“Brazil is a wonderful country with thousands of opportunities – but it is also challenging. Each country’s business environment has its own peculiarities. And Brazil is no different.”
So says Neuri Frigotto Pereira, director of operational planning at Coca-Cola FEMSA.
Pereira was on campus recently for the Barcelona module of the Advanced Management Program (AMP) which he is pursuing in Sao Paulo.
“Geopolitical volatility, complex tax codes and restrictive labor laws make doing business in Brazil complicated,” she says. “Understanding how to navigate and stay focused is essential.”
David Sanchez, technical director for Brazilian real estate company, Developing Incorporadora, was also on campus for the Barcelona module of the Sao Paulo Program for Management Development (PMD).
“Many companies have tried to do business in Brazil and have failed because they didn’t pay the necessary attention to these elements – the result is impatience from shareholders,” says Sanchez.
Country Director for AkzoNobel, Heder Frigo, is completing his AMP together with Pereira. He agrees with Sanchez.
“Prepared, creative and resilient leaders are mandatory for unstable environments such as that of Brazil,” he says. “There is no room for mistakes.”
All three opted for IESE Executive Education programs in Brazil, with a view to meeting specific professional challenges.
Choosing the Right Path
Last year, Frigo was given a life-changing opportunity. “After over 20 years in finance, I was offered a new role in AkzoNobel Brazil, as a country director. I realized that my management toolkit required updating. The AMP is providing me with the necessary tools.”
Pereira says that for her, enhanced business acumen is only part of what the AMP program has to offer.
“The diversity of opinion and perspective is enriching,” she says. “The opportunity to engage in case studies, interacting with fellow executives that are working in leadership positions in different sectors, with different perspectives, it all really counts.”
For David Sanchez, a functional manager looking to make the transition to senior leadership, the PMD was the perfect fit. And the choice of school, he says, easy.
“The more I learned about IESE, the more I was impressed.”
Global Perspectives
The executive education team in Sao Paulo welcomes participants into programs from a broad diversity of sectors, backgrounds and functions every year.
Program Director for the PMD Sao Paulo, David Zanata, highlights the benefits that difference brings: “For our participants it’s a chance to experience and learn from a genuine breadth of insights into doing business globally; best practices and real business cases; emerging trends; and the interchange of diverse perspectives.”
“This is what people are looking for from an IESE program in Brazil.”
AMP Sao Paulo Director, Paulo Vendramini, agrees.
“The AMP and the PMD are the only two certified business programs delivering this range of benefits, and backed by a top international business school in Brazil,” he says. “The impact on participants is enormous.”
For Rodrigo Malho e Simonato, who manages regulatory affairs and institutional relations at Coca Cola Brazil, the PMD experience is proving nothing short of “transformational.”
“It’s the variety and depth of the issues debated on the program that is so key to forming that essential, broader perspective.”