Midgame moments are the hinge points in a career when leaders stop reacting and start reshaping the game. On The Midgame Mindset, Thiago Moraes—an electrical engineer turned sales and marketing leader—walks us through several of his. These are not abstract lessons. They are lived decisions: a bold commercial play for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a family crisis that set his moral compass, a mentor who taught him to be himself, and a sprinting-marathon through a $1.6 billion private equity exit. Each moment reveals how strategy, character, and relentless execution come together to create outsized outcomes.
Why the FIFA World Cup mattered
The story that frames Thiago’s “make-or-break” thinking is the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Aggreko, the multinational he worked for, had lost the 2013 Confederations Cup on price. Thiago knew repeating that mistake would damage not just short-term revenue but Aggreko’s long-term market value. The problem was stark: local competitors were low-balling public bids. Thiago and his team needed a way to win without eroding the company’s pricing integrity.
The solution was elegant and counterintuitive. Instead of slashing the bid, they expanded a sponsorship package—paying to become an official FIFA supplier—which let Aggreko be competitive without degrading their standard pricing. Thiago puts it plainly: “We had to capture the event, being able to win the bid without really jeopardizing Aggreko rates and value.” The move did more than secure the contract. It became a global sales tool: hosting key clients in Brazil to see Aggreko’s installations first-hand and converting what could have been a low-margin contract into a strategic win.
Powerful takeaway: creative commercial structuring can protect margins and create marketing gold. As Thiago recalls his first sales leader’s motto, “They didn’t know it was impossible, so they did it.”
A childhood lesson in integrity that never left him
Thiago’s leadership posture didn’t start in the boardroom. It began in his teens, when Brazil’s economic plan froze private assets—shrinking his family’s savings and forcing them to liquidate homes and cars to honor client prepayments on housing projects. His father could have preserved the family’s standard of living; instead he chose to protect clients who had trusted him.
Thiago remembers his father’s rule: “We need to do what is right, not what is easy.” That ethic—no shortcuts, represent the people who trust you, check your ego at the door—became foundational. Thiago says this experience taught him two things: always do what’s right for your customers and employees, and when you represent others, lead for them, not yourself.
Mentorship and the power of authenticity
Another midgame nudge came from Gordon Bussard, a mentor who also helped Thiagomove to the U.S. Gordon’s advice was simple and transformative: don’t change who you are to fit a role or organization. Thiago was self-conscious about his accent and culture when he joined a North American restructuring. Gordon reframed it: “Your accent means that you can speak two languages.” Embracing his identity became a superpower. Thiago’s authenticity made him memorable and trustworthy; it also enabled him to lead with conviction.
From national accounts to chief commercial officer
Thiago’s move to Shermco is a study in strategic career bets. He joined as VP of national accounts—a lateral move, maybe even a perceived step back in title—but he was sold on the company’s vision. He dove in quickly, proposing early changes to the national account program (go smaller and deeper) and spent weekends preparing to represent the commercial organization in investor meetings. Within months he was asked to step into the chief commercial officer role.
What changed in that short window? Execution and visibility. Thiago didn’t hide; he acted. He showed how the commercial function could drive value and how it could sustain a private equity trajectory. That visibility mattered when Shermco entered an intense sale process that ultimately closed at about $1.6 billion with Blackstone.
The sprinting marathon of a private equity exit
Thiago candidly describes the sale process as a sprint inside a marathon: intense bursts of due diligence, often on weekends, sustained over weeks. “It was insane, the pace,” he admits. The lesson for growth leaders: during exits or big strategic shifts you must be operationally prepared to answer detailed, rapid-fire requests and to sustain that tempo without burning the team out.
Leadership lessons you can deploy today
- Protect your value. Thiago turned an unfavorable bidding situation into a sponsorship asset that preserved margins and amplified brand credibility.
- Lead for others. The early family crisis taught him that moral leadership means prioritizing stakeholders who have trusted you. That reputation compounds.
- Be authentically you. Mentors who encourage authenticity don’t just boost confidence; they unlock leverage. Thiago embraced his accent and background as part of his brand.
- Make bold career bets—but prove your case. Thiago’s move to Shermco was calculated. He didn’t wait to be chosen; he showed up and made an impact.
- Prepare for the operational grind. A sale process will test cadence, responsiveness, and endurance. Systems and people must be ready for the sprinting-marathon.
“We need to do what is right, not what is easy.”
Thiago Moraes
Why this episode matters for growth leaders
Thiago’s stories bridge the technical and the human. An engineer by training, he learned early that creative commercial structures, moral clarity, and authentic leadership create long-term leverage. Whether you lead a sales team, run national accounts, or sit on the executive team plotting an exit, Thiago’s approach offers clear choreography: respect the business model, protect your reputation, empower your people, and prepare to outlast the market’s moments of pressure.
