Contact

Sergio abramovich

Sergio Abramovich is a leader in international higher education and K-12 operations. He has experience in campus and online based education, professional education and technology. He is Board member and advisor of several education companies in Latin-American and the US. He is currently the CEO of Ingenious Schools, a network of K-12 schools in the Americas. Previous to that he was the SVP of Operations and Strategy for GEMS Americas where he was leading expansion in the US and Latin America. Sergio was the Vice President of International Business Development and Operations at Adtalem, where he led the development and implementation of the international expansion strategy, integration, and international recruiting, investing more than $400M in Latin America, India, and the Middle East. Prior to that, Sergio had vast experience with online operations in Europe, USA, and Latin America working at GEC the consulting and implementation arm of UOC (Open University of Catalonia) and at Fundacion Universitaria Iberoamericana. Sergio holds an MBA degree from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, a Bachelor in economics from the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina, and has taken several courses in Instructional Design and Technology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Open University of Catalonia.

humberto machado

Humberto Machado is the CFO of Conexa Saúde, the largest telehealth company in Brazil, and investor. He is also former CFO of Eleva Educação, the largest k-12 school operator in Latin America. Humberto started in 2008 as an intern at Pensi, a school chain in Rio de Janeiro with 4k students at the time. He had already 6 years of experience in education when participated as a partner in the foundation of Eleva Educação, back in 2013. From this time to 2020, Eleva grew from 20k students in Rio de Janeiro to 80k students in 10 different states through both organic and inorganic initiatives. In 2021, he joined Conexa with the goal of accelerating growth in B2B and B2C channels and consolidating as the number 1 healthtech in the country. Humberto holds a bachelor´s degree in civil engeneering from Instituto Militar de Engenharia (IME).

Gustavo ahrends

Gustavo Ahrends is the co-founder of SOW Capital, an asset management company that allows tech companies to structure credit products (credit as a service) for their users. Gustavo has raised over R$8 billion in assets over his career and is currently disrupting the alternative assets space in Brazil. Gustavo is also an angel investor in several companies, including Kovi, Zee Dog, Neon, and others. As part of his involvement in the tech ecosystem, he holds several advisory and board positions for start-ups, family offices and funds. Most notably, he founded Norte, the first founders fund in Brazil focused on early state tech investing. Gustavo holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from IBMEC.

CO-FOUNDER AND PARTNER

Carlos Degas Filgueiras

Carlos (Degas) Filgueiras is a former senior executive, serial entrepreneur and investor.
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Degas co-founded one of the first colleges that made up Adtalem Educacional do Brasil (ATB) in 2000, and in 2004 assumed his position as President and CEO. In this role, he managed ATB’s growth from 2,500 students to 115,000 students across 17 institutions in the most important cities in the country for business and growth. In 2017, in addition to his role as CEO of ATB, Degas also became Group President, of Business and Technology of Adtalem Global Education (ATGE), being responsible for expanding the company to other countries, and running the vertical globally. Degas totalized almost 20 years in Higher Education when he left his executive role in June 2019.

Previously to Adtalem, Degas was a co-founder and General Director at InterCouriers and eventually helped facilitate the merger of InterCouriers with four other companies, forming ebX Express Brasil, the largest private parcel delivery company in the country.
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In 2016, Degas was elected by Forbes Magazine as one of the best CEOs in Brazil. Degas holds a master’s in business from Stanford University, a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of São Paulo.

CO-FOUNDER AND PARTNER

Fabio
Armaganijan

Fabio Armaganijan is a global business leader, with a consistent track record in leading growth in global organizations that include Kraft Heinz and Whirlpool, and private investment in early-stage / venture round companies. He is a former Bain Consultant with an MBA from the Harvard School of Business. An engineer with a BS in Naval Engineering from University of São Paulo.

In his most recent role as SVP and Chief Operating Officer at Kraft Heinz US, his scope included Manufacturing (40 plants), Logistics, S&OP, Procurement, External Manufacturers, Quality, and Commercialization for a US$18B business. He managed an annual spend of US$ 7.5B, with 18,000+ employees.

Fabio was also the CEO of Kraft Heinz Italy, a US$ 400MM business. There he conducted a full business turnaround addressing all areas of the organization and increased the EBITDA in over 50% in 2 years, resetting the company cost structure and organizing it for growth.

Before joining Kraft Heinz, Fabio had executive responsibilities at Whirlpool from 2008 to 2013, holding several leadership positions. He also worked for Bain & Company from 2003 to 2006, and co-founded Intercouriers with Degas.

associate

Amanda portich

Amanda has joined Bewater Ventures in 2020 and has 5 years of Capital Markets experience. Prior to that, she worked in Research and Debt Capital Markets at Santander, participating in the origination and execution of multiple deals. Amanda holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from FGV-EAESP.

associate

LUCIANE FISCHMANN

With a background in law and specialized in corporate / M&A, Luciane is a business lawyer with extensive experience in deals across various industries, and a former legal corporate executive of the education sector.

In 2017 Luciane undertook the position of Legal Director and General Counsel of Adtalem Educacional do Brasil (ATB), with a task to carry out M&A deals, manage their post-closing rights and liabilities, and reorganize the legal department.

Prior to joining ATB, Luciane was a partner of Halembeck Barros Advogados. And before that, she was a senior associate of Lefosse Advogados and its spin-off Lobo & de Rizzo Advogados, from 2003 to 2016, acting as outside counsel and advising numerous domestic and foreign clients in M&A deals, commercial contracts and general housekeeping.

Luciane holds a master’s in law (LL.M.) from King’s College London and a bachelor's degree in law from the University of São Paulo.