Who’s Who – Panorama Executivo Interview
Magui Castro – Managing Partner at Caldwell Partners Brazil.
I grew up in Copacabana. My father, a lawyer by profession, was categorical with me and my four siblings, announcing during our adolescence that he would not pay for any of our higher education. He said that his son would not be carefree, enjoying the beach. He wanted us to be responsible. I confess that, deep down, I doubted this position a little, but he kept his word! Interested in studying psychology, I got a job as a secretary at an English school and, with the salary, I paid for my studies for two years. Since the course did not meet my expectations, I decided to interrupt it and invest in improving my English in the United States, where my godmother lived.
Back in Brazil, I studied literature and worked as a bilingual secretary for multinational consumer products companies. In one of them, I advised a marketing director who was feared by everyone who entered his office. I got along well with him, but the yelling at the others bothered me a lot. I come from a family where people didn’t raise their voices to others, so in an effort to minimize conflicts, I started offering to help my boss’s interlocutors take a look at their projects and presentations in advance, checking points that I already knew would cause stress.
It worked out. The shouting stopped, and I started to enjoy marketing. Eventually, the director was fired, but the department team wanted me to stay. I stayed as a product assistant, and that was when my career in marketing began.
The next step was at Ambev, then Brahma, as a junior product manager. Then I came to Gillette, where I stayed for three years, until I was contacted by a headhunter. At first, I declined the invitation, but I was approached again for the position and, encouraged by the opportunity to learn, I joined Coca-Cola, where I achieved my first directorship. In 2000, I moved to São Paulo, to head up Kodak’s marketing department. Within two years, I was promoted to president of the company in Chile. There was the prospect of taking over Latin America, and the constant travel dynamics weighed on my decision to look for alternatives. For two years I presided over a Chilean winery, until I was invited to join the world of recruiting senior executives. The best part is that it was to structure the Brazilian office, which made it possible for me to return to our country. That’s how I became a headhunter, an activity I’ve been doing for over a decade.
—
This interview was conducted while Magui was a Managing Partner at Caldwell Partners Brazil.