Odebrecht Annual Meeting: connecting with the world and an invitation to reflect on our purpose

Exist, Coexist and Dream. That was the theme of the Odebrecht Annual Meeting, which gathered 150 of the group’s leaders at the Odebrecht São Paulo Building, on December 13.

Participants were encouraged to reflect on Odebrecht’s role as a company, on wealth generation, on strengthening relations with society and on helping to build a better world. In addition to presentations on the Odebrecht Foundation and on the challenges that Odebrecht S.A. will face in 2019, the meeting also announced the winners of the Destaque Awards 2018.

The highpoint was the reading of a manifesto drafted by seven young professionals who work in the Businesses of the Odebrecht Group. The manifesto declares how we want to build our future and is an invitation to reflect on the Odebrecht Group’s purpose.

Read the manifesto drafted by the young professionals of the Odebrecht Group

Young professionals invited to the Annual Meeting 2018, from left to right: Pablo Morelato (Ocyan), Wilson Godoy (OTP), Joaquim Castro (Atvos), Karina Midlej (Braskem), Murilo Carvalho (OR), Agustin Torres (OEC) and Carlos Urteaga (OLI)

A word from our leaders
During the event, the young professionals (see photo above) had an opportunity to talk with leaders about the Group’s current challenges. Check it out!

Murilo Carvalho from OR and Joaquim Castro from Atvos interviewed João Nogueira, an independent director at Odebrecht S.A.

Exist, live and dream was the meeting’s theme. In your opinion, why does the Odebrecht Group deserve the right to exist?
João Nogueira – I believe that Odebrecht’s right to exist stems from its history and the reputation built by the group in the various industries in which it operates. Odebrecht is recognized for its excellence and professionalism in human resources management and for being a vanguard in the field. Over the years, it has been able to form a highly competent team and to develop leaders. All this forms the elements that combined make Odebrecht a national legacy. It made serious mistakes, but had the courage to apologize and then to transform itself. With these attitudes, it has been progressively securing the right to engage in business activities.

What is your message to team members who dream of the Group growing once again? How do young professionals influence this process?
João Nogueira – Young professionals have the capacity to ensure that the mistakes of the past will never occur again. Leaders and the board are highly focused on this spirit of transformation, but it is very important for the new generation to believe in and guarantee this in perpetuity. The Group will recover. Once this period of financial stabilization is behind us, we will enjoy strong growth in the future. It is crucial to ensure that the mistakes of past are not repeated.

Karina Midlej from Braskem and Pablo Morelato from Ocyan interviewed Luciano Guidolin, CEO of Odebrecht S.A.

What are Odebrecht’s strategies for rebuilding its image before society?
Luciano Guidolin – Our main strategy is first to finish implementing the ongoing changes to our governance, compliance and procedures, and then to show to society what we are doing. Much of what has been done at the group’s companies has not been communicated. If we do not communicate it, people will not see it.

What is your message to team members who want to dream again, and how can young team members contribute to the Group’s dream of resuming growth?
Luciano Guidolin – I would ask young professionals to put their heart and energy into their work. Don’t be afraid of challenges and difficulties. Work hard. Seek out opportunities and bring them to the company. Provoke your leaders and get involved in programs and activities. Reach the end of the year with the feeling that you have done everything you could. The group believes in young professionals, gives them opportunities and believes that each one can be an agent of its future. So, please get involved and provoke leaders to always share the challenges and strategies of the companies.

Agustin Torres from OEC and Wilson Godoy from Odebrecht Transport interviewed Jorge Camargo, an independent director at Odebrecht S.A.

Given the international context and the change in the political environment here in Brazil, do you believe that 2019 already will be the year in which to dream, or is it still too early?
Jorge Camargo – Every moment is the right time to dream. Every time the end of year approaches, we believe that the next year will be better than the last. It is a good and human tradition. The same thing occurs when a new administration takes office. We believe that it will be better than the last. This optimism is very important and I see actual factors that support it. Brazil is entering a new growth cycle. All economic analysts believe that. Odebrecht is entering a new moment as well, with huge challenges ahead, but growing and dreaming once again. I believe that we must care for our survival, but we must focus on rebuilding what we have lost, especially in terms of our reputation. We never can stop dreaming about the future. We have to dream. We always need an ambition, to think about the future, which gives us the energy that we will need to surmount the challenges that lie ahead.

Why did you accept the challenge of joining the board of directors?
Jorge Camargo – For quite some while, I have been following what happens at Odebrecht for personal reasons. I always have worked in the oil industry and interacted with Odebrecht. I met some leaders and made friends. I learned about the company through these people, who I started to admire for their quality as leaders and businesspeople. Then, my son graduated in engineering and started working at Odebrecht, as an engineer of hydropower plants. He has built four hydroelectric power plants and I have visited each one. I was impressed to see that, at Odebrecht, a young man like my son already feels like an entrepreneur. So, I began to cultivate an admiration for Odebrecht. In my opinion, trying to destroy a company like Odebrecht, like many in Brazil have called for, because of the sins it has committed and confessed to, is very wrong. So I just want to make my contribution. I was very honored with the invitation to join the board to help save this company, which has a magnificent history, extraordinary people, a culture that must be preserved, and which has been of much service to Brazil in the past and will be in the future. I was driven by this challenge.