Watch the episode
Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/txIRLKTd6YU?si=lRh60sFQcOSZYtO9
Watch/Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ZBzzGjX1hrsSYkt4xbfWp?si=EzVBXoxJQt6NpsN9AF-WEA
Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-midgame-mindset/id1818103399?i=1000747694300
More from Thiago Moraes:
– https://www.linkedin.com/in/thiago-moraes-893593b1/
– Shermco: http://www.shermco.com
Full Show Transcript:
Navigating Competitive Bids in Major Events
0:00We cannot lower the price to the point that the local players are putting the price on it. It’s going to jeopardize
0:05future edition. How can we bridge that gap between what the local players are
0:10doing and where we are and still [music] have the returns for the record. And I remember that year because of the all
0:18the major events that were going to take place in Brazil was the FIF World Cup in 2014 and then the the Olympic Games in
0:252016. [music] So, I remember going there and [clears throat] pitching the idea to the CEO of the company, the CFO, and showing
0:33here’s the package. Welcome to the Midgame [music] Mindset. Join us as we dive into the pivotal moments that shape
0:39today’s top sales [music] and marketing leaders, RevOps, innovators, and entrepreneurs. This is where grit
0:45[music] meets growth, and the game changes for good. If you find value in this conversation, be sure to share it
0:51with another growth leader who would enjoy it. And now, let’s get to the show. Welcome to the Midgame Mindset.
0:57I’m your host, Rich Bishop. And there are a lot of podcasts out there that talk about tactics around sales and
1:04marketing. And yes, we get into that, but it’s very important for us to really dig into the mindset of those sales
1:11leaders and entrepreneurs and even maybe dig into some of the personal experiences that color some of their
1:18decisions when they do make their decisions uh in going to market with their companies. And today’s guest is no
1:25exception to that. We have Thiago Morai here with us. And Thiago is an electrical engineer by trade, but he’s
1:33been in sales and marketing leadership roles for 30 years. He was a project director for the FIFA World Cup in 2014
1:41in Brazil, where he was responsible for providing temporary power resources and electricity to 12 stadiums and the
1:49International Broadcasting Center. We’re going to dive a little bit more into that here in the conversation. And most
1:56recently, Thiago has been serving as the chief commercial officer for Shermco,
2:01where he recently helped Griffin to sell the company to um to Blackstone for $1.6
2:08billion, a very successful exit. He’s got a great resume. Thiago, thank you so
2:14much for joining. Thank you, Rich. It’s a pleasure. And Thiago, I hit on a couple of the highlights, but I’d love to hear a
2:20little bit more about you. Sure. Yeah. So as you said Rich a an
2:26electrical engineer by by trade I very early in my career I migrate to sales
2:32and marketing to be a product specialist working for Ethan electrical at that
2:37time and then I never left market sales. I think I found myself uh in the sales
2:45and marketing. So great to have the background as an electrical engineer but that was about a year of my career that
2:51I really engineering for my uh uh career. So uh my great to say has never
2:58left. That’s great. And and obviously a strong background sounds like some really neat
3:05experiences, some life-changing experiences along the way which I want to make sure we dig into here. Now where
3:12we like to start is with what we call the midgame moment. And we’ve found that
3:17uh growth leaders of all shapes and sizes all have a common at least one or
3:22two experiences in their life where they’ve had to draw on experiences from
3:28their personal life, from books that they’ve read, mentors that they’ve worked with to help change their mindset
3:34to overcome the challenges that they’re facing in order to reach new heights. and many times end up getting to new
3:42levels of success in their career or with their companies. And so as I explain that, I’d love to learn from you
3:48what comes to mind. So Rich, as you said, there are couple of those moments in in 30 years, you’re
3:54going to always going to have a couple of the those moments. But to me, the
4:00first memory that comes to mind was a uh the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Uh
4:06that’s where I’m I’m from. I was a project director for Aggreko managing the
4:13bid package for for that event and if you were awarded I would do the
4:19installation and operations uh for that event in Brazil. In the previous year a
4:26Greco lost the confederation cup in 2013 we lost on prize. It was a public bid
4:35and um that event is generally a test event for FIFA. FIFA use that to test
4:41the host cities, the host country to see how the infrastructure is going to support the then the next year the major
4:49event which is the the FIFA World Cup. We lost it. So uh very important for
4:55Agreco to secure the the FIFA World Cup in 2014. And I knew I had to think out
5:01of the box to be able to capture the event, being able to win the bid without
5:08really jeopardizing a Greco rates and value because Agreco is a multinational
5:14company and performs a major events worldwide. So I knew if we reduce the price too
5:22much that would impact future editions of the event and the value of the company. So, we had to capture be able
5:28to beat the local players that were lowballing the the bids at the same time
5:35u being able to protect Greco for future events. And then I had a mentor of me
5:42that was a uh my first sales leader, Jose Leas, he had this uh this moto that
5:50a uh from Mark Mark Dwayne, he would say that they didn’t know was impossible. So
