Brazil is our source of inspiration. We believe in the transformative power of the stories told every day from the north to the south of the country. We are curious, we dig deep into the topics, and consistency over a century has given us the authority recognized by our audience.
We help ask the right questions with intelligence and high-level content. We go beyond the news to reach the intimacy of every story and inspire decisions. From children's health to the future of the planet, from the small purchases to the great acquisitions, agribusiness, gastronomy, from fashion trends to the classics of decor, from everyday technologies to the great innovations, the choice of your next car, from where to invest to how to do business.
We translate the complexity of a world in transformation. Our purpose is to connect people and stories by informing, educating, entertaining, debating, listening and transforming ourselves together with our audience. We recognize talents and celebrate their achievements.
We create unique experiences. We anticipate trends and reflect the cultural diversity of our country. Our passion for communication, the creative restlessness, the pioneering spirit, the non-negotiable commitment of journalism to strengthening democracy and the tireless pursuit of quality lead us to leadership. We believe in the interdependence of society and institutions and that inspired, well-formed citizens have the power to build a better country. We work with enthusiasm and discipline and we constantly change in order to stay true to our essence and to the creative spirit of our founders.
Every player performs better on a certain court. The hard court favors balance. Clay rewards patience. And grass is the terrain for those who think fast. Just as there is an ideal court for every player, there is a service model for every investor profile. And only XP offers all the models so that you have the power of choice when investing. Do you know which one is yours?
[...] president of Brazil: we are well on our way to cigarettes with smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. To speed up the process, we need more organizations, regulators and governments supporting and accelerating science-based regulation. Being here today is a great opportunity to learn and turn dialogue into progress.
It all started with a small butcher shop door more than 70 years ago. It wasn't luck or chance. It was believing in simple things. Making things uncomplicated, always doing better. Every door came with the work of many people. People from the factory, from the field, from the counter, from the market. That is how JBS brings quality to the table, opening doors with those who grow alongside us. And that is how we are already present on five continents, never forgetting our origin, that small door where it all began. Because the key to every door is the same: hard work, humility and simplicity. Come on in. JBS. We nourish a better future.
Have you ever thought about what steel means for our civilization — in vehicles, in construction, in all kinds of works? What does steel mean? Ah, it's life, right?
There is this adventurous side of it, this courage to seek new horizons, to grow and to do new things. We don't settle for comfort.
Deep down, it is also a bit of tolerance for risk. So we have a bit of this DNA of being a bit daring. We realized that over time, in this world of transformation, there was a need for us to open up more, to explore new possibilities.
I am very proud to work here. The secret to success, as you asked there, is to prepare yourself and to work.
Three friends, one bill to split. Only one of them doesn't know how he's going to pay. This one is Bernardo, the lost one of the group. And this is Helena, she solves everything on her cell phone. And this here is Bianca, the trendy one. Bernardo, did you forget you can pay through the Lelo app? Lelo saved the day once again. More agility, practicality and security for your digital payments.
[Singing] Try... I'm running away. Take me some days... I'm ... of running.
What do you think of when you think of Rio de Janeiro? Beach, nature, samba, carnival, football, public-private partnerships. You weren't thinking about PPPs? Then start thinking, because besides being the soul of the largest country in Latin America, the city that receives the most tourists on the continent, the cradle and the stage of Brazilian culture, Rio is the South American metropolis most open to the private sector. The city's port area was renovated by the largest public-private partnership in the country, at the same time as the Olympic Park was also built through a PPP. The Rio Olympics, by the way, was the one that received the most private resources in the history of the Games, and we haven't stopped. We made partnerships to renovate hospitals, to build transport terminals and to carry out infrastructure works that changed the face and the life of the city in recent years. It is along this path that we will keep going. We even have a public company responsible for these partnerships — in health, in transport, in education, in many other areas. Rio is bursting with opportunities for whoever wants to invest in the most beautiful, happiest and most visited capital of Latin America. Welcome to the marvelous city.
São Paulo is booming. The city of opportunities is going through a great economic moment. There are shows, events, leisure, business fairs. We are already the largest tourist destination in South America. And with lower taxes and legal certainty, thousands of companies brought their jobs here. 850,000 companies were opened in recent years. It is the lowest unemployment rate in history and one of the highest average salaries in Brazil. São Paulo City Hall: here, the work never stops.
