta. Throughout her career, Ana Cristina has contributed towards the strategic development of the company and has formulated a marketing strategy in consonance with MAPFRE's corporate goals. She is responsible for the planning and coordination of the company's advertising campaigns, the ongoing development of MAPFRE's online presence as well as the creation and interaction with the online community via social media. Ana Cristina's portfolio also includes reputation management and the management of the public relations function. In coordination with Fundacion MAPFRE, she plans and runs the company's CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programme and ensures maximum exposure the company's CSR initiatives.

For a number of years, Ana Cristina was a lecturer in Marketing at the Malta Chamber of Commerce. She is currently a Senior Visiting Lecturer in Branding and PR at the University of Malta. Ana Cristina, who is married and has two daughters, is fluent in Portuguese, English and Italian and has a very good understanding of Spanish and Maltese.