5:56they did it, never never gave up on anything, even situations that were
6:02really hard to overcome. And he always inspired me when I watch him reverting
6:07situations that, you know, seem to be impossible to do. Um, and that was the
6:14case for the fifth World Cup. We came up with a solution of keeping the bed and
6:20the value of agreco at the same level um that we have always uh uh done in
6:26previous editions and we end up investing on an sponsorship package with
6:32FIFA becoming the official supplier for FIFA for the event. FIFA then award that
6:40Greco directly without having to perform the the public bid through the local
6:45organizing committee. Um, so with the difference between the sponsorship
6:51package and our bid, we were competitive for for FIFA as well. And then we were able to host a uh uh many of our our
7:00most important customers worldwide to go to Brazil, watch the games, see what we
7:06did in our installations. So it was a win-win fantastic opportunity for us to
7:11have a hospitality package as well for our most important customers worldwide. So you worked extremely well. It really
7:18changed my my career at that point. So you lost the Confederation’s Cup on
7:24price. It was a bid situation. You obviously then learned from that that
7:30that didn’t work well for you. And I I love this story that you took this into
7:37not only avoiding the low bid, which means you probably maintained your margins uh to a reasonable degree here,
7:44but you also were able to then because of the sponsorship turn it around and use it as a a display or an example for
7:51some of your customers around the world as to what it is that you guys are capable of. So you turned it into a
7:57sales tool along the way. So, what could have been a low bid uh low margin type
8:04of business that yes, it’s a feather in the cap and I’m sure it’s good business that you can promote, you actually used
8:10it into or turned it into a promotional opportunity in the moment. Where did
8:16that thought pattern or where did that idea come from? Yeah, I I I’ll start
8:21with what I felt uh rich when we we lost the the Confederation Cup just to give
8:29you an example there. FIFA and Agreco had a great relationship and working together for you know many many years.
8:35So MGreco Agreo has done that that event several times. So, first time going to
8:42Latin America, first time going to Brazil. As as you know, soccer in Brazil is almost like region. And now I’m
8:50project director and then we lost a bit. So, it was a devastating moment for for
8:56me. And it’s a because of the uh the recognition of the event. It actually
9:01it’s a it’s a type of event that even impacts the u the company uh stock
9:06market uh if you lose. Right. So really big deal. So we were was uh doing a
9:16brainstorm with my team. Had a team of multi multinationals that used to
9:21perform the event in in in other other locations you know engineers from South
9:27Africa, Europe, all over the place. Uh and that was the group that was the the
9:33initial group that was putting the package together. Um Gabrieli was uh the leader for our the operations and
9:40Italian uh engineer very bright and we were discussing a brainstorm like what
9:45are we going to do? We cannot lower the price to to the to the point that the the local players are are are putting
9:51the price on it. It’s going to jeopardize future edition. So we knew that FIFA and we have done that before
9:59as part of the sponsorship package not at the degree that we did in Brazil.
10:05But then uh that idea came up uh how can we bridge that gap between what the
10:12local players are doing and where we are and still have the returns for for the
10:19um and then we came up with the idea on that brainstorm how about if we you really expand the sponsorship package
10:26which was a big investment uh uh to do to bridge the gap and I remember
10:32uh that year because of the the all the major events that were going to take
10:38place in Brazil was the FIFA World Cup in in 2014 and then the the Olympic Games in 2016.
10:44Agreco uh board a uh uh it was having a meeting in Brazil. So I remember going
10:52there and pitching the idea to the CEO of the company, the CFO and showing
10:58here’s the package, here’s what the sponsorship package is going to is going to be. here’s how we’re going to build
11:04the bridge. Here are the returns. And I was presenting to the board. And the co
11:10was uh very excited about the idea. He loved the idea. U remember the CFO being
11:17like still not seeing the play here. I think you you’re just playing with the numbers. The was extremely excited about
11:24the idea and uh we implemented and it was a it was a game change. Um um it was
11:31you know really changed the game for us and we were uh uh very successful in that event. Uh we were so
11:39so close uh Rich to um on the on a timing perspective uh to have the bid
11:47delivered that FIFA didn’t have the time to inform the local organizing committee
11:52that we closed the deal directly um with them. our CEO went there directly uh to FIFA headquarters to to
12:00close that package. They didn’t have the time to inform the local organizing committee and I remember
12:06my competitors going to the bid and we were not there and they were trying to
12:12figure out why why agreed didn’t show up to the bid. um and getting text messages
12:20like why you guys you guys not beating and we actually already got the uh the award and the package. So uh it was a a
12:28great moment for all of [snorts] that must have felt really good
12:33especially after the confederations cup knowing that you had you had lost and I’m sure those same people were there
12:40saying hey wait a second where did these guys go? What happened? [snorts] 100%.
