7/31/2019 Henrique Alves Pinto The power of the mind
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Its a hot and sunny day in So Paulo and were on our way to meet
Henrique Pinto, one of Brazils
leading new-generaon businessmen. Were in the upmarket Jardins
Paulista neighbourhood,
looking for a restaurant called Figueira that is meant to be
near the famous Oscar Freire shopping
district. Apparently the place is built around a giganc g tree,
I tell Maarten. He looks at me with
a scepcal smile and I can see him think, A giant g tree, in the
middle of So Paulo, sounds like an
urban myth, but he only smiles and says: Sounds special lets go
check it out!
Theres a disnct Brazilian mood in the air at Figueira people
sipping cocktails, laughter andirng in the air, and the rhythms of
bossa nova in the background. And, as promised: a giant g
tree in the middle of the pao dining area. As soon as we walk
in, a sharply dressed 30-something-
year-old guy steps up to us. Anouk, Maarten! Welcome to So
Paulo! Come this way, lets sit
down.
Aer we order drinks, I turn to Henrique. So we hear that you are
something of a serial
entrepreneur, seng up successful businesses one aer another. Do
you have a magic touch or is
Brazil changing?
Ha! he says with a broad smile and a twinkle in his eyes. Good
queson! I guess its a bit of both.
You know, I have no pretenons, I come from a modest background.
When I started out at the age
of 18, I had everything and nothing: on the one hand I was lucky
to have a caring and supporve
family behind me, and to have received a good educaon. On the
other hand, I had no
connecons, and no nancial backing whatsoever. I was hungry
though, I had an unstoppable drive
and the will to succeed. I saw the opportunity my parents had
given me and was able to make the
most of it.
Okay, I say, but there are plenty of young people out there with
ambion and goodwill, but theydont make it to the top by the age of
37.
Henrique gazes into the distance as he considers my remark.
Thats true, he says as he turns back
to look at me. Im not saying it was easy. Brazil was a dierent
place when I started out. The
economy was isolated, not everyone had access to educaon and
worst of all you needed
jeinho to get anything done.
You needed what? asks Maarten with a puzzled look.
Jeinho brasileiro, says Henrique as he turns to her with a
smile, a very Brazilian term, how can I
translate it? He makes a snaking moon with his hand. Its about
always nding a way round the
rules: breaking trac laws, bribing ocials, evading taxes, geng
your distant relave in the minis
try to speed up a procedure... basically corrupon and
neposm.
Forty years ago it was the way to get ahead, what smart people
did and kids were raised to
admire people who made it and got rich through jeinho. It was a
system that made the rich richer,
and le the poor with no opportunies. For kids growing up on the
boom rungs of society, the
only way of succeeding, of living the dream, was football.
So how did you get around jeinho? asks Maarten. How do you break
a system like that?
2012 CoolBrands Around the World in 80 Brands
7/31/2019 Henrique Alves Pinto The power of the mind
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By ghng it. Henrique suddenly has a erce look in his eyes. A
dream is just a dream if you dont
wake up every morning and go ght for it. He pauses for a minute
and takes a sip of his aai fruit
juice. Im not saying it was easy it was a struggle. We by we I
mean the new generaon of en-
trepreneurs were trying to change deeply engrained habits. We
didnt just want change for our-
selves, we wanted change for the country.
And you did that seng a new example, I say. And by inspiring
people to believe in themselves.
New business ethics
Thats right, says Henrique, but of course its easier said than
done. It was hard work, we faced
resistance every step of the way... We had to fundamentally
change this countrys business ethics,
and make a decisive shi away from corrupon.
And what do the new business ethics mean in pracce? asks
Maarten.
Its many things on many levels: it means paying your taxes and
abiding by the law, but also sharingyour success, movang people and
showing people that if you really want something and set your
mind to it, you can make it, explains Henrique.
My generaon and those aer us have turned things around. Todays
youth reject everything to do
with jeinho and Brazil is a dierent country than it was 30 years
ago. We have generated a virtuous
cycle in which the economy is moving from strength to strength,
more and more people have access
to educaon, infrastructure is improving and overall living
standards and expectaons are constantly
rising.
I read that in the 1980s Brazil was defaulng on its debt, while
today its the eighth largest
economy in the world, says Maarten. Thats a prey unbelievable
change to be part of.
Henrique nods. Its been an incredible journey. For me, there is
nothing more sasfying than
contribung to my countrys development by giving people the
opportunity to prove themselves.
Together with a small group of entrepreneurs, we made Brazil
what it is now. We invested heavily in
the domesc economy, played by the rules and provided thousands
of families with the opportunity
to rise out of poverty. As an example, the CEOs in three of my
companies started as interns. They
now run mul-million dollar companies with me; theyve literally
grown together with thecompanies.
Movaonal speaker
We heard you also give movaonal speeches to the younger generaon
and underprivileged
communies. I can really imagine people are inspired by you both
by your words and your
achievements, I say. Where do you draw this incredible strength
from?
Henrique laughs. Im a strong believer in the power of the mind:
if you work hard and believe inyourself, if you unleash all your
passion and capacity, then the world is your oyster. I am
deeply
convinced of this it is how I live and how I work.
2012 CoolBrands Around the World in 80 Brands
