Celebrating Pioneers of Change During Hispanic Heritage Month: My Story

As a proud Latino born and raised in Brazil, I'm passionate about supporting and empowering the Latino and Hispanic communities at Zscaler. I joined Zscaler in October 2023 as Chief AI Officer, and earlier this summer I was honored to be named the Executive Sponsor for Sabor, Zscaler's Latino and Hispanic ERG. This role holds even more significance as we kick off this year's Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM).

Under the "Pioneers of Change" theme, the goal of HHM is to highlight the Latino and Hispanic communities' spirit of unity, innovation, and resilience. My personal story resonates deeply with this theme, and I welcome you to read about my story so far and the lessons I've learned along the way.

I was born in Niteroi, Brazil, where my parents instilled in me the importance of education, thought, and resilience from a young age. My family consisted of several pioneers - my maternal grandfather was the chief of security for the Brazilian president in the 1920s, my mother was one of the first (if not the first) female district attorney for the state of Minas Gerais, and my father was a skilled pilot in charge of transporting Brazilian government officials.

My mother told me to always prioritize learning and studying, because "what's in your mind can never be taken from you." This lesson has always stuck with me and has been a prevalent principle throughout my life and career.

I graduated with a Master's in Computer Science and moved to America to pursue a PhD in Electronic Design Automation at Stanford University. This degree enabled me to help advance microelectronics to Brazil, where I later became a professor in Computer Architecture, Entrepreneurship and Software Engineering at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), one of the top CS programs in Brazil. I'm proud to have had a part in making technology more accessible in the southern hemisphere, and helping students ignite their passions to help them start their own businesses.

Over the years, I alternated between the United States and Brazil, forming numerous companies to establish and strengthen engineering departments globally. I worked with some of my former students to launch a startup that was acquired by Jasper Design Automation, which later sold to Cadence Design Systems which maintains a significant presence in Belo Horizonte. I founded another company there before returning to the United States for leadership positions at Synopsys, Google, and Palo Alto Networks. After a decade of leadership in deep learning, AI, and cybersecurity, I proudly joined Zscaler last year as Chief AI Officer to oversee AI and Generative AI applications and develop our AI strategy.

I feel a great sense of accomplishment in being able to contribute to a better world through cybersecurity, where we help protect society in an increasingly complex world. My values helped get me where I am today, and I am extremely proud of where I came from. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I want to leave you with a few key learnings that helped shape me into the pioneer I am:

1. Do not be afraid of challenges. Your career will make turns throughout your life.
2. The market is always changing, and you should embrace change.
3. By making mistakes, we become a better person and professional. I highlighted many of the successes in my career, but I have had my share of failures, and with each failure, I learned something new.
4. Diversity is king. I live with myself 24 hours a day. If I only hire people who are similar to me and agree with me, I won't increase my knowledge. Hiring people from numerous locations and backgrounds helps us to better understand the specific needs of our global customer base.
5. Do not forget where you came from, and what you have done. Be proud of what makes you unique.