12:45It was fantastic. They were very sour when they learned that they, you know,
12:51we already got the package. Uh it was that same weekend that we got the
12:56package and the bid was uh on a Monday. So that’s fantastic. Such a smart strategic
13:03endound move uh to make there in order to solidify that. I I could definitely
Lessons from Personal Experiences
13:08see how that could be a career defining move for you right um along the way and
13:15and some of the changes that um kind of have happened from there. We’ll obviously get into that too. I want to
13:22go back a little bit um to maybe before the FIFA experience and and find out
13:28from you. Is there a personal experience maybe from the younger years that shaped
13:33your leadership style and your approach? Yes. Uh,
13:38I think I I have uh as anyone uh probably a couple of those um rich, but
13:46I I I have one that really I think it marked me um as a uh an young individual
13:55and marked my uh the way that I lead and my my leadership. When I was in my
14:00teens, my dad had an an accounting firm. He he owned an an accounting firm and he
14:07had this side a uh investment that he would build a low-end houses for people
14:15trying to get their first first homes. So he would invest in building those
14:20houses. And 1990 the Brazilian government launched a
14:26um an economic a reform uh package. was known as a uh color plan. It was the
14:34name of the president at that time um in Brazil. And one of the most pamic measures of
14:41that economic reform was a uh freezing the 80% of the assets private assets by
14:50uh for 18 months. Assets would you know frozen for 18 months like talking about
14:55savings accounts, investments, all private financial assets. Um, it’s unthinkable. And unfortunately
15:04for us as as a family, a lot of the down payments uh from the future owners uh
15:10for the house were actually in my uh my dad’s uh uh saving saving accounts. U
15:17[snorts] so when that happened uh he didn’t have the cash to honor his
15:23commitment to these people to start, you know, building the houses. So before that economic reform we always had a
15:31very stable financial condition and we had couple of houses, cars and we are in
15:38a very good financial condition after that economic reform.
15:43uh we had to sell pretty much everything that we had uh so my dad would have the
15:49money to you know build the house and it was in my teens I believe I was either
15:5614 or 15 and I I remember asking him why we need to sell our
16:03houses our cars and burn our savings none of this is our fault and uh I
16:12remember he look at me and said, “Hey, uh, because all these people, they trust
16:17me with their savings and their dreams, and there is no money in the world that
16:24would make me whole if I let them down.” And he said, “We need to do what is
16:30right, not what is easy for us. Legally speaking, he probably would be able to,
16:36you know, get away. It was an economic reform.” And he didn’t. He he selected what was right rather than what was easy
16:43impact our lives tremendously financially speaking it was uh a really
16:50big step down but I learned two lessons from from from that day uh from that
16:57year from my dad. One is always do what is right for your employees for the
17:04customers for the company overall rather than what is easier for you. Make sure
17:09you always doing your what’s right. Don’t do what is easy. Don’t no shortcuts. And the second
17:16make sure don’t every situation you need to manage any decision you need to make
17:22even a meeting that you you need to attend. Make sure you are representing
17:27the people that trust their interests on you mainly when they are not in the room
17:34to do that for themselves. Represent them. check your ego at the door and you there representing a group
17:41of people your direct reports or people that trust trust you uh to be their
17:47leader and it’s not about you it’s about them and that I I take that as a uh uh
17:55for every every single situation that I need to to manage I try to you know live
18:01to those AI standards that I learned from my dad. Yeah, that’s incredible. I mean, first
18:08of all, I’ve traveled outside the US quite a bit, but just being a US citizen
18:14and hearing about assets being frozen, that’s something that generally never crosses our mind, right? Um, we’ve got
18:23the economy and the government and and the stability there that that luckily,
18:28knock on wood, has never had to be the case and has never come into play. Now, with that said, you were 13, 14 years
18:35old while this happens. Obviously, that’s a um in general, that’s a very
18:41selfish time in a a kid’s life as they’re starting to figure out who they
18:46are, right? I’ve got two teenagers. I know uh in experiencing that now, how
18:51that can be. That had to have made one hell of an impression on you at that
18:56time for your dad to have that kind of principled view of business and say,
19:02″You know what? No, I’ve got an obligation here to the people that trusted me and I’m not going to break
19:09that trust and therefore our family needs to feel that or is going to feel
19:14that because we can’t let those other people down. That
19:20how did that feel in the moment when you were going through that? It was really hard on on us, Rich, because we were
19:28used to have a u a really a really good
19:34financial position. We were living in Brazil, was living in S. Paul at that time, but we lived in Santos that is
19:41sitting in the in the coast. So, we had this very nice apartment in the ocean
19:47drive. I remember my dad used to have the latest models of the cars. Uh I
19:53remember the neighbors going to the to the building garage to see the new model that we would have. It was always a very
19:59pleasant a very well balanced a financial situation
20:05and we had to leave that apartment that I I grew up. I had all my friends there.
