Excellence in people

Transcription

1 Excellence in people OWNER MINDSET The selection and training of people is one of the key attributes for GP Investments to achieve the expected results in the invested companies. Attracting, developing and retaining the best professionals is part of the culture that distinguishes the Company, through a combination of values, practices and management principles that guide our actions and performance. Or, as GP s co-ceo Fersen Lambranho emphasizes: To develop talents, based on our values and our unique business model, is the only way to ensure the success of this Company. The professionals who work with us are dynamic, creative, entrepreneurial and open to challenges. Many have prior operational experience, having accepted responsibilities as managers of companies over the course of their careers. The owner mindset is an aspect that motivates us, says Thiago Rodrigues, who joined the Company in January 2006 after working for another private equity firm and concluding his Civil Engineering degree at the Escola Politécnica of the University of São Paulo (USP). In two and a half years, he was promoted to Managing Director at GP. Even as an Associate, I had a say in

2 how to run the business and plenty of room to speak and be heard. This is an open working environment which encourages teamwork. As a Managing Director, Thiago monitored portfolio companies including Magnesita, in which he was also the CFO for a period of time. While still an Associate, Thiago participated in the Magnesita investment process in 2007 and since 2008, as Managing Director of GP Investments, he has been a member of the company s Board of Directors. In this role, he was already involved in Magnesita s debt restructuring process when the then-cfo passed away unexpectedly. Thiago immediately took over as CFO of Magnesita, having successfully concluded the restructuring of the company s debt and managed a team spread out in four continents. It was an immense challenge, as it represented completely new experiences for me, such as the relationship with a larger number of people, team leadership and day-to-day management of the business, he recalls. He returned to GP as CFO of the Company until a successor could be trained and then resumed his position in the investment team. This process represents a learning curve that makes us better investors when we return to GP Investments, he guarantees. Thiago Rodrigues is 33 years old, has a civil engineering degree from USP s Escola Politécnica. He began his career at GP in 2006 as an Associate and today is a Managing Director at GP.

3 Marcelo Ribeiro is 33 years old, has a degree in production engineering from USP s Escola Politécnica and an MBA from Harvard University. He has worked a total of seven years at GP and currently is the CFO of San Antonio. EARLY MATURITY Executives of the invested companies also highlight the opportunities represented by sharing the knowledge and strengthening the values of the Company. Now as the CFO of San Antonio, GP s investment in oil and gas, Marcelo Ribeiro has worked almost his entire professional life for GP Investments, having joined the Company in 2000 as an Analyst even before undergraduating from USP s Escola Politécnica with and engineering degree. Between 2003 and 2005 he undertook an MBA at Harvard University, returning to GP as an Associate with the function of monitoring investments such as Telemar (later rebranded to Oi). At the age of 28, I was the youngest professional to be a part of the Board of Directors of a large Brazilian company, he notes. He is aware that those experiences offered him a fast track to professional maturity, driven by the desire to learn and the opportunity to deliver results, as well as the challenge of leading and training people. At San Antonio, Marcelo lived through distinct phases of the business. First, in the original prospecting of the investment, followed by the acquisition of the company. At a second moment, already as CFO, he had to confront the impact of the 2008 global crisis, implement a severe cost control and complete the restructuring of the company s debt. And now, in a third phase, he is preparing San Antonio for a new growth cycle.

4 CHALLENGE AS A MOTIVATION Ricardo Propheta, a Director of BRZ Investimentos, started working for GP in 2002 as an analyst after having experiences in investment banks and consulting firms and earning a production engineering degree from USP s Escola Politécnica. For him, his most representative assignment during this period was the investment and subsequent divestment in Equatorial Energia, when he was involved in all of the stages of the private equity cycle, always finding time to take on responsibilities and deliver results. He was also a Board Member at Equatorial, a position he had previously assumed in other GP Investments companies such as ig and Lupatech. Since 2007, Ricardo has been working as a manager of long-term funds for BRZ, the third largest independent asset manager in Brazil and a subsidiary of GP Investments that naturally shares our same culture. The only way to achieve personal and professional development is to be permanently challenged, finding new learning opportunities, making decisions and disseminating the culture of commitment to results, he says. Ricardo Propheta is 32 years old, has a production engineering degree from USP s Escola Politécnica. He has worked a total of four years for GP and today is a Director of BRZ Investimentos.

5 AUTONOMY AND RESPONSIBILITIES Diversified experience also characterizes the career of Rubens Freitas: he was a summer Associate in 2005 before concluding an MBA at Harvard University, and became an Associate after graduating. In this job, he participated in a number of GP s significant divestments, such as Telemar and Gafisa, the creation of Tempo Assist and the entire negotiation process for the acquisition of LeitBom. At GP, people have a lot of freedom and are quickly called upon to take on responsibilities, he states. Rubens Freitas is 33 years old, has an engineering degree from Aeronautical Technological Institute (ITA ) and an MBA from Harvard University. He has worked a total of three years for GP, acted as the CFO of LBR and is currently GP Investments Director. This was made clear to Rubens in April 2009, when he was invited to move from being a Board member to becoming LeitBom s Commercial Director. At the Board, he was already monitoring the challenging situation of the Brazilian dairy sector and at such moment, getting into closer contact with the operation would be of immense value for the company. This implied moving from São Paulo to Goiânia and having an accelerated learning process in marketing, sales, distribution and logistics as well as the negotiation processes with clients. In March 2010, he received a new challenge this time as CFO and Project Management Officer of the company, which by then had undergone successive associations, becoming the leading player in the Brazilian dairy industry. You can only get such an experience in a company like GP Investments, with active participation in all of the phases of the businesses, learning through successes and some mistakes. This is the most solid experience a professional could have, he concludes. In May 2011 Rubens returned to GP as a Director, responsible for identifying investment opportunities and coordinating the execution of deals. My perspective is now to apply all I have learned so far in finding the right companies to invest, and the right teams to lead our companies.