Employee Profile

“The connection that we, as traders, have with different teams inside and outside Cargill is very rewarding.”

One of the most empowering things at Cargill is to work on a winning team with great leaders and efficient employees. Working with this team makes me feel challenged in my job. I get inspired to always learn new things and strive for improvements.

Describe your work responsibilities and the importance of your role.

Currently, I am responsible for the soybean trading desk in Brazil. In this role, it is my responsibility to plan, execute and measure the risks of the soybean export program, and to also manage bean pricing and positions. In this role, I manage three direct reports. 

Describe your day-to-day activities and the skills needed to perform well.

The skills I consider important in this role are resilience, boldness, proactivity, empathy, and the ability to take risks and make hard decisions. My main activities are to guarantee that the whole supply chain works efficiently; to analyze market oscillations; to evaluate and measure the risks involved on each position; to execute sales; to promote proactive communication about market behavior and trends with our group and the trading group in Geneva.

Describe your career path. Where did you start and how did you get to where you are today?

I spent six months as an intern. After this period, I was hired as an origination buyer by Cargill to work in commercial origination. My main role was to assist the farmers and buy soybeans from them. After two years, I received an offer to move to São Paulo and work on the soybean origination desk as an assistant trader. Since then, I have worked in the São Paulo office in several functions. In 2010, I became a sub-regional origination manager responsible for the elevators in São Paulo state. As my responsibilities on the origination desk have grown, in 2012, I became the commercial manager for the origination desk, while still maintaining the responsibilities of the elevators in São Paulo. In 2015, after 10 years working in origination, I became the senior soybean trader for Brazil.

What do you find most rewarding about your work?

What is most rewarding for me is when we win as a team, and personally, anticipating problems, being effective on forecasting risks and prices, and achieving results for the company. Besides that, the connection that we, as traders, have with different teams inside and outside Cargill is very rewarding.

Why did you choose to join Cargill and what keeps you here? In other words, how has a career at Cargill helped you to thrive?

The reason I chose Cargill was that I knew from the beginning that I could learn a lot. The company is well known in the market as one that prepares people for the future, thus I could not let this opportunity slip by. After 10 years, the same reason still makes my heart stay at Cargill, along with the day-by-day challenges in the market.

What advice would you give someone interested in a career at Cargill like yours?

The advice I would give is to work hard, take risks in your career, be proactive and wait for your time. Besides that, I think that a person, at the beginning of their career, has to have passion for learning and be curious. Do not hesitate to ask questions. People in Cargill are always willing to provide answers, and it is one of the best ways to learn.

Share an interesting tidbit about yourself such as hobbies, volunteerism, favorite foods or activities, accomplishments inside or outside of work.

I am a proud father of one boy. I enjoy barbecuing with friends and I love to go to the park with my son. Running is my favorite sport. This is one of the reasons why I commute by running and biking every day: it is a way to de-stress from the daily activities at work.