A Man of luck
He is the founder of the fan club Sydney-Flu, who for now only has three members but is desperately on the lookout for new die hard supporters. Jokes aside, at 41 years of age Rio de Janeiro (RJ) Bruno Fiorentini is father of Bruno, 13, Beatriz, 11, and Mariana, 6, and husband to Monica. He is also the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of the Yahoo!7 portal in Australia. The career of this executive, which began as an economist in the National Bank (Brazil), has seen many highlights such as being a partner in the agency, Media Lab (one the first Brazilian companies in the field of the Internet) and president and founder of Yahoo! in Brazil before going into chief position of operations of Yahoo!7 in Australia. In the interview below, Bruno shows his love for Rio de Janeiro, the security and comfort he feels living in Sydney and some advice who wish for a successful career like this.
Tell us about your professional qualifications and the start of your career.
I am qualified as an economist as I got my degree from the University of Candido Mendes of Ipanema and my MBA in Marketing at the University Pontificia Catholic of RJ. Like any good economist, I began working for the National Bank where I stayed for four years and left during the time when they merged with Unibanco. In 1995 I teamed up with a friend who was already involved with Internet. He called to become a partner at Media Lab to be responsible for the commercial aspect of the business. We founded the business which was one of the larger of the first sites in Brazil, which was when I learnt about the Internet. At the end of 1998, Yahoo! wanted to go to Brazil and so they got in contact with me. After many talks, I left Media Lab and went to Yahoo!. We opened an office in Brazil and Argentina and I built up the whole team in both countries. We opened up in June of 1999 in Brazil and in December of the same year in Argentina. For the next seven years I stuck around negotiating through South America.
When and how did the opportunity to come to Australia occur?
When Yahoo! become involved with channel 7, they invited me to represent Yahoo! over here. In contrast to the rest of the world, we have a larger production of content over here, which has been a new interesting experience.
How was the experience of moving?
I wanted to do something different as I was there seven years. My family adapted well here and today my plans are to stay in Australia. I think the adaptation process was difficult, but today we feel at home. In a professional sense, I prefer the way they go about business here as the focus is more objective and results driven. We have a multicultural team with Brazilians, English, Australians and Chinese, which are of immense quality.
How was the initial professional contact with your team?
It was an absolute panic (laughs). I was introduced to 10 people in the team during the first meeting and sat down thinking my English was fluent; however, after everyone began speaking I felt lost because the Australian accent is complicated in the beginning. I had to ask everyone to send me emails. In the first month I became very tired because I tried to understand everything. After a while things started to flow naturally, especially because I could count on my family’s support. This is an important issue, the support of the family. It is fundamental for an executive who leaves his or her country. My wife allowed me to concentrate solely on my work and she took care of the rest.
Did you come across any prejudice for being Brazilian?
I don’t think so as Australia is very multicultural. There is no prejudice here but at the same time there is no celebration as such. No one threw any party for me being Brazilian. The focus here is to work. I think this is an interesting aspect of the Australian people. Their point of view on things is very different to Brazilians over there as everyone has a title: the judge, the mayor, the doctor, the manager, etc. In Brazil we have well defined class systems. Here there is also defined social class, however because people all have a respect for their job, everyone is looked upon as equals. In Brazil, there is more admiration for the boss.
Tell us about the participation in the Chamber of Commerce between Brazil and Australia.
In reality, Cristina Talacko (president of the Chamber of Commerce) got in contact with me last year. I went to a few events of the department and accept her request to make me vice-president. The department encourages trade between Brazil and Australia and I think we have much in common with one another. The NAB (National Australia Bank) for example, will be opening an affiliate office in Brazil. Our idea is to create business between the two countries and show what Brazil has to offer and vice versa for Australia. We already have people with ideas to expand this trade between the two countries.
What do you miss most about Brazil?
The good humour from the Rio de Janeiro people or ‘carioca’ in the way they view life. The carioca knows how to have a joke and this is what I miss most. Here it seems people are more in line with the rules; we talk, drink and hang out but the jokes are simpler. The carioca jokes about serious issues and I think this helps us take life a little lighter. Oh, and I miss Fluminense also, I still cry watching their matches.
What are your plans for the future?
To grow some roots here in Australia. I really want the Chamber of Commerce to work between Brazil and Australia.
Source: Falamos Português Magazine
To see the online article, please click the link - http://www.falamosportuguesmag.com/online_ed8/Default.html
