Technology has always been present in my life. When I was a child, I used to be immersed in science fiction books and movies and I was always wondering how much we could increase human capabilities if the access to information and processing of data were unlimited.
I grew up in Brazil’s countryside with little access to technical books. The most technological objects that existed in my home were two radios and one TV — which I usually opened and disassembled, hidden from my parents, to “understand” how it worked. I always asked my father to introduce me to “the computer” and I remember that I was super happy when he got permission to take me to the DataCenter of the company he worked for to introduce me to an IBM Mainframe … Well, it was a little disappointing because the computer did not speak, did not move or glow, did not answer direct questions in Portuguese and to have any interaction it was necessary to learn an alien’s language called Cobol … Not exciting at all.
Fortunately, the early 80s was the beginning of micro informatics in Brazil and at the age of 12 I had access to a TRS80 computer (equivalent to the Apple II) and I took a Basic programming course. Since then it has been a love affair! Programming gave me a way to express my creativity and ability to make things happen.
Ten years after this first computer “meeting”, still, as a physics student, I opened a software house to develop banking solutions with image recognition (in the mid-90s!) and since then I have been developing projects and solutions related to large volumes of data processing, route optimization, propensity models, machine learning, image processing and new ways to extract information from alternative and varied sources. I was fortunate enough to participate in both the consolidation of systems in the Brazilian banking sector and the beginning of the Mobile / Social / Big Data revolution at Telefonica (biggest Brazilian Telco).
Curiosity, adaptability in times of change, and willingness to create the new have always been present in my life. In 2015, I was seeking for a reboot and I was preparing myself to leave Telefonica and to start up a company where I could explore the strengths of the new — and exponentially growing — digital data sources and also to use a whole new generation of AI techniques and algorithms that were available. I was interested in image processing, voice processing, mobile data, and how to build B2B solutions with these resources. So, a wonderful coincidence happened: Serasa Experian was looking for a GM to be in charge of this job description! Serara Experian offers access to the largest database of consumers and companies in Latin America, a tremendous branding that opens doors in any company and they were ready to invest in Brazil for at least 3 years to create a successful initiative called DataLab. I would have no personal risk, I would do what I love the most and, additionally, they would pay me a salary for that! No-brainer!
During this 5-years journey, I could witness some of the many attributes that the Experian group has, and that made me sure that we have an essence to be a 100 billion-dollar company. The first is the low barrier to entrepreneurship: in general, we have great freedom to try new solutions, services, or even the use of new technologies. Well used, this attribute generates advantages in our commercial proposals and in the delivery of services. Secondly, Senior Management is really focused on supporting you to achieve your goals. There a
re only a few companies where it truly happens and we all must take advantage of this aspect of our culture. Another attribute is convergence and adoption of technology standards, such as EEC and Experian One initiatives, which will help us to create and distribute global solutions. Recently, we took a step forward to improve our “goal system” with the use of the Dominant Goal Concept (DGC) and the formal involvement of key areas. This gives us just what we lacked for greater clarity in the direction and speed of transformation that we want to give to businesses.
