De grão em grão (from grain to grain) Program – Cargill Foundation (2002 to 2005)

In 2002, Lula took office as president for the first time and launched the Zero Hunger project. As Cargill’s Corporate Affairs Manager, I studied the project and spoke to several people in Brasília (the capital of Brazil), to understand how Cargill could participate in the project. I designed the “De Grão em Grão” program, sponsored by the Cargill Foundation, the Cargill Foundation (USA) and the business units of Cargill Brazil. It was a great challenge, one that was overcome thanks to the work of internal and external teams. I established strong partnerships with professionals who helped the program succeed in 178 public schools in 16 cities and reach 57,000 children and their families. I would like to highlight them: Sergio Barroso, at the time Cargill Brasil and Cargill Foundation’s president; João Clemente, co-worker, and agricultural engineer, who was essential in implementing the program throughout Brazil; José Geraldo Rocha, educator, and theater author; J.A. Tiradentes, creative director. These two professionals were responsible for the content and creative design from the logo creation up to the design and production of booklets for students, teachers, and communities. During its 11 years, the program generated around 900 tons of food and benefited half a million people.

Projeto Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer Project) – Otis Elevators (2001)

Anyone who has ever climbed Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro can’t even imagine the thrill of installing the escalators on those sturdy stones at the start of a day in late 2001. Leading a communication project is much more than conceiving ideas and coordinating teams and diverse interests. You must make the idea connected with people inside and outside the company. This was the goal of the project to install escalators and elevators at one of the world’s most iconic landmarks. I was responsible for representing Otis Elevadores at the Roberto Marinho Foundation and taking care of brand communication before, during, and after the installation of the equipment. This involved a trip to Germany to understand how the equipment was manufactured, its engineering project, and its complexity – we’re talking about winds that can reach 230 kilometers per hour. Train the team of field professionals to work among tourists, recording all the stages with the initiative’s partners. Finally, I designed a script and storyboard for a video about this project for the global 150th anniversary of Otis Elevators. My professional journey took me to another company before the inauguration of the project, but the feeling of pride remains to this day, and with every visit to the magnificent Christ the Redeemer, up the escalators, of course! I would like to highlight the trust of my boss, Ricardo Monté, at the time vice-president of Otis Elevators and responsible for business in Latin America, in my leadership, and the commitment of Priscila Gallego, who was on my team, and Lucia Nunes, who worked for us at the press office.

Gift project and social-cultural action – Boehringer Ingelheim (1996-1997)

How do you turn a challenge into an international success and make thousands of people happy at Christmas? This story began in mid-1996 when Henning Manthé, general director of Boehringer Ingelheim in Brazil, set me a challenge – to produce a CD to give to the stakeholder-s company, mainly all the doctors in Brazil, that would be recorded by the amateur classical music group “Barroco na Bahia” with 10 songs that represented the Christmas tradition in 10 countries.

The idea came to fruition 14 months later with the CD “Cantos para uma Noite Feliz” (Songs for a Christmas Night), with songs performed by the chamber choir and orchestra of young amateurs conducted by the maestro and priest Hans Bönisch and recorded in Salvador’s Basilica Cathedral. The numbers were superlative: a total print run of 160,000 copies of the gift set (CD, booklet in Portuguese, English, and Spanish versions with original lyrics and a summary of the history of the musical piece), 20 songs in 11 original languages or Latin language. Some popular songs had never been recorded. The illustration of the booklet was made with photos of pieces from the Bahia Museum of Sacred Art. Other actions of this project: a magazine with stories behind the scenes and with cassette tapes (at the time not everyone had access to a CD player) were given to all employees. 300 pen drives were sent to journalists by CDI.
There was a special blessing given from Pope John Paul II to the company and its employees (he had personally received the CD from Cardinal Dom Lucas Moreira Neves, an enthusiast of the Bahian group).
This project shows that a leader needs to have a certain amount of passion for sharing universal knowledge beyond their products and financial results. In this sense, I would like to thank Henning Manthé, my boss at Boehringer Ingelheim, who trusted in my work, my experience, my boldness, and my recommendations – even when he didn’t like to hear them.
I would like to highlight the fundamental partnership of Anneliese Helga Daamen Brunetti, my secretary and ‘guardian angel’; and Carlos Nahum, Marketing Manager, my co-worker, and partner in the project. I would also like to highlight the external partners: Silvia Dias, at the time, director at CDI, the communication agency that attended the company, the DPTO advertising agency, and the Pancrom printing company, suppliers who also gave their institutional support.

Coffee-table book Cinco Séculos de Ousadia (Five Centuries of Boldness) (2004-2005)

To tell the story of sugar and, consequently, alcohol and ethanol in Brazil, and to pay tribute to Brazil’s pioneering producers. This was the challenge set by Francisco Vassellucci, at the time director of Cargill’s Sugar Business Unit when I worked for that company. At the time, I was also in charge of editorial production at the Cargill Foundation. After consulting a respected consultant in the market, I came up with the names of Moacyr Castro and Fernando Brisolla de Oliveira, experienced journalists who rendered communication services to this sector in Ribeirão Preto. The 500 years of history were told in 164 pages, in chapters that also included picturesque stories collected over the decades by the authors. To illustrate, none other than Delfim Martins, a renowned photographer with experience in agriculture and great ideas to make storytelling more compelling. This project would not have had a happy ending without the great participation of Vicky Lee, who was part of my team at Cargill as marketing services coordinator. It is important to recognize that this project would not have existed with its excellence in quality of content and images without the financial support of Cargill Brasil’s sugar business unit and without the sugar producers who opened the doors of their farms and dedicated time to providing information and data.