With an international career at Asperbras, he is connected to the company’s operations on three continentes
Business executive José Maurício Caldeira is a Brazilian financial director at Asperbras. But he followed an international career that has already taken him to several countries to do business, especially in Africa, where the group is present in Angola and Congo. Today, he is based in Portugal and frequently travels this Atlantic route to continue the group’s projects and expansion.
Born in São José do Rio Preto (SP), José Maurício Caldeira began his journey in the financial world at a very young age, at only 13 years old, when he started working in an accounting firm. At 18, he entered college to study Administration and, in 1994, used his knowledge to found his own company.
But it was at Asperbras that Caldeira was able to become an international executive, when he was appointed by the brothers Roberto and Francisco Colnaghi, sons of the group’s founder, to advise on the company’s international affairs.
ATLANTIC ROUTE
It was then that José Maurício Caldeira followed the Atlantic route for the first time, landing in Angola, in Africa. “I arrived and saw a post-civil war scenario, there was a country to be rebuilt”, recalls Caldeira. To meet demands, such as the supply of construction material, an industrial complex was built. Today, Asperbras has a solid operation in the African country.
In 2011, already with the experience acquired in Angola, the group arrived in Congo where it also set up an industrial park. The language – French is spoken there – was another barrier to be overcome. The solution was to bring professionals from Portugal fluent in the language to help with communication. The company grew and came to have upwards of 5,000 employees in Congo.
Currently, Asperbras has branches in Brazil, Africa and Europe, with diversified industrial operations, including food industry, construction, infrastructure, truck and bus dealerships, real estate development and energy generation, says José Maurício Caldeira.