Ep. 138 Vitória Lorenzetti: From Brazil to Amsterdam, Fueling the Future of EVs

Vitória is the EV Public Charging Network Manager at Last Mile Solutions, a SaaS EV Charging & smart energy management platform. She was born and raised in Brazil. She was educated in the US where she started her career and she is now based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, 

Vitória’s work has centred on expanding and continuing to build a seamless and intuitive experience for EV drivers across Europe.
 
In our conversation we talk about her roots, childhood, and the experiences that fuelled her international career, first in New York and now in Amsterdam. 
 
When Vitória thought she had her life and career figured out in NYC, working for an ad agency on Madison Avenue, life showed her otherwise. 
 
Before embarking on the unstoppable world of eMobility, Vitória worked in client services/brand management for WPP and IPG brand agencies in New York City.
 
But Vitória's impact extends beyond her professional endeavours – it’s about giving back and empowering others.

She founded a vibrant community of Brazilian women, a support system designed to help them relaunch their new life and regain their confidence in a new and foreign land. It's a validation of her commitment to not only succeed herself but to lift others up along the way.

I'm delighted to have met Vitória and excited to share her story with you in this episode. As always, I look forward to hearing what resonates with you.

Connect with Vitória on LinkedIn: Vitória Lorenzetti

Thank you to our sponsors:

ASKE Consulting
Email: hello@askeconsulting.co.uk

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Email: cvm@aquilae.co.uk

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If you enjoy listening to our guests career stories, please follow CAREER-VIEW MIRROR in your podcast app. 

Episode recorded on 29 September 2023.

Transcript

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Vitória Lorenzetti: 0:00

Everything that has happened, every single occasion in moments really helped me to become who I am today.

Andy Follows: 0:11

Love it

Vitória Lorenzetti: 0:12

And they're, they were so important to me. I think I needed that I needed to change I needed to face that hurdles I needed to go through all of that to become who I am today.

Aquilae: 0:25

Welcome to Career-view Mirror, the automotive podcast that goes behind the scenes with key players in the industry looking back over their careers to share insights to help you with your own journey. Here's your host, Andy Follows.

Andy Follows: 0:40

Hello, listeners, Andy here. Thank you for tuning

Vitória Lorenzetti: 0:40

Hi, Andy. I come from Amsterdam in the in. We appreciate that you do. We're also very grateful for our guests who generously join me to create these episodes so that we can celebrate their careers, listen to their stories and learn from their experiences. In this episode, we're celebrating Netherlands.

Andy Follows: 1:01

Thank you very much for joining me. Where did the career to date of Vitoria, Lorenzetti. Vitoria is the EV your story start? Tell me please. Where were you born? And public charging network manager at last mile solutions, a SAAS where did you grow up? EV charging and smart energy management platform. She was

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:11

Yes, I'm actually Brazilian. I was born born and raised in Brazil. She was educated in the US where she started her career and she's now based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Vitoria's work has centred on expanding and and raised in the farmland in a very agribusiness oriented town continuing to build a seamless and intuitive experience for EV drivers across Europe. In our conversation we talk about her roots childhood and the experiences that fueled her international career first in New York and now in Amsterdam. When Vitoria thought she had a life and career figured out in New York City working for an ad agency on Madison Avenue life showed her otherwise. Before embarking on the unstoppable world of E mobility. Vitoria worked in client services and brand management for WPP and IPG brand agencies in New York City. But Vitoria's impact extends beyond her professional endeavours. It's about giving back and empowering others. She founded a vibrant community of Brazilian women a support system designed to help them relaunch their new life and regain their confidence in a new and foreign land. It's a validation of her in the state of Sao Paulo, a city called Santa Cruz zoo commitment to not only succeed herself, but to lift others up along the way. I'm delighted to have met Vitoria and excited to share her story with you in this episode. As always, I look forward to hearing what resonates with you. Hello, Vitoria, and welcome. And where are you coming to us from today? Pardo. So the translation of the name in English is the st cross of the brown river. Of the brown river. Yes. So now you can kind of really guess what is the city is all about? So is a city was five hours away from the capital of San Paolo.