Improving people's lives today and guaranteeing a better planet for future generations. Our commitment is to transform reality, generating a positive impact on the environment and on society for bluer futures. That is shared prosperity. That is our legacy. Egea — our nature moves life.
Every day Cargill connects with billions of people through food and agriculture. We are present in every process from the field to the table. Of our 160 years of activity, 60 of them are on Brazilian soil. Because in Brazil and in the world we believe that, in order to nourish the population in a safe, responsible and sustainable way, production and preservation need to coexist. It is by working with rural producers, partners and clients that we contribute to reducing the impact of climate change, protecting the planet and the people; that we produce and transport food in a sustainable way for the world; that we take Brazilian agriculture beyond its borders. Partnerships of which we are very proud and which allow us to connect those who produce food with those who consume it, which align innovation, transformation and sustainability to develop products and solutions for the most diverse sectors, while we grow together with you and with the next generations.
Sometimes it seems like we are alone, but in truth there is always someone with you. For 113 years, Shell has walked alongside Brazil, boosting the economy, offering quality fuels and encouraging young talents to think about the future of mobility. That is the power of building together. That is the power of partnership.
We live on the future. And that is not a figure of speech; it is the strength of work, of learning, of whoever transforms today what doesn't exist yet. In the state of Rio, the future was never distant. It is born in the hand that learns, in the head that insists, in the technology that opens the way and in the industry that pulls the world forward. We live on the future when we train people to chart their own course, when we create opportunity where it seemed impossible, when we connect the talent of our people to what Brazil needs, when we guarantee health, education and training. We live on the future because the future lives on us — on the industry that moves Rio de Janeiro, on the people who move our industry. Firjan: 200 years of future in industry.
At Unipar, we transform water, salt and energy into chlorine, caustic soda and PVC — essential products for industrial sectors that are part of society's everyday life and drive the economy. We are the industry for industries. We integrate performance and sustainability into every decision, with safety in everything, always with the purpose of being reliable and generating value in all of our relationships. Unipar makes chemistry happen.
A state with around 1% of the Brazilian territory, 4% of the population and one of the largest economies in the country. Santa Catarina is a state very rich in culture, in natural beauty. Products from Santa Catarina have high quality, the best logistics in Brazil. It is a place connected with the future without losing its essence.
The state government of Rio Grande do Sul implemented reforms that brought fiscal balance, investment and development, enhancing the innovative profile of Rio Grande do Sul, with parks, technology hubs and agritech — a strategic position for Mercosur, counting on the third most important tourist entry gateway in the country, 754 km of navigable waterways and the second most important Brazilian port. It is a leader in agribusiness, with one of the largest industrial parks in the country and one of the cleanest energy matrices in the world, with a bet on green hydrogen, besides counting on a broad portfolio of projects for partnership with the private sector. For all this and much more, Rio Grande do Sul is the perfect place for whoever wants to invest and grow. State Government of Rio Grande do Sul.
When we travel, the world welcomes us with open doors. But if you pay attention, it is the people who take us in — those who, with a gesture, mark a before and an after. For us at LATAM, that moment when you feel welcome makes all the difference. On the ground or at 30,000 feet, because it is at that moment that you start to feel more and more unique. LATAM Airlines: welcome to fly higher.
Good morning. Now here on the stage, Guilherme — entrepreneurship is a theme very dear to Brazil and a very buoyant theme in the United States, so that is why it is the theme of this conversation. You are the co-founder of an organization, B55, created to unlock Brazil's entrepreneurship ecosystem, as you yourselves put it. You intend to bring together education, community, acceleration and innovation. Where do you expect to arrive with this initiative?
Good morning, everyone. It is very good to be here with you today. Well, B55 is an initiative that is not only mine, right? I have two other entrepreneurs, super friends and super competent ones: David Vélez and André Street. So we had very similar stories, right? We started from zero to build companies and we had many other entrepreneurs who ended up helping us along that journey. So our vision is how we build a non-profit institute that can help other entrepreneurs build better companies than ours.
Brazil today has 24 million companies; there were 6 million 15 years ago. So Brazil is heading in that direction, but I think that when we bring together a good group, we can, through very experienced people, bring important insights, right? So I got here together with my partners, obviously, but many entrepreneurs gave me that cherry on top many times, right?
