Executive & Board Search

WE COMBINE EXPERIENCE, REPUTATION, METHODOLOGY AND ART TO SEARCH FOR THE BEST LEADERSHIP.

PURPOSE

Help organizations and leaders create healthier and more sustainable businesses, contributing to a better world.

VISION

Be the best and most admired Board, CEO and C-Level Search Firm in Brazil.

MISSION

Be an agile and assertive partner to companies hiring leaders that will bring a winning combination of ethics, capabilities, cultural fit and soft skills.

VALUES

Integrity, Excellence, Diversity, Respect and Simplicity.

Our Partners leverage their experience in hundreds of Executive and Board searches to help our clients find the best leadership to each challenge.

FERNANDO CARNEIRO

SENIOR PARTNER

Fernando Carneiro is a Senior Partner at Vila Nova Partners, with over 22 years of Executive and Board Search experience, having recruited numerous CEOs and other C-level executives, as well as Chairs, Board Directors and Committee Members for many of the most prominent Brazilian and international companies, in a variety of industries.

A recognized expert in corporate governance, he is presently the Vice-Chair of WCD in Brazil and has been serving on Boards of Directors and Committees since 1999, and he also served as Executive Director for the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban).

Previously, Fernando has occupied important positions in two multinational executive search firms, such as Global Board Member, Head of the CEOs and Boards Practices LatAm, Head of Latin America, Head of Financial Services, Financial Officers and Private Equity LatAm.

Before embracing the executive search career, Fernando had gained direct industry experience, having served as Executive Director for two Brazilian Banks. He also led the Corporate Finance and Financial Services Practices in Brazil for a distinguished international management consulting firm.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from COPPEAD/UFRJ. He is fluent in Portuguese and English, with a good command of Spanish.

Norton Lara

SENIOR PARTNER

Norton has conducted hundreds of searches for senior executives, CEOs and Board Members. At Vila Nova Partners, he works primarily with companies in the Financial Sector (banks, insurance companies, payment companies, fintechs, among others) and Technology. He also leads the Human Resources Practice.

Before joining Vila Nova, Norton was a senior partner at an international Executive Search firm, where he participated in global committees and was recognized with the Firm's top award for Quality and Client Service.

Before becoming a Headhunter, he was a management consultant at companies such as Kearney, Roland Berger and IBM GBS.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ayrton Senna Institute, the Amanhã Fund (an endowment of the UFRGS School of Business Administration), Confrapar and Escola 42 São Paulo. He is an Ambassador for IE University in Brazil.

He graduated in Economics from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. He also studied at the Universities of Heidelberg and Tunis.

Norton is fluent in English and Spanish and has a good knowledge of German, Italian and French.

alexandre de botton

SENIOR PARTNER

Alexandre is a Senior Partner at Vila Nova Partners, with more than 15 years of executive search experience recruiting executives at C-Level and Board Members, mainly in the industrial practice.

He worked at one of the largest international search firms where he led the industrial team across Brazil and South America before joining our company. Prior to this role, he co-founded and served as a Managing Partner of Propay - one of the largest Brazilian payroll outsourcing services firms - where he oversaw aspects of customer acquisition and service delivery.

Previously, he worked for approximately 7 years in finance related positions lastly as an associate investment banker with Goldman, Sachs & Co's Latin American group in New York where he worked in the chemicals and energy segments. He also served as an assistant portfolio manager at Global Asset Management in the U.K. and in equity research with Opportunity LLP, in Rio de Janeiro.

Alexandre holds a bachelor´s degree in Economics from Pontificia Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro (1993) and has earned his MBA from Harvard Business School (1998). He is Series 7 Certified and has been nominated as an Endeavour entrepreneur.

He is fluent in English and Portuguese and has working knowledge in Spanish and French.

Betina Düssel

PARTNER

Betina Düssel is a Partner at Vila Nova Partners mainly dedicated to the Healthcare, Chief Legal Officers and Human Resources practices.

Before joining Vila Nova Partners, Betina worked for over 12 years at large multinational Executive Search firms, co-leading the Human Resources practice in Brazil and assisting clients in the Healthcare industry, as well as leading C-level executive searches for clients in the industrial, technology, financial services and consumer goods sectors. She was also a Partner at two multinational Executive Search boutiques, leading the Healthcare practice in Brazil.

Prior to her career as an Executive Search Consultant, Betina worked for seven years as a supply chain executive in the automotive and chemical industries at German multinational companies, having also led her family business - a small metallurgical company that focuses on manufacturing and operations - for a short while.

Betina holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado, a renowned Brazilian institution. She is fluent in Portuguese, English and German.

Danute Gardziulis Carneiro

PARTNER

Danute is a Partner at Vila Nova Partners and for 25 years has been leading executive search and assessment assignments, as well as programs for soft skills development and career mentoring.

She began her career at a global executive search firm, where she worked for 8 years. In her last position, she was the co-leader of Assessment practice and led the Operational Excellence initiative and the Market Research area.

She decided to become an entrepreneur in 2005, as Partner and General Director of GNext Talent Search, focused on executive search and assessments projects at managerial levels for the composition of succession planning programs.