Andy Follows: 3:35

Okay, so tell me a little bit about your childhood then growing up your family. Tell me about your family situation.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 3:43

Childhood was a lot of fun. I had a lot of good friends and friends that I made in the childhood and we still remained friends. So every time I go back to Brazil, I still see some of them growing up in a small town. Nowadays, I really see the good sides of it. Growing up in a small town taught me the importance of connection. So you can't really hide in a small town. If you try you become very self isolated very quickly. So that means that I was quite exposed to a lot of people growing up with neighbours, friends, relatives, and families.

Andy Follows: 4:28

Did you have any brothers or sisters or do you have brothers and sisters?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 4:31

Yes, I do. So actually, I grew up between two homes. So one home with my mom and grandmother and the other in the other one with my dad and his wife. And one brother, one sister, one brother from my dad's side, and the sister from my mom's side.

Andy Follows: 4:51

And where did you fit in terms of age with your brother and sister?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 4:55

So my parents got divorced quite young. I was probably Billy, I don't even remember seeing them together. So I was probably not even one year old when they got divorced. So when in when I kind of really go back into my childhood memories, I remember quite a lot with when moments with my grandmother, my mom, my aunt, even though my dad was quite present, but it was mainly time with my grandmother and mom,

Andy Follows: 5:29

right? Let's talk about school, then. How were you as a student? How would your teachers have described you as a student?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 5:38

I was actually very intelligent and generous in a BF funny student, I like to be, I would say the leader of the, the class, I used to be kind of like the connector of the kids, when it comes to like school projects or even like activities.

Andy Follows: 5:58

I feel like when you're saying that, Vitoria? Looking at your eyes, you're back where you are going back and picturing yourself at school, I feel

Vitória Lorenzetti: 6:08

absolutely. It's funny. You're saying this, because I can really picture myself being inside the classroom and even seeing like, No, right now the one of my greatest teacher ever. So, yes.

Andy Follows: 6:22

Who was that? Who was sorry to interrupt, but who is this teacher? Who is this greatest teacher ever? And why were they so great?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 6:29

She was her name was Selma. Selma was my second grade teacher, she was the type of human being that was so uplifting. And she knew that it was quite like a very active girl, right? So it was really talkative during classroom and I wanted to be, you know, know, everything that was going on in the classroom, and sometimes a bit too much, you know, but that teacher was quite special because she let me embrace my own personality. And then I was really thriving so much in her class, because even though I was a bit sort of, like, active, you know, in the classroom, okay, what's going on in this side, what's going on in that side, and, and trying to be part of like, all of the corners, right? And then this teacher was so special, because one she was fully capable of navigating some of the maybe some behaviours that I had, that maybe it was not really helpful for her during classroom, maybe I was talking while she was explaining something or a sign. But she really let me be my full cell in I think that's one of the things that I really appreciate about her.

Andy Follows: 7:51

I love that. It sounds like you were potentially quite a handful.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 7:57

I tried to be very diplomatic and not to say that I was a bit sort of a naughty, naughty girl. You know, handful. But yes, I was quite like an active girl, let's let's put it that way.

Andy Follows: 8:14

Let's take away from that Selma, and her ability to manage you, if you like with the all your energy and all your curiosity that you had, and not try to stifle you, but instead encourage you to be who you are. And I just think that's a wonderful starting point. So thank you for for telling us about her. And when it came to subjects and topics that you were interested in, did you did you start to go in a certain direction? Were there things that you had a preference for?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 8:48

Absolutely. I was a big fan of geography, and history, and maybe languages as well. But I was never a big fan of math and science. I was a bit more of like the, the liberal arts type of student.

