I
was born in Brazil. Somehow, I ended up with three passports, a career across several continents and a slightly confused answer to the question “Where are you from?”
Advertising is largely responsible for all three.
I've lived and worked in São Paulo, Amsterdam, Dubai and London, among other places. I've changed countries, agencies, disciplines and occasionally my mind. The one thing that hasn't changed is my curiosity about how things work, why people do what they do and what happens when you put two completely unrelated things together.
Professionally, things moved quite fast. I became a Creative Director at 30 and an Executive Creative Director at 33. I've since worked with brands like adidas, Diageo, Heineken, Jaguar, Coca-Cola and LEGO, across everything from traditional advertising to technology, experiences and commerce.
I've won awards at Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clio, The One Show, LIA, Eurobest and the Webbys. I've judged a few competitions, spoken at industry events and spent a considerable amount of time sitting in rooms discussing whether an idea is brilliant or completely stupid. Sometimes it's both.
I suppose I'm what people call a generalist. Which is a polite way of saying I've never managed to stick to one thing for very long.
But I genuinely believe there's value in knowing a little about a lot, and a lot about a few things. The best ideas rarely respect the boundaries we've invented between disciplines.
I'm also much more interested in doing things than talking about doing things. I love ideas, but I love seeing them come to life even more. And anyone who's worked in advertising knows that getting something made can require more creativity than coming up with it in the first place.
I've never been the quiet, contemplative creative type. I like people, arguments, challenges and the occasional bit of chaos. I like bringing different minds together, especially when they don't initially agree.
Maybe that's why I've lasted this long in advertising.
Or maybe I just haven't figured out what else to do.