Since 2018, when she became a certified Coach, she has also been working as a Mentor and Advisor on Career and Soft Skills, helping executives to make better professional choices, based on their motivations, skills, knowledge, values and personal principles.

In 2022, she founded Mentorflix, a mentoring and soft skills development platform, with sessions in-person and online, recorded with successful professionals who have 'made it'! In the same year, she co-founded Vila Nova Partners.

Graduated in Law, Danute is a certified Coach from Erickson College, and is also a MBTI and L.A.B.E.L. tests certified practitioner. Fluent in Portuguese and English.

Fernando Faião

PARTNER

Fernando Faião is a Partner at Vila Nova Partners, dedicated to the Leadership Advisory Practice, focusing on Assessments, Leadership Development and Succession.

Previously, he was a Partner responsible for Assessment, Leadership Development and Succession solutions at a large global consulting firm in Brazil, focused on defining solutions for clients, sales, training consultants and managing assignments with high complexity and integrated with other solutions.

With differentiated approaches to guarantee better results, he implemented career acceleration programs for large clients, preparing participants to reach their next career steps. He developed executive Assessments for individual development, as well as for making decisions weather on internal or external succession, mainly for critical positions.

An Assessment specialist is certified in some of the most important psychometric methodologies, including Hogan, Simulation-based Assessments, Personality Traits and Career Drivers.

He started his career in a Consulting firm developing Organizational Culture projects, being certified by Itim – Hofstede Institute and, also worked on large M&A projects leading Change Management initiatives.

Fluent in Portuguese and English, with a degree in Psychology from Universidade de São Paulo, he also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from EAESP –FGV.

Gustavo Figueiredo

PARTNER

Gustavo is a partner at Vila Nova Partners, primarily focusing on Leadership Advisory and initiatives related to Family-Owned Businesses.

Before joining Vila Nova Partners, Gustavo was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he worked for over 12 years on projects for large national and multinational groups around the world. In his last years at the consultancy, he dedicated himself to expanding the Family Business practice in Latin America.

Gustavo is specialized in Leadership, Governance, and People Management programs, with extensive experience in transformation, succession, and IPO contexts, among others.

He holds a degree in Economics from Insper and studied abroad at Università Bocconi in Milan. Gustavo also had a brief stint in the public sector. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, with a strong command of Italian.

Julia Nachim

PARTNER

Julia has over 10 years of professional experience in recruitment, executive selection and leadership projects. In recent years, she has specialized in assessment and senior executive search for the Financial Services sector.

Before joining Vila Nova Partners, Julia worked at two multinational Executive Search consultancies with a strong focus on the financial sector. She has participated in several projects for CEO, board and other executive positions for Brazilian and foreign clients, start-ups or established companies.

At Vila Nova Partners, Julia participates in searches and projects involving the financial sector, including Wholesale and Retail Banks, Insurance Companies, Payment Methods, among others. In addition, she also works with the functional practice of Financial Officers.

Julia holds a degree in Business Administration from Insper – Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa, and completed an exchange program at Université Paris IX Dauphine, in France. She is fluent in Portuguese and English, and has a good knowledge of Spanish and French.

NARA KAMEYAMA

PARTNER

Nara is a Partner at Vila Nova Partners in charge of the Leadership Advisory practice, focusing on assessments, leadership programs and executive development.

She was a Partner and Consultant at an international Executive Search firm, in the Leadership Advisory Services (LAS) practice, conducting assessment engagements within executive search, succession planning, merge & acquisitions, organizational development and transformation projects.

Nara has international experience in talent management at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for Southeast Asia, based in Singapore. She has also worked for more than 10 years as a strategy consultant and talent management & development at Booz & Company. She also has corporate experience, having worked at Vale, Shell and Comgas.

Earlier in her career, Nara was a franchisee of China in Box, a Chinese food delivery company in Rio de Janeiro. She is also a Partner at Mentorflix, a mentoring and soft skills development platform.

Nara earned a BS in economics at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. She is a certified coach with the Neuro Leadership Institute and accredited in Hogan, MBTI and Gallup. She is fluent in Portuguese and English.

OLIVIA AGUIAR

PARTNER

Olivia is a Partner at Vila Nova Partners, mostly dedicated to the CEO, Board of Directors, Human Resources, and Consumer Goods Practices.

With over a decade of professional experience in Executive Search, Olivia has worked both in Brazil and Europe. Her career includes direct involvement in numerous searches for CEOs, Board Directors and C-suite executives across various industries.

Olivia also brings Human Resources expertise from her tenure as Head of Talent Management and Talent Acquisition at Omega Energia, a Tarpon portfolio company. In this role, she led initiatives in employee training, development, performance evaluation, and recruitment.

From 2021 to 2022, Olivia resided in London and contributed to an international boutique recruitment firm specializing in C-level placements within the technology and digital sectors, with a particular focus on eCommerce roles for multichannel businesses.

She holds a degree in Business Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas and is fluent in both Portuguese and English.

Priscila Amaral

PARTNER

Priscila Amaral is a Partner and member of the Technology, Retail, and Marketing practices. With over 10 years of experience in Executive Search, she has led numerous high-profile searches.