Andy Follows: 9:07

Okay. And how did that affect the path that you took through school as he got up into their sort of more senior

Vitória Lorenzetti: 9:15

So for me, the school Andy was a puzzle And when he got to the end of school, where were you at then? years. that was easily it could be easily solved until I was like 13 years old. And after 13 years old, for me, it was a bit a bit more, let's say a bit more challenging. And the reason why I say this is because my parents decided to put me in a very great school, you know, and of course, nowadays, I just appreciate what they have done and put it in their private schools, the greatest school they had at a time, right? But like looking back, I realised that the teaching method that the school had after my 13 years old was not really in alignment with who I was as a person. So were the the methodology was pretty much focusing on grades and performance and where the creativity and like embracing, like, you know your personality was really hidden. So for me, it was very difficult to really make the transition. And what does what have you decided to do what have you specialised in? So I took the plunge and decided to, to move away from my parents house. So, no, of course, like going up, even though I was never really exposed to like a very different careers, right, because mom was a piano teacher in school teacher of like kindergarten, and Dad was a business owner. So the type of careers that I was exposed was really solid, right? So basically, making sure that I had a very stable career path for my parents was the best, right? So as a matter of fact, my brothers and sister both are lawyers. And for my parents, that would be the best option available for me, because that would give me stability.

Andy Follows: 11:20

Okay, so your dad is a business owner? Do you perceive that as having stability or being more risky approach

Vitória Lorenzetti: 11:27

Dad is a business owner because his dad was a business owner as well. So my dad took over my grandfather's business.

Andy Follows: 11:36

What was the business? What sort of line of work?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 11:39

So is a factory, which is makes up peanut butter candies?

Andy Follows: 11:45

Oh, wow.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 11:46

Yes. So everything that is derived from Peanuts? My dad is a pro.

Andy Follows: 11:53

Okay, yeah. Did you see that then as something that was more stable or less stable?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 12:00

For my dad, I think like for him to take over his parents business. My grandfather's business was the closest possibility of stability, rather than starting a new career. I think that's how I look at even though business owner has a lot of challenges. So that's how I see it. Of course, a mom, you know, being a school teacher and grandmother as well, one, my my grandmother is also kind of really finger in the family, I don't see like, just like my mom and my dad, I also see my grandmother as like the third leg of the stool of my life, let's say. So that was basically what I was exposed to.

Andy Follows: 12:47

Right. So what were you thinking to get stability like your brother and sister? Were they ahead of you? Or were they behind you? Or how was the timing that?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 12:56

Yeah, so when you come about stability, it depends on the point of view, right? So for me stability was, or let's say not even stability, but success, for me was like a chance for me to really run away from my hometown, small town with very provincial mindset. While my brother and sister, they prefer to continuing in my hometown, and becoming a lawyer and have more stability.

Andy Follows: 13:32

I find that fascinating, because a lot of people from small towns stay in small towns, that's what happens. So when somebody decides they notice they're in a small town, and they decide that they want to get out of the small town, that's exciting and unusual. So of the three of you, you were the one who said now I want to get out of here, I want to see a bit more,

Vitória Lorenzetti: 13:54

right. And the funny thing is, is that I don't come from a family where travelling was part of our routine. So maybe one travel once a year to the Brazilian coast, go to the beach, but that's it. But I was not really raised in a family where we would explore all the countries in other cultures. But even so I still want him to kind of be different. Just like break free from my hometown mentality. Even though our I didn't know what it would be like to be in a bigger city. Do you know what I mean?

Andy Follows: 14:33

Yeah, it's not like you'd seen things that you wanted, you know, that had instilled this desire to get out or had you had you seen you said he liked geography. Can you trace this back to anything in particular this desire to get out?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 14:47

Honestly, I don't, I don't connect with that directly. But now that you kind of sparkle one thought of mine here is that I believe that growing up This sense of belonging did not exist much in terms of like, I loved my family to heart. But because I was quite different growing up, especially in a very conservative town, right when I, when I introduced about where I was coming from it was it was a hometown, really Christian driven hometown, very focused on religious values. And having my parents divorced, which was quite new, right, for those people from my hometown. If I if I remember, maybe they were the first one that got divorced, that was really shameful for my family, right. And I think that I consciously carried out through school, and then I kind of really never really had the clique, because I felt a bit different, right? Because one, my parents were not together, right. Sometimes my parents would in school parties and so on my, my dad would have been one side, and my mom would be on the other side, right. And then I kind of had to kind of divide myself into two. Yeah, and then they felt that like, you know, people are not really like me. And, and I felt a bit sort of like a fish a bit out of pond for for a while.