20:12you know, we had to go several blocks away from the Ocean Drive and to more
20:18affordable location and leave an apartment that was ours to leave a uh on
20:24a rental. It was very impactful. It was very tough on me and and also my mom at
20:30that time. My my mom didn’t work so she had to start, you know, uh work in uh
20:36selling clothes in Brazil. So you really changed dramatically the situation that
20:42we had. So it was pretty impactful very that time reached a uh I I just felt the
20:49negative side of all that. Uh it took me several years later when you know I grew
20:56up to look back and understand what he did and actually to feel really proud of
21:04what he did and up to these days I it’s an emotional thing for me. uh and I feel absolutely proud on the
21:12way that he handled that and it’s it’s a great memory now at that time was a really tough one very sad and remember
21:20crying because we’re not living at the same place crying because I was no no longer close to my to my friends then I
21:26look back and I’m so proud of what I did are your gotom market teams built for scale or are they stuck [music] in chaos
21:33at MGame consulting we turn high growth challenges into operational ational wins. From sales strategy to CRM to
21:41process optimization, we help you get it right so that your organization [music] can grow as your topline grows. Let’s
21:49transform today’s change into tomorrow’s success. Visit midgame consulting.com.
21:54That’s midgame [music] consulting.com. That is such an upheaval of a a family
22:02and in their life. But I it I’m amazed and and glad that your dad did that,
22:10right? Like to there aren’t enough business people out there that have that kind of moral compass that would make
22:16that kind of decision in that situation. And there are too many people that are selfish and would do the right thing for
22:22themselves and screw the people that have trusted them. And it really says a
22:28lot about your father and the man that he is that really kept those um those
22:36people at heart when he was making those decisions. So, I’d like to ask you,
22:42how did things change or did they end up turning for the positive when the assets
22:48were unfrozen? Were was your dad able to turn those things around and kind of get back to more of the way that things
22:54were? No, we never recovered a u rich from to the same level that we had. We never
23:01recovered uh the package. It’s it’s it’s crazy to think about it like you’re right. people that are not from Brazil
23:08when every time I tell this story they’re like that’s impossible. The government would wouldn’t do that and
23:13you can actually Google it and it’s uh see it and if you Google it a caller
23:19plan is going to explain everything that happened. They had an interest rate that was kind of recovering inflation at that
23:25time. Uh that for the frozen assets but we not ever able to recover because what
23:32happened was all the assets that we had to to sell
23:38we were spending on rental and on the houses and not having the cash in hands
23:44and really burned our savings and our and our assets. So we never recovered to the same level
23:52that we had before after that. So we not not saying we had a very tough
23:59situation. It never uh we always had a uh house, a place, uh education, food,
24:06everything uh rich. But it was a a sacrifice um to be at the college that
24:13that I did uh which was a private college. a uh I had to get a uh student
24:20loan to do it that I paid after I graduated. So I wouldn’t be able to like
24:25my my parents wouldn’t be able to pay. So I got a loan and then after one year
24:30that you graduate to start paying the loan. So I did. The school that I that I went to, the high school that I went to,
24:38it was a good very good school in in S. follow, but it was a, you know, really a
24:43sacrifice for for my dad and my mom, selling clothes to try to keep up with a
24:49um the the school. So, it’s a pretty big change on on our style and our lives.
24:55And we never never went back to the same level that that we had. But, u still,
25:00you know, I look back and so so glad and so pleased that that was the decision that that he made. And I remember
25:08telling my mom that that moment it changed the way that I operate. And
25:15I I I tell her that my hardworking probably comes from that and you know uh
25:22putting out in and uh work hard and and and being you know resilient to
25:30situations and my mom teases me. So she was you were always like that. you didn’t have
25:37that situation to do it and I was like mom I’m trying to find a positive moment from [laughter] don’t take away from me
25:43you know think that was that you know [laughter]
25:49that’s great that’s great so I’m sure that shaped your career and your
Embracing Authenticity in Leadership
25:55approach to how you manage and how you lead people really kind of keeping uh
26:00other people’s interests and the people that you lead close to heart with with how you do it um Are there some
26:07challenges or is there something that challenged your your thinking along the
26:12way or changed some of your thinking from maybe not necessarily on on that front but maybe in other areas of your
26:19mindset that um whether it be a person whether it be a situation that helped
26:25kind of shift your mindset in the way that you approach businesses or challenges.
