EBI Consulting meets Gabriella Marques de Azevedo dos Santos
I am Gabriella Marques, Brazilian, 33 years old, and married. I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, until 2017, when I moved to Bogotá, Colombia. I studied law at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV Law School) in Brazil and graduated in 2012. I earned my law degree in Colombia in 2019 after studying at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Law School. I also have an LLM (2014) and a Master’s Academic Degree (2017) in regulatory affairs. I have over six years of experience in public and private entities in Brazil and more than three years of experience in law firms and companies in Colombia. That gave me a better knowledge of Colombian culture from the perspective of local lawyers.
As a Brazilian and Colombian lawyer, I built up my own business through a law firm based in Bogotá and Rio de Janeiro (GM Associados), designed to support multinational companies in achieving their goals in Latin America. So far, the firm has already worked for companies in the food, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, cosmetics, energy, pharmaceuticals, non-governmental organizations, and technology sectors. GM Associados provides comprehensive service through alliances with qualified and specialized professionals from the Colombian-Brazilian network.
I am studying for an MBA at the University of Canada West for three main reasons. Firstly, its program schedule has several excellent lectures for my professional development, such as business fundamentals, leadership in the global context, accounting for managers, financial management, and operations management. These courses give me a better understanding of my customers’ business management, bringing our relationship even closer based on trust and quality services.
University Canada West’s particular focus on fostering female leadership is the second reason for choosing this MBA. I cannot think of a better place to improve my leadership skills, share my knowledge with colleagues and those supporting women, and learn from other Canadian and international students and professors.
Thirdly, the decision for a university based in Vancouver is linked to the fact that the country’s main port is located here, making Vancouver the heart of importing and exporting goods and services through Canada. It is the core business of GM Associados! Hence, I aim to be a reference for Canadian companies interested in Latin American markets and vice-versa.
Last but not least, I arrived in Vancouver in January 2022, and so far I am a volunteer at the Federation of Canadian-Brazilian Businesses as a business development coordinator.
In line with that goal, I am pleased to be in a working association with EBI Consulting to look at ways on how we can expand the opportunities for Canadian companies interested in expanding their business in South America.