Andy Follows: 16:27

Thank you, that's helped a lot. So instead of it being a pull to go and explore or adventure, it was more of a sense of not belonging, not feeling that you belonged in the place that you were and a discomfort around that, so I get it. So what did you do?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 16:45

So my first step after leaving the hometown, I went to a bit bigger hometown next to my hometown, which is basically what I could afford by the time. So I went to a post high school programme, right on a mission to kind of really the code, the career path that would resonate with me the most. I was 17, when I left to live for the first time alone in a city nearby.

Andy Follows: 17:18

That's quite young.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 17:19

Yeah, even though it was only like one hour away. It was a bigger CT was basically what what I see nowadays that I, I reflect back on those moments, you know, growing up on my life journey, I see that leaving my home, my hometown and going to a different place was a chance for me to really restart and build my own identity in a different place that nobody would connect me with how I was, and how was my family? Or how are my parenting, you know, divorced or not divorced. So I think for me, just like having moved out from my hometown was already a bigger, like, bigger than my hometown was already like a huge success for me.

Andy Follows: 18:09

Yeah. So you said earlier that you couldn't really hide in a small town in this small town where you were born, it would have meant you'd be really isolating yourself, it would have been a very strange if you've done that. And 17 years old, pretty young to be on your own. They're in a different city, you're part of a programme. So how did you find that? How did you find those early stages in the New Town? New City?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 18:34

Yes, I think, for me, it was quite fun. Even though it was quite close. It was a new, fresh start for me, right? Nobody knew me. And I said, wow, like, they don't know my life story to know, like, they don't know my parents. Because growing up in a small town, and everybody knows one another there, there is the pros and cons, you know, but for me going to the prep school, before starting studies, it was a chance that I had to really stay on my own to start having like more responsibilities. And just understanding a bit more of what would really entails to be on my own in a bigger city now without my parents without the nest, right. Because being in a very small city, you have everything you need very closely. So yeah, it was really fun. I made a lot of friends as well. And then I think the most important part of this time it was that I decided what I wanted to do.

Andy Follows: 19:39

Okay, yeah, what was that? What did you decide,

Vitória Lorenzetti: 19:43

though, and of course, when you go through this prep school, you explore a lot in you do a lot of vocational tests to understand what's your abilities and your talents and so on. And I finally came to conclusion that advertising career would have been is a good match for me?

Andy Follows: 20:02

And what did you base that on? What was it that appealed about an advertising career?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 20:07

I think first I have always been allured by the TV commercials to be honest with you all the vibrant urban vibe, the city offered it in my that time as well. Like, when I was speaking, my career, advertising was quite a new feud as well. And I think that's one of the reasons I wanted to do with it. And while there is not a lot of like, professionals in this field, let's explore it, right? It's not really like Business Administration, or like, you know, it was very niche by the time and I thought I would have become a copywriter or something, you know, because I would like to write, I would like to be creative, and so on. But that was the stepping stone of my decisions. No, I will do advertising in the end. I did.

Andy Follows: 20:58

So where did it take you?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 21:01

