Team
Who makes up Heartman House
Our team is made up of 5 partners and more than 100 consultants. Each of us carries and embodies Heartman House’s Core Values.
Find below more information about our partners and some of our project leaders.
Education
Born in Mendoza, Argentina, Victor attended part of his High School education in Wisconsin (USA). He graduated in Agronomy and Enology at the Liceo Agrícola, in Argentina, took up business courses at INSEAD (France), and several others related to human behavior.
Career
He was a partner with Coopers & Lybrand (currently PriceWaterhouse Coopers) for 10 years, leading many consulting projects for all types of companies in Brazil, Latin America, Spain and Portugal.
He was, for four years, a partner at Galeazzi & Associados, an interim management firm.
In 2001, Victor founded Heartman House. Today, he is the chairperson of the board of partners.
Personal life
Victor is a photographer and enjoys playing polo, scuba diving, skiing and mountain hiking. He is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish, and speaks basic Italian and French.
Victor Eduardo Báez
Education
Vinicius has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Universidade Federal de São Carlos, an MBA in Strategic, Competitive and Market Intelligence from FIPE/USP, and a master’s degree in international economics and globalization from Université Pierre Mendès (Grenoble, France).
Career
For over 10 years, Vinicius has been developing and reviewing business models for large companies undergoing restructuring or sharp growth, mainly in Retail, Health, and Education segments. He also took part of the professionalization journey, M&A and IPO of several clients, such as Vivara and Grupo SOMA.
He became a partner with Heartman House in 2011 after having worked for other consulting firms. Today, he is the Managing Partner of Heartman House
In addition to the consulting activities, he serves as an independent board member in several companies.
Personal life
Vinicius is a runner, loves contemporary art and studies urbanism. He is also fluent in Portuguese and English.
Vinicius Garcia
Education
Youssif has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Universidade Federal de São Carlos, an MBA in Strategic, Competitive and Market Intelligence from FIPE/USP, a master’s degree in international economics and globalization from Université Pierre Mendès (Grenoble, France), a specialization in Financial Management from FGV-SP, in addition to completing an Executive Program of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University (California, USA).
Career
Youssif started off at Everis Consulting from 2007 through 2010. As a consultant, he served Brazil’s main financial houses, leading teams in small procedural restructuring, mapping, design and implementation of processes, technology, and management.
He joined Heartman House as an associate in 2010 and has been a partner since 2012. He leads Strategy and Management projects in major clients, such as Magazine Luiza, Lojas Renner, Boticário, Localiza, iFood and Grupo Soma.
At Heartman House, he is the Partner-in-Charge of HR, which involves all recruitment and selection processes, performance evaluation, compensation, training, and development.
Personal life
Youssif is a musician, plays football and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Youssif Abichabki
Education
Rodrigo graduated in Business Administration from Universidade de São Paulo’s Faculdade de Economia e Administração in Ribeirão Preto, and there he also got a master’s degree in business administration. He holds a Six Sigma Green Belt, a degree in Leading Business Digital Transformation from IMD Singapore and a degree in Business Analytics from Cambridge Judge Business School.
Career
Rodrigo started his career as a project consultant at Ultragaz. For the past 8 years, he has been developing strategic planning, restructuring and analytics work for large Brazilian companies, from all segments. He joined Heartman House in 2015, became an Executive Director in 2019 and a Partner in 2022.
Personal life
In addition to the consulting activities, Rodrigo structured the Strategy course at Link School of Business, is an independent board member and enjoys playing football, tennis and running.
Rodrigo V. Lobos D’Amico
Education
Thiago holds a bachelor’s degree in business economics and controllership from Universidade de São Paulo, which also qualifies him in Accounting Sciences with an emphasis on Finance. In 2017, he attended the Executive Program at Wharton, in the USA.
Career
Thiago started his career in Germany, in the automotive sector, working in Strategic Marketing. In Brazil, he worked in Credit and Banking Risk.
He joined Heartman House in 2014 as a Junior Consultant and made his way up to becoming a Partner. He already led more than 50 projects in Strategic Planning, IPO, PMI, Digital Transformation and Corporate Restructuring for companies of different industries.
Personal life
Thiago is a swimmer and a scuba diver. He is fluent in English and speaks German and Spanish.
Thiago Merlo
Education
Sérgio holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems and a master’s in software engineering from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro. He also holds a certification in Product Management and Agility from the Scrum Alliance.
Career
An entrepreneur, executive, advisor, and university professor with more than 20 years of experience creating, developing, managing, delivering and driving digital solutions for the most diverse markets, such as: finances, retail, education, insurance, pension funds, telecom, entertainment, real estate, supply chain and information security.
He was the CTO and CEO of Estante Virtual, CDO of Livraria Cultura and Director of Technology and Product at M4U, Stone and TIM.
In addition to consulting activities, Sérgio is an independent board member in several companies.
Personal life
Sérgio is Gabriela’s father, a marathon runner, an open water swimmer, a Muay Thai practitioner and speaks fluently Portuguese and English.
Sérgio Ciglione
Education
Marcus holds a Law degree from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas, a specialization in Business Management from SENAC/SP and an MBA in Finance from Babson College (USA).
Career
He started his career as a legal advisor, offering support to companies in search of working capital improvement and debt restructuring. Served as a financial and operations manager in the industrial and services segment. He joined Heartman House 2 years ago, working on Business Model Designing, PMI, Cash Management and reorganization PMO projects.
Personal life
Marcus enjoys cooking, reading, traveling, jogging and working out. He is fluent in Portuguese and English.