She has specialized in the Technology sector, with a strong presence in industries such as Retail and Consumer Goods. Functionally, she has been responsible for numerous searches for CTOs and CIOs, as well as dozens with a focus on digital transformation, digital products, and data & analytics for companies across all sectors. Priscila maintains close ties to the world of digital native companies and startups, and has witnessed the growing demand for C-Level executives in these firms. Consequently, she has been involved in high- impact projects in this sphere for clients in Brazil and Latin America.

In 2022, Priscila served as the head of People at Lastro, a Technology startup in the Real Estate market, with investments from recognized Venture Capital funds such as QED and Canary.

Priscila é graduada em Administração de Empresas pelo INSPER - Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa em São Paulo, participando de um programa de intercâmbio na Università Commerciale 'Luigi Bocconi' na Itália. Ela é fluente em português e inglês, e tem forte domínio de italiano e espanhol.

SILVIO CARAVIERI

PARTNER

Silvio is a Partner at Vila Nova, dedicated to C- level searches and assessments across the Energy and Industrial sectors, and also in the Operations functions. He has around 10 years of experience in Executive Search, and working at one of the leading international consultancies, he specialized in C-level searches for large organizations.

As an executive, Silvio had an international role for SHV Holdings, a Dutch multinational group with investments in energy, retail, private equity, transportation, animal nutrition, and industrial services.

Antes de se juntar à Vila Nova Partners, era Diretor Comercial e Membro do Comitê Executivo da SHV Energy na Espanha, onde também liderou a área de Operações. Em paralelo, atuando pela holding da SHV Energy na Holanda, era Membro do Comitê Global de GNL e Membro do Comitê de Customer Creation, com contribuições em projetos de M&A, de reestruturação e de expansão do negócio em energia. Silvio iniciou sua carreira no setor de etanol e bioenergia, na área de recursos humanos.

Silvio holds a degree in Psychology and a postgraduate degree in International Relations, both from UNESP, and an MBA from USP. He also completed executive courses at the General Assembly in London, UK, and the TIAS School for Business and Society in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Silvio is fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, and communicates well in Catalan.

Contact us

    ©️ 2024

    Follow our accounts

    en_USEN

    Olivia Aguiar

    PARTNER

    Olivia possui mais de 10 anos de experiência profissional em Executive Search, tendo atuado tanto no Brasil quanto na Europa. Ao longo de sua trajetória, participou diretamente de inúmeras buscas de CEOs, Conselheiros(as) e membros do C-level para diversos setores.

    Desenvolveu também experiência em Recursos Humanos, quando foi Head de Recrutamento & Seleção e Desenvolvimento Organizacional da Omega Energia, investida da Tarpon. Nessa passagem ela cuidou de toda a agenda de recrutamento da empresa, que estava crescendo em ritmo acelerado, além de todo processo de treinamento, desenvolvimento e avaliação de performance dos funcionários da empresa.

    Nos últimos dois anos morou em Londres e trabalhou para uma boutique internacional de recrutamento C-level focada no setor de tecnologia/digital, tendo se dedicado principalmente a funções de eCommerce para negócios multichannel.

    Olivia is a Business Administration undergraduate from Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Brazil and has fluency in both Portuguese and English.

    Board Search

    Somos parceiros de nossos clientes e estamos imersos, em nosso dia-a-dia, nos níveis mais altos de liderança das principais organizações.

    Levamos diversidade para os Conselhos de Administração. Promovemos a pluralidade de ideias e de visão de mundo para os níveis mais altos das organizações.

    Executive Search

    Somos constantemente mencionados(as) por nossos clientes pela nossa abordagem simples e assertiva. Atraímos e recrutamos Executivos(as) inspiradores(as) e transformadores(as) de diversas origens, perfis e históricos, que trazem talento e visão excepcionais para as instituições que lideram.

    Apoiamos as empresas na contratação ágil e assertiva das melhores lideranças, que trarão uma combinação vencedora de ética, capacitações, adequação cultural e soft skills. Essa é a nossa missão.

    FERNANDO CARNEIRO

    FOUNDING PARTNER

    Fernando conduziu inúmeras buscas de conselheiros, CEOs e membros do C-Level para muitas das mais destacadas empresas nacionais e internacionais com atuação no Brasil.

    Fernando é membro do Advisory Board da WCD (Women Corporate Directors) Brasil. Foi membro do Conselho Global e Head para a América Latina em uma destacada empresa internacional de executive search, onde liderou por muitos anos as Práticas de CEOs e Boards.

    Anteriormente à sua carreira de mais de 21 anos em executive search, Fernando foi Diretor Executivo de dois bancos brasileiros, além de Head de Financial Services e Corporate Finance para uma consultoria de gestão internacional.

    Before embracing the executive search career, Fernando had gained direct industry experience, having served as Executive Director for two Brazilian Banks. He also led the Corporate Finance and Financial Services Practices in Brazil for a distinguished international management consulting firm.

    He holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from COPPEAD/UFRJ. He is fluent in Portuguese and English, with a good command of Spanish.