Yes. So in of course, when I was applying for schools, I was not applying for schools nearby my house? No, of course not. The schools that I was applying was just far away from home. So which is in the capital? For me, the next step? Would it be okay, so I left my hometown, and then I moved to a bigger city. And then the next step will be going to Sao Paulo, right, because I think that's where I need to be, I don't want to be in a small city, I don't want to be great in a small city, I prefer to be good in a big one. And that's what I started applying for schools in Sao Paulo. And then I got accepted. And then, of course, I was quite happy. And then my parents not too happy, because they start questioning, raising a child that did not really fit into the life they have designed for my parents, it was really difficult for them to see me going and following a different path, compared to their path. Like nowadays, I talk to them and then in they even say to me, like we couldn't even, like tell you what to do, because we never really done that. Why. So you're going much further than we we did. And sometimes we don't think that we gave you enough support. When I said I just like let by letting me go. It's already a huge support, right. But fast forward, I got accepted into a great school in San Paolo. It was really fun. It was one of the very important moment for me because when I start taking those subjects to say Wow, I love that we're just learning about our history and we're learning about how that really influenced the communications and all different sorts of things. And in I was actually the best student I was so dedicated and I was studying so hard I remember just having a bunch of like notes right next to my bed. Yes, I was really having the best time of my life in that school and and that time, I wanted to do an internship right so even though it was like my first year I said, I need to start working I need to really start practising and and see what is the real life right. So I got an actually in my was on my junior year, I got an internship, which later on became a part time sales executive role selling ads placement for educational magazine. So basically, these job was linked with my university, right? So I got this job because I was a full time student at the University and had a lot of fun. I learned a lot. And funny thing is that it was a sales job. In this it like I thought it would be an advertising, right? But, but actually, I was doing sales and I quite like it. I remember going to those trade shows related to academia and so on and just like approaching people, right, because something that was came very natural for me was just like the sense of connecting with others, right? And I see that this is one of like my superpower right is just like establishing connections with others. It was really successful. Then I got promoted. It was going you know, in the morning in afternoon and then I was going to school so it was really hardcore for me, but it was really good. I was making good money. But in fortunately, some things happen during this time. It was on my second year of university when everything was really, really smooth for me, right? So I was really happy in my job, I was making really good money that it was helping me to cover some expenses in a big city like San Paulo, right? That everything is so expensive. And then unfortunately, my dad course my dad, and my mom was paying my school. And unfortunately, my dad got entangled with some financial issues, which jeopardised my school and my role, because my role in that company was connected with my university. So then I said, okay, everything was this is running smooth. And now what's going to happen? I have just stopped going to school, what's going to happen? And so on. So that was a bit sort of like a tricky part of my life in some Paulo.

Andy Follows: 26:02

Right. So how old were you then Vittoria? About 20 or something?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 26:08

I was 19.

Andy Follows: 26:09

I was Yeah. So what happened where now you've got this little really challenging time, all of a sudden, you're successful trajectory. And Sao Paulo has been interrupted by this. So what did you do?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 26:22

I remember, when my dad and my mom talked to me about the possibility of me having to stop by school, I was already in shock, right? Because, for me, it's always important to have a vision, right? So whatever I do, is always for me to keep the bigger picture right in the back of my mind and say, Okay, I'm doing this because I need to get to that point, right. And then, when they told me that, I said, how would that impact my, my vision, right? Because the vision I had built was to finish my studies, and work for a big advertising agency, and do like, successful branding projects and with for, like, very successful, Brian brands, and so on. And now they're telling me that they cannot form art, my studies anymore. At the same time that I was quite upset, right? I said, they don't have any obligations, first of all, to pay my studies. Right. So and that's good that they could pay until they could. And then I said, Okay, so I think now is the time that that I need to be resourceful when and think about what's going to be next for me, because I will never see myself going back home. Now with something that said, I need to be very, very proactive. I need to roll up my sleeves and start brainstorming some ideas, looking ways to forge ahead, and in despite of the financial hurdles, I need to find a solution. Right.

Andy Follows: 28:04

Okay. Well, I'm looking forward to hearing what you did. First of all, they you said you need and I love it, you said you need to have a vision, you need to have an idea of that you're working towards when did that start?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 28:18

Very good question. Andy, I have to say that this really comes from my grandmother, the wise grandmother, she always taught me that we need to know where we're going, right? Because sometimes we will be doing things that we don't like to do things that sometimes that is not really meaningful, but those tasks, and those actions will take to the place that you want it to be. So and I think like growing up hearing her saying that, to me, it was quite natural, for me was kind of like a very, was ingrained, almost like in my personality that you need to be okay with doing sometimes things that you don't want it to do, because the outcome will be good. And I think and the like nowadays, I also see that this is also something very strong about the Latin culture, where we have to bear with a lot of like, things that we don't like in a lot of instability of like the emerging economy or emerging countries where things sometimes are not as predictable. In I'm okay with that.