Marcus Moura
Education
Rafael holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Universidade de São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, a master’s in Marketing Metrics from Inova Business School and certifications in Lean Inception, Management 3.0, Scrum (PSPO) and PACC.
Career
He kicked off his career in the marketing department of companies such as Red Bull Brasil and AmCham. Between 2011 and 2016, he worked in corporate innovation and corporate venture building projects for 3M, Bosch, Unilever and DHL, as Program Manager at the Weme innovation studio. From that point on, he helped startups in the first stages to structure agile teams and metrics, up until joining Heartman House in 2020. Here, he serves on strategic planning and agile transformation projects for large companies such as Magazine Luiza, Lojas Renner and Sympla.
In addition to consulting activities, Rafael is a guest professor of corporate innovation and digital transformation at Conquer Labs and is a partner and mentor in the Aboré social impact project.
Personal life
Rafael loves long-distance races such as triathlon. He is fluent in Portuguese and English.
Rafael Wild
Education
Gabriela holds a bachelor’s degree in Economic Sciences from Universidade de São Paulo and a complementary degree in Political Sciences from Sciences Po, Paris. She also obtained a postgraduate degree in Contemporary Artistic Practices at FAAP, in São Paulo and master’s in business administration at FGV, also in São Paulo.
Career
She started her career collaborating with customer development actions in urban mobility and technology solutions. She has worked with strategic planning, business models and IPOs, PMI, restructuring and reorganization of businesses at Heartman House for the past 4 years. In addition to that, she has led some of the Firm’s pro-bono projects, supporting management and business development.
She is also a member of the group Mulheres do Brasil, which looks to offer support and visibility to women in the Brazilian market.
Personal life
Gabriela is a fine artist, who loves exhibitions, museums, and photography. She also plays piano, and speaks fluent English and Spanish, as well as intermediate French.
Gabriela Galvão
Education
Holding a bachelor’s degree in accounting sciences from Universidade de São Paulo ‘s Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade, Luis obtained a Level II at the CFA Program and is currently a candidate for Level III.
Career
Over the last 10 years, he has been developing business plans, valuations, budgeting and restructuring works for small, medium, and large companies. Has worked in the segments of industry, retail, education, banking and fintech. He has also helped with the financial modeling of two IPOs.
He has worked at Heartman House since 2017 and previously served another consultancy firm.
Personal life
Luis enjoys running, as well as reading and discussing history and economics.
Luis Barros
Education
Guilherme holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Universidade de São Paulo’s Faculdade de Economia e Administração.
Career
He started his career in 2012 as a consultant in restructuring, planning and M&A projects in different segments, such as logistics, education, paper and packaging, and real estate.
He was recruited by Heartman House in 2019 and has contributed to projects for IPO, restructuring, strategic planning and organizational design with fashion, real estate, retail for apparel and consumer goods, technology and alternative investments.
Personal life
Guilherme is a swimmer, an avid book reader and enjoys watching American football games. He served as a director of a NGO for disadvantaged young people for 6 years.
Guilherme Cruz
Education
Ivan has a degree in Business Administration from the Universidade de São Paulo, of which part was conducted at IÉSEG – School of Management in Lille, France.
He also holds a degree at the executive education program Innovation for Growth: Strategies for Creating Value, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, in the USA.
Career
Ivan’s career started off as a consultant at Falconi in 2013 serving revenue optimization and expense reduction projects. He joined Heartman House as an associate in 2015 and since then has been working on projects of strategic planning, restructuring and structuring of companies, integrations and management improvement.
Personal life
Ivan is a musician and quite keen on gastronomy. He is fluent in Portuguese and English.
Ivan Higashi
Education
Felipe has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Universidade de São Paulo’s Faculdade de Economia e Administração.
Career
He joined Heartman House in 2017 and since then has worked on strategic planning, IPO, restructuring and interim management projects.
He has led and taken part of projects in retail, fashion, beverage, technology and healthcare industries. Also has worked pro-bono important Brazilian NGOs, supplying support in business management and development.
Personal life
Felipe enjoys running and working out, 4-wheel driving, as well as reading and discussing culture and the fashion industry. He is fluent in Portuguese and English.
Felipe Mestre
Education
Jéssica holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Universidade de São Paulo’s Faculdade de Economia e Administração.
Career
Her career’s kick off was at Avon, in Operational Excellence and Demand Planning. In 2017, she joined Heartman House as an intern and moved up to becoming a Business Analyst, a Consultant and a Senior Consultant, leading strategic planning and restructuring projects in various sectors. She founded the Women’s Committee aimed at developing female leadership within the company.
She currently serves as Head of HR and Operations, handling structuring the People & Management area and implementing internal IT and Financial processes.
Personal life
Jessica is married and a practitioner of yoga, Pilates, and meditation.
Jéssica Cabrera
Education
Arthur is a mechanical engineer graduated at Universidade de Brasília, with an exchange program at Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, in Germany, and a postgraduate degree in Offshore Systems Engineering from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Career
He started his career at Bosch in Stuttgart, in Germany developing production and assembly lines. In 2018, he joined Heartman House as an associate and since then has been working on Zero Base Budget projects. He also leads Procurement and Pricing projects in the retail segment.
Personal life
Arthur is a musician, a swimmer, and a football player. He is fluent in German, Portuguese, and English.
Arthur Buzogany
more than
consultants
Victor Báez
Vinicius Garcia
Youssif Abichabki
Rodrigo D’Amico
Thiago Merlo
Sérgio Ciglione
Marcus Moura
Rafael Wild
Gabriela Galvão
Luis Barros
Guilherme Cruz
Ivan Higashi
Felipe Mestre
Jéssica Cabrera
Arthur Buzogany
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