So our vision is how we can build the largest endowment for entrepreneurship in Brazil. So we start focusing on education topics, very much geared toward education on management and leadership. Then we start leasing space. So we are going to have a very nice headquarters — we already have a good one — but this headquarters will expand over time, and you, as an entrepreneur, you can incubate your company; you, as a business owner, you can set up a creative area that can learn to drink from this collaborative environment.
So, and again, it is a company, right? A company that is non-profit, but everything we sell we charge for, right? So it is a company, it is a company that will build social profit, so there is a whole timeline along which we will advance more and more. And I am super, super optimistic because we started off on the right foot and I see that the demand is very large. I think that perhaps the best way to make Brazil succeed is to have more entrepreneurs, right? So, helping the crew to scale. It always intrigues me a lot, when I read cases in which, in three lines, it says: 'Ah, the company went from nothing to everything...' No, I don't believe in shortcuts.
And you, do you believe in that transformation of a company, of a venture, into a success? What makes a company prosper?
Well, Maria, I don't believe in shortcuts either. I think there are many entrepreneurs who have success building a very cool idea and sell very fast, right? Let me see, there are a few stories like that, but my partners and I consider ourselves very much 'built to last' entrepreneurs, right? Using the book by Collins there, right? How do we build something solid and long-term. So you have to find a pain in society, you have to manage basic accounting well, right? You have to generate revenue so that it exceeds expenses. You have to have a lot of discipline so that you can allocate capital and energy in the correct way and in the correct sequence. You have to have a lot of discipline, you have to have a long-term vision, you have to be capable of building a team that can bring you scale and can have people aligned with you. So it is a sum of things, right? And maybe the hardest thing of all is understanding that a company is constant change, right? You don't have a single formula that always works. That formula keeps changing, the team keeps changing.
And I think that perhaps that is the hardest part of all, right — as a founder, I started the company, actually yesterday we turned 25 years, by the way, right? I started the company as an investment advisor, right? Today the company has almost 9,000 employees, so I had to make many changes, right? Today I am not even with the company, right? So learning to transform yourself, learning to change your own characteristics, learning to abandon what you did well, learning to do what you don't do — that is super hard, right? And I think a team that works in the long run and that manages to build a long-lived company ends up having all of those characteristics. But I don't believe in short-term miracles; I believe in hard work in the long term.
Execution, right? The role of execution is very strong.
Yes, without a doubt, without a doubt. You have to have the ability to have the long-term vision. You have to be capable of building a plan compatible with that vision. And I agree with you. I think that most companies have these two things, but execution ends up being the hardest part, right? You have to have a lot of discipline in your day to day so that you learn, learn to say no, learn to do the right things, learn to have solid governance with indicators and with controls that keep showing you where you are wrong and how you correct it, right? So I would say that having discipline is a very important characteristic so that you can execute the vision and the plan that you built well.
Great. You say at B55 that 73% of companies in Brazil are stagnant. What exactly is that diagnosis? What would you call a stagnant company and what does it have to overcome?
73% of companies — they have not grown revenue for more than 3 years or they grow only marginally. Look, the diagnosis that we have is that these companies, most of them, are companies where the founder started it, the company began to scale a little more, and the founder is normally a very execution-driven person, a very instinctive person, right? And they have difficulty starting to build a team and, let's say, learn to let go, right? Learn to delegate, learn to worry about things other than just the execution of the product that they committed to delivering to their clients. So they get stuck in that bind: the company got bigger but they are very much in operations, they cannot lift their head because they were shaped being that executor character.
And that is exactly where the institute comes in, right? Look, how do you lift your head? You understand that going from zero to two it was important for you to be a great operator, but if you want to scale the company, it is important that you don't stay so much in operations, that you learn to spend a little more energy on people topics, on all of its derivatives — people, meritocracy, etc. And then you start to have something bigger, right? It is very hard to have something big when you are the doer all the time, right?
So that ends up being the great bottleneck in Brazil.
Uh-huh. When you talk about people and about having your head for strategy, etc., that has a lot to do with culture. And when we look at the American entrepreneurship ecosystem, we see a mix of culture, entrepreneurship, credit, access to financing and business environment. What is the weight of each of those items for us to be able to develop an entrepreneurship ecosystem in Brazil as well?