Andy Follows: 29:39

Brilliant. I'm so glad we heard that it came from your wife's grandmother that was a beautiful moment. Back to the story then where we find you in Sao Paulo. I've got you pacing around your rooms or whatever thinking right I've got to roll my sleeves up and brainstorm. How am I going to solve this because I'm sure as heck not going home. So what did you do?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 30:04

Absolutely. So I said, going back home, my mum was already preparing the room for me to be back home. I said, Mum, that's not going to happen. And then I start thinking about, what about going abroad. And then I remember my mom said, Well, we cannot even afford to pay your school here you want to go to were to us and study that we cannot do that. And now, like going back, I said, you're saying that we cannot do it based on what right? So I start exploring some options and said, Okay, let's see what is out there? Like we don't know, right? So we basic same things that we don't have the full story, we don't have the facts to say. So then I went to like travel agency to see, okay, if I wanted to go abroad, what do I need, right. And of course, there's many options available, you can basically go to study in Canada, just to study and then don't work and do whatever, and get the school paid by your parents, or you can go to Australia, pick up oranges in the field, which was not really me or you can go to the US as an au pair, and take care of American kids. I said, that could have been me, even though I'd never done that type of job in Brazil, I think I can definitely do it. And I started thinking about going to the US as an au pair. And of course, with my plan in mind, I kind of lined up I remember, I still have these paper today. And I kind of traced what I wanted to write. So I said I will stay six months in us, I go learn a language, raise money and then come back to finish my studies, right? Yeah, everything was quite, you know, traced and planned. And then I said, Okay, I have I have like some savings, which is the savings that like the grandparents used to, to put some money, you know, since I was like a one year old, and I can just get that money and just pay for the student exchange programme. And I did, it was a very easy decision, because I did not have anything to lose. In January, I paid for the programme. In July, I flew to the US to become an au pair.

Andy Follows: 32:41

Let me take a moment to tell you about our sponsor. This episode is brought to you by ASKE Consulting who are experts in executive search, resourcing solutions and talent management across all sectors of the automotive industry in the UK and Europe. I've known them for almost 20 years and I can think of no more fitting sponsor for Career-view Mirror. They're the business we go to at Aquilae when we're looking for talent for our clients and for projects that we're working on. ASKE was founded by Andrew Macmillan, whose own automotive career includes board level positions with car brands and leasing companies. All ASKE Consultants have extensive client side experience, which means they bring valuable insight and perspective for both their employer and candidate customers. My earliest experience of working with Andrew was back in 2004, when he helped me hire regional managers for my leasing Sales Team at Alphabet. More recently, when Aquilae was helping a US client to establish a car subscription business, ASKE Consulting was alongside us helping us to develop our people strategy and to identify and bring onboard suitable talent. Clients we've referred to ASKE have had an equally positive experience. Andrew and the team at ASKE are genuinely interested in the long term outcomes for you and the people they place with you. They even offer the reassurance of a two year performance guarantee, which means they have skin in the game when working with you. If you're keen to secure the most talented and high potential people to accelerate your business and gain competitive advantage, do get in touch with them and let them know I sent you. You can email Andrew the team at Hello@askeconsulting.co.uk or check out their website for more details and more client feedback at www.askeconsulting.co.uk ASKE is spelt A S K E. You'll find these contact details in the show notes for this episode. Okay, let's get back to our episode. Whereabouts in the US? Did you go?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 34:40

So I started my journey in Princeton, New Jersey. So dealing with an American kids while secretly plotting big things.

