Our careers depend only on ourselves
By: Eduardo Drapier
Tags: Football, Soccer, Career, CEO, Startup

In this interview we had the pleasure to talk with Luiz Eduardo Silveira.

Currently, Luiz Eduardo Silveira is the CEO at Santos FC, one of the biggest football clubs in the world.

With more than 25 years of experience in different industries and a vast experience in HR, Luiz shared some great insights about the football industry and how to succeed in the sports industry.

Thank you, Luiz for joining us! And thank you Mariana Regina for the support with this interview!

Luiz, before we start, what would be your professional and academic formation?

I am graduated in Business Management and Business Pedagogy, being also specialized in Management and Strategy, at Dom Cabral and IBMEC. I also have an MBA in Business Management at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) with an extension in Stanford, alongside with multiple courses on Business Disruption and Transformation 4.0

My career has two distinct moments, the first half of it totally turned to Human Resources, where I have made my way from Assistant to Director in that area, and the second half taking charge of different sections until I have reached the CEO position. I have worked in multiple companies and sectors, national and multinational, retail, industry, fashion, services and soccer.

Many students and young professionals dream of becoming directors or CEOs of a Football club. Currently, you are the CEO of Santos FC, one of the biggest clubs in the history of the sport. What are the necessary steps for becoming a CEO in a Football club? How long are you in this industry and how have you built your career so far?

Ever since I was very young, I always wanted to be an executive and guided my career toward that goal.

I have what I like to call ‘construction spirit’, which in a way helped me in the search of new projects and in seeking to study and learn. Particularly I don’t believe in luck, but in preparation together with opportunity.

Defining a goal and being focused can help a lot in the definition of the project you want to be in and even where you want to live in.

I have moved to a different city, state and even country many times, that undoubtedly helped my career, but it has also cost me many things, I could not watch my two daughters’ births, for example. Nothing is easy and we need to have that effort consciousness in mind, as well as a constant, seek for knowledge and self-knowledge.

As a startup, we connect with other big startups from all over the world and most of them focus on fan engagement. What types of initiatives is Santos FC doing to engage their fans? Are you personally looking for new initiatives?

Our project at Santos is very recent, but I am in the process of building our Business Plan based on some main pillars, and one of them is specifically directed to associates and fans. I want to build what I call Santos 4.0, turned to a much better experience for our fans, disrupt from others when talking about content and streaming. We seek that by looking for new partners, absolutely.

Do you have any plans to expand the Santos brand overseas?

Yes, without a doubt! There a few dozen of teams around the world with the Santos name on their own name, and that is definitely connected to the importance of our brand and to the King of Football or Soccer, Pelé.

We will definitely look to further this expansion and a new positioning for Santos FC.

When you look for someone to join your team, do you mostly hire based on social skills or technical skills? Which types of skills do you believe to be most important in order to work in the Soccer Industry?

This is always a complex question, but I always mention that the search for new talents, in my opinion, must be based on 30% technical skills and 70% behavioural. This search for the perfect fit is essential to me, as teams with the same values and clear goals tend to perform better. I believe that in order to work in any business, some skills are essential, and that includes curiosity, being tuned, performance, agility, and ethics.

What are the biggest challenges to start a career in the football industry in Brazil?

My career in soccer happened on a very structured way, I was “hunted” by one of the world’s biggest player to work at SC Internacional, the challenges began right away.

Soccer clubs in Brazil are political and that is present every day. In this environment, it is important to develop and/or enhance political skills that are extremely necessary for big projects.

With a vast experience in Human Resources, could you give 3 suggestions for anyone who is looking for a career in the sports industry?

I will allow myself to give 3 suggestions for any professional:

1- always study, themes from your area or diversified themes, that will make a big difference

2- always look on the business angle, where the business gains and loses money, always taking care of people, collaborators, clients, associates, and stakeholders

3- always seek self-knowledge, that will totally make a difference in moments of great stress

Any final message for our public?

Our careers depend only on ourselves, never delegate to something that you seek to someone else, dreams without planning are only dreams. Soccer clubs in Brazil have a long way ahead in the sense of professionalization, also with an immense need to work inside a business plan, but never forget that the main purpose of a soccer club is to win titles.