The short version
I'm a design strategist and researcher with a background that doesn't fit neatly into one box (and I've stopped trying to make it).
Journalism. UX. Cultural analysis. Systems thinking. Innovation strategy. I've moved between disciplines, countries, and contexts for over fifteen years, and that restlessness has become my greatest professional asset.
I'm currently based in Portugal, working as a design strategist and researcher with the World Economic Forum. Before that, I spent a decade as a journalist in Brazil covering different sports including the Olympic Games Rio 2016, FIFA World Cup in 2014 for SportTV at TV Globo.
That leap from newsroom to innovation consultancy wasn't only a career change. It was a natural extension of the same fascination: understanding how the world works and helping people navigate it.
The longer version
I grew up in Brazil asking questions for a living. As a sports journalist, I learned something that most designers never do: how to walk into any room, earn someone's trust in minutes, and surface the story underneath the story. How to translate complexity into something a stranger can understand and care about.
In 2018, I took a leap of faith. I stepped out of the newsroom and into the world of design and innovation. Not only because I was done with journalism, but because I wanted to apply those same instincts to harder, more systemic problems. Also to pursuit a different life style.
What followed was seven years of international projects across multiple sectors: UX research and service design, digital strategy, sociocultural trends analysis, innovation consulting. I've worked across different countries, collaborating with organisations ranging from volunteers, social work, early-stage startups, boutique design agency to global institutions.
The thread connecting all of it is curiosity more as a method and way of thinking than personality trait people put on CVs. The insistence on asking why before asking how. The refusal to accept the first version of the problem as the real problem. The instinct that makes me learn about any topic.
I hold a degree in Journalism from Universidade Federal da Bahia, a postgraduate degree in Trends and Culture Management from the University of Lisbon, a specialisation in Design Innovation and Global Trends from Elisava in Barcelona, and a Master's in Culture and Communication from the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Lisbon.
I've lived in four countries. I think that matters not as a credential but as a way of seeing and making sense of complexity we all live in.
What I believe
Technology doesn't shape society on its own. People do through the decisions they make, the systems they build, and the stories they tell about both. My job is to sit at that intersection and help teams and organisations see it clearly enough to act.
What I bring that doesn't expire
My work is grounded in skills that hold their value regardless of how tools and technologies evolve: critical thinking, facilitation, strategic decision-making, and the ability to navigate ambiguity. I combine insights across disciplines, reframe problems to uncover better solutions, and operate fluidly across domains.
These aren't technical skills. They're the kind AI handles poorly and the reason I've been useful across journalism, design, research, and strategy.
Beyond the work
I live in Ericeira, on Portugal's coast, where I surf, play beach volleyball, spend time outdoors, and try to practise what slow living actually means. Travel matters to me — particularly going to Brazil — and so does the quieter discipline of building a life with balance at its centre.
I write about technology, culture, and behaviour in Entre, a Portuguese-language publication for curious minds who want to connect the dots between global conversations and their own context.
Reporting, presenting… and having fun! Highlights of my time as a sports journalist at SporTV /TV Globo in Brazil from 2013 to 2018
Want to get in touch? Drop me a line!
Thank you!