Andy Follows: 34:53

Love your language secretly plotting.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 34:57

Exactly so yes, my whole Family, we're still friends today. And they were my second family, my American family were was really supportive. So I moved to their, their house learned a new language. Of course, my English was really poor by that time, but it was, it was fine. I studied because usually when you go as an au pair, right, so you get the room and board and you get paid, like, you know, weekly salary. And for me that week salary was enough for me to save money. He was It was great. Then when I was in my second month there, I said, like, I really like here like, I did not get homesick. I was really amazed by my new life in a different environment in a different terrain where, you know, different language, different culture, even though I think sometimes Brazil was highly influenced by North American culture, I feel that it was completely different, right? People are so driven, they have a lot of opportunity. So let me make my my opportunities as well. I started learning English as a second language. And then I said, Okay, what about studying here? Right? Because before I had a plot this plan of, you know, save money and go back to Brazil, US it, but I don't think that's what I wanted to do. I think I wanted to be here and I wanted to study in graduating from an American university, why not? Then of course, one more time, like, how could I tackle the US tuition fee? Right. At that point, I was practically okay with those type of like financial hurdles, right. Because in Brazil, you know, things got a bit tricky for me because of financials, right. And I said no way that like the tuition fee here will be a block for me, right. So then, I decided to dive into the world of opportunities in in us and I was ready to wrestle like scholarships into submission. So yeah.

Andy Follows: 37:08

Okay, so you managed to find your way into a US university.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 37:12

I did. So when I decided to go to the US university, I needed to find a scholarship, the best way for me to start that path was to go to community college. So basic Community College is like a two year college where you take all the electives. And you can take those classes done very flexible schedule. So basically what I did, I was just studying at night and working during the day. But then another challenge, you pay those tuition, and then I said, I need to find a way. There was also a friend of mine, that she was on the same path. And she wanted to study but didn't know have any means right to afford the US tuition. And then one day, so let's just go there and see what's available. Right? Looking back, I see that the know was never really a problem for me. There's always a way to explore things right. Then I remember going to talk to this lady at school. And then she said the only internship available was for athletes, I said, and then she said, Oh, you guys look like an athlete. Right? So I said, Oh, yes, we are. So it of course, we play the game. But and then we found out that we there was a varsity cross country team, a new one. And they were looking to recruit new athletes, and said, Wow, that's really cool. And then she was super interesting and having us right, because he was completely new when, and she didn't have any athletes yet. And then she said, Would you like to try to run with me tomorrow? And they said, Oh, sure. I said, I never ran in my life. But they're like, yes, let's do it. Next day, my friend and I, we are well prepared. We start running, of course, half mile, we are already out of breath. And then we decided to tell the truth to her. Right. So I say listen, we are not our true runners. We are here because we want it to become one. How can we do it? What is going to be the like the foundation to become one of your athletes, right? Because we are really committed to make this work. So if you tell us all of the steps, we will make sure to follow it right. And she was really happy with the honesty first of all right? And also our willingness to really make it work. After every week we would run with her and then she will teach us like some tricks in like new Ways of like doing exercise to build up more resilience. Basically, when I started thinking about, like, I used to take, like 40 minutes to run a 5k. And, and afterwards, we were doing like 27 minutes or 5k in a cross country. So yeah, so we finally got accepted into the team diversity cross country team of the community college,

Andy Follows: 40:26

let's just pause because I'm thinking what a great movie this is gonna make. This is just classic movie storyline. I love that you showed up. And you've managed to get a scholarship, vastly scholarship to be in the cross country team, having never done cross country before you had to learn it. And you had to commit every week to run with her. And there's something really wonderful about what happened there. And also this spirit that you have this paradigm, this mindset of not accepting No, there has to be a way. And I'm thinking how far that has got you already. It's just helped you do all the things you've done. So far not accepting? No, there has to be a way. And I'm just thinking how that's gonna help you going forward as well. So congratulations on doing that, and solving it and taking your friend on the journey as well.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 41:19

Thank you. And of course, one thing that I cannot forget to mention, I got accepting to the team. And then towards the end of the two