26:32Yes. which I have I have a a a mentor that became a friend. Gordon Brousard is
26:39his name. We work together at at a Greco. He’s the person responsible for for me to be here in US and live here in
26:46US. He was the the first one to see potential uh on me and a uh promote my
26:53skills um here in the North America division of of Agreco and and he helped
26:58me to make that transfer from from Latin America to to US and he always used to
27:05tell me don’t change who you are and your beliefs to any role or any
27:11organization. I believe that in the beginning coming from Brazil to US to get a leadership
27:18sales leadership position u here in US. I remember the company was doing a
27:24restructure at that time and we were in this uh hotel in Houston and all these
27:32sales leaders they were being assigned a uh new new roles. Uh it was a completely
27:39reorganization of the North America business. uh about $500 million at that
27:45time and whole restructure of the sales team and the leadership and then you
27:51have this guy coming from Brazil getting a leadership position and they were reducing the number of leaders that um
27:59you would have in the North America business going from area sales managers to uh sector leaders at that time. Then
28:08you have a guy coming from Brazil and getting one of those spots, reduced amount of spots. And I remember being
28:14that hotel trying to fit in and people telling me,
28:21″I believe you’re in the wrong country. Uh like very uh and myself with very
28:27strong accent. I still have it. Uh and I remember trying to fit in and Gord was
28:34like don’t try to fit in be yourself you know u be true to yourself to your
28:42beliefs and don’t try to fit in for any role or organization
28:47and you really changed my way of thinking uh u rich and it’s uh it’s
28:53amazing the power that comes when uh you
28:59true to yourself you true to your beliefs and you make the decisions and you act and you lead in the way that you
29:05believe from your heart. It’s liberating and actually it becomes
29:12an strength because when you do that people see it through that you’ve been
29:17true to yourself. You’ve been true to your beliefs and it’s unique. People
29:23feel it. Everybody can tell when it comes from the heart. When we are trying
29:28to play, you know, a role or trying to play a persona that is not really you,
29:34people can see it through. And being yourself, it has that strength, that uh liberation.
29:40As an example, I remember for many many years I used to be ashamed uh by my my
29:48accent, right? Um and I used to trying to hide my my accent. I I used to not
29:54you know speak that much because of my accent to the time that you know uh I
30:00used to talk to about it and he was like your accent means that you you can speak
30:06two language that’s what it means and then I start you know realizing that you
30:12know what he’s right you know my accent means that I’m smart enough to speak two language and uh and then later on I
30:19start adding and that I’m brave enough to perform my job on my second language
30:25which is I think it’s a brave act a uh uh as well. So I start embracing it and
30:31being proud of my my accent and rather than being ashamed I uh I made it part
30:38of my brand I think. Uh, and so yeah, he really changed the way that Gordy really
30:45changed the way that I I I, you know, I see things, trying to fit in and be more
30:53true to myself and follow my instincts and, you know, gut feelings and and do
30:58the things based on my beliefs. Um, it u is liberating and so much power out of
31:04that. It sounds too like he almost brought you back to the lessons that you
31:09were just telling us about your father in that moment of staying true to your beliefs and standing up for what it is
31:16that you believe in even when that means the the desire to fit in to the people
31:21around you, right? It stay true to who you are in those moments. 100% rich. No, no doubt about it. And it
31:29helped me it helped me tremendously in my career because you know being that
31:35person or you know being myself is really what you know made me uh uh
31:43successful throughout throughout my career. If I was trying to fit in and just be uh part of a uh an existing
31:51organization an existing ecosystem uh uh I probably would be just another person.
31:58I wouldn’t ever be able to really succeed and and do the things that I
32:03have accomplished in my career if I was not really following my heart and following my my beliefs. You 100%.
32:10And now you’ve you’ve taken that area leadership type of role that you were
32:16you were talking about, right? And and coming over to the US and taking over one of those um territories at at the
32:23level that you were at there. You’ve now obviously continued to progress in your sales leadership career, now a chief
32:29commercial officer, um successful exit under your belt at this point. Uh how do
32:36you attribute that that growth from maybe early um sales leadership roles to
32:43becoming a a CCO and and what were some of the changes if any that you needed to
32:48make in taking on those larger scopes? There is a big change uh rich when you
32:55get those uh roles that is you need to really trust your your people right and
33:04uh and inspire them. You’re not going to be able to to be in every single meeting
33:10or place that you would like to be to influence the decision. So it’s it’s
33:17really it’s a waterfall, right? that you need to make it happen. So thinking
33:23about growth, growth to me is when you were able to build an organization, an
33:30environment that inspires people to perform at their best and really go the
33:38extra mile. Not because they feel obligated to, because they want to, because they
33:46believe on what what we are doing together and what we are building together. It’s really how I would uh
33:52describe success and and growth. That’s from a conceptual perspective.
33:58from more a practical way. It’s really having that commercial organization being the driving force that is going to
34:06lead the entire organization to outpace market growth and and by doing that
34:14create a uh a value uh to the company in a consistent way. Now, if I’m not
34:19mistaken, you joined Shermco in a either a VP or an SVP type of role and then
34:25were shortly thereafter promoted to CCO. I know that there are a lot of of
34:32leaders that maybe will jump from one company to another in search of
34:37promotions, right? And they will specifically only go for the CCO or CRO
34:43type role depending on the industry. um it it rather than trying to take that
34:49like intermediary step that you took that then projected you and got you into that that CCO type of role. I would love
34:57to hear your your thoughts as you were looking at that and what that opportunity meant to you and why that
35:04was so enticing instead of maybe waiting to find a role that already was that CCO
35:11or CRO type of role. Yes. uh remember that very well. Uh
35:16Rich, I was already a VP of sales. Uh having the entire sales uh was the VP of
35:23sales and marketing at Agreco and then working for night side services after Agreco. I was also a VP of sales. So
35:30when I joined Sherman Go as a VP of national accounts, uh you it could be
35:37perceived as going backwards. Honestly, at that point, I felt that I was going,
35:43you know, from a title perspective that I was going uh backward. Um, so I was
35:49like really debating uh on that move, but I was so inspired by what Shako was
35:57trying to to do. um mainly the CEO u spent a lot of time uh talking to few
36:04our our CEO and what he was trying to accomplish as an organization and I
36:10remember him spending like one hour and a half even before I was an employee you know explaining me the whole plan and
36:16what he was trying to achieve. uh you really inspired me to to do. So I
36:24I made a bet, Rich. I uh I really, you know, I was I I knew I was going
36:31backwards on my resume at that time uh because I had sales um in all capacity
36:37and marketing and I was going to, you know, be a VP of national accounts.
36:42But I was uh very inspired by the story and I said I’m going to give a try and I
36:49think this is a great business. I’m an electrical engineer. Sean does uh few
36:55electrical services um acceptant estimate and so I was like it’s going to
37:01go back to my roots of being a an electrical engineer and and doing the
37:07industrial services and technical selling. So I made a bet. So glad I did.
37:14It went extremely well. I joined in the end of August and in November 1st they
37:22invite me to fill in the chief commercial officer role that was that was open. I remember when I interviewed
37:28with him I asked about the role. Uh, I knew the role was open and I asked him
37:33said, “Yeah, we looking, you know, for that role and I remember Phil telling me very
37:41honest and I love the way that he did.” Um, he said, “I can see in your resume, you probably could do that role, but um,
37:48you’re probably going to market next year and I need someone that, you know, have done that before.” Uh, right, to be
37:54on that position. um which I understood and I appreciate his honesty and his openness and no
38:02problem. I still believe on the project and I believe on what we’re trying to do and I want to do this uh want to embark
38:09on the privacy equity ward and let’s do it and it paid out a uh extremely well
38:17uh took the chief commercial officer and then end of uh first of November end of
38:22last year and has been a very rewarding journey. That’s great. So he was honest with you
38:31about okay you don’t have the experience we’ll continue to look what do you think changed between August and November in
38:38his mind as you came in and obviously established yourself in a very good way
38:43for them to to consider you for that role and almost changed their mind from where they had been a few months before. I would say Rich I uh I joined the
38:52company and I really went our way right. I I was I was not playing the role on
Transitioning to Executive Roles
39:01okay let let me be you know in the sideline
39:07learning the the the company and taking the time to learn and still not there
39:12and I went all in you know I really embraced first with the national account manager program I have done that before
39:19when I was working for AO so really coming up I remember second week
39:25discussing with the team you changes that you know I would like to evaluate. I was still too early to make the change
39:31but I’m already sharing my thoughts again again being true to yourself and
39:38to your beliefs. I was already sharing with the team I said guys I believe we have too many accounts. We need to go
39:44smaller and deeper rather than wider uh in a true you know national account
39:50management program. you really need to own those, you know, accounts that that you have rather than have too many that
39:56you’re just touching and being superficial and discussing those, you
40:01know, changes very early. And I think they saw that I was dedicating myself the the change that we were we were
40:07doing, they were they were playing well. They were making an impact in the organization. And we had a role the
40:13chief commercial officer was not filled and some of the discussions with potential investors uh and bankers
40:21companies brokers that would do the the exit later they start taking place
40:27during that time just evaluating how the market appetite is for that type of a
40:32deal and the CEO asked me to fill in on some of those meetings. He was like,
40:38″Can you, you know, would you mind, you know, going and fill in and talking about sales?” And and I said, “Sure,
40:45let’s let’s do it.” Some of those in a very short uh notice they um being, you
40:51know, communicated on a Thursday that, you know, had to be in one of those meetings on a Monday. So spent my
40:59weekends, you know, working on the speech and how well, you know, I would present the uh the sales organization
41:06and it went well. I think they was well very well received and
41:12and they they trust and they said that you know you know what why not let’s you
41:19know u let’s make a bet and uh very pleased with the opportunity that they gave me. I I think it it paid out for
41:27them as well on the bet. [laughter] Yeah, for sure. For sure. And I’m
41:33curious, this was your first um your first transaction that you’ve you’ve
41:39been a part of or at least to this capacity. What was maybe the the biggest
41:44challenge that you didn’t anticipate through that process? The biggest challenge I think I knew
41:52Rich I knew that you know you really go through a very detailed due diligence
42:00when you know for that type of investment right $1.6 billion
42:06and Blackstone and other potential buyers that were uh in the process you
42:11know you’re going to have a very detailed due diligence.
42:17I didn’t realize how quick those due diligence and how
42:23quick you need to turn out a information uh during an exit process like that. It
42:30was it was insane the pace, right? was having meetings and uh during the
42:38weekend to uh get the information that was being requested um to the potential
42:45buyers. Uh and it was nonstop [snorts] for
42:51I want to say probably eight weeks. Um that was really
42:59you know consistent requests, answers. you get this like 112
43:04questions uh about your sales your sales process and and you need to turn as
43:11quick as you can because you know you want to keep the buyers engaged and you you want to keep the process going as
43:18fast as you can. So I think that was probably the biggest challenge anyone that has done that before probably was
43:24aware of. I heard about it but I probably underestimated the uh the
43:30intensity of the process. Uh but it’s learned a lot and it was a very
43:38rewarding and um uh it went extremely well. So we all very pleased with the
43:46results. Yeah, there is there is a lot of hurry up and sometimes there’s a little bit of pause but but then all of
43:53a sudden it it gets going again, right? And the the request they needed it 5 minutes ago, so you need to get moving
44:00every time. It’s it’s almost like sprinting a marathon, right? Like it’s it’s it’s intense in
44:07terms of the speed, but also the duration ends up going a lot longer than than it normally would in the in the
44:14normal course of business, right? It’s It’s so funny that you’re using a sprint in a marathon, uh, Rich, because that’s
44:20exactly uh what I told my team. I [laughter] said, “You’re sprinting a marathon, so let’s just keep going.” Uh,
44:27that’s exactly how it feels that you sprint sprinting sprinting a marathon. Well, Thiago, I really appreciate you
44:34sharing your stories here today. As we get ready to wrap up, I’d love to find out from you. I know you’ve you’ve got
44:40children that are that are growing in age and we’ve talked about our kids uh in some of our conversations that we’ve
44:45had before. Is there one principle or lesson that you’ve learned in your journey that you want to make sure your
44:52kids really understand and get as they get ready to move on to college and into their working careers?
44:59Yes, Rich. I think that would be that hard work and persistence
Instilling Values in the Next Generation
45:05always a uh payoff and just trust the process.
45:10Keep pushing forward. Don’t give up, right? You always going to be able to
45:15overcome any challenge. If you trust the process and you work hard and have
45:21persistence, persistency, you always going to going to get the results and
45:26it’s going to pay off. I think it it bothers me when I see
45:33people stopping on the forced barrier. It’s something that really bothers me
45:39when you know and the kids too and the generations when first challenge something doesn’t go the way that they
45:46expect and they they give up. It bothers me. So I try hard with my my daughter to
45:53you know keep pushing. That’s okay. What did you learn from that failure? How are
45:59we going to apply that, you know, on the next one? What are we going to do about it related to that that event? And just
46:06work hard and persistent pays off. That’s great advice, Thiago. Thank you
46:13so much for joining. If people want to um to connect with you or get a hold of you, how do they do that? I have a
46:20profile in my uh LinkedIn rich a um that I am generally you know there um so I
46:26think that will be probably the the best way um to reach out would be through the the social media.
46:32Perfect. And we’ll include the link uh to that LinkedIn profile in the show notes as well for everybody. Thiago,
46:38thank you again for joining. I really enjoyed the conversation. Rich, thanks for the invite. It was a pleasure. Uh great day uh sharing this
46:45podcast with you. Thanks for joining [music] us on the Midgame Mindset. If today’s episode sparked a new idea or
46:51helped shift your perspective, share it with someone [music] who’s ready to grow. Subscribe, leave a review, and
46:56keep playing the game. With the right mindset, the best moves are still ahead. [music] Until next time, keep changing
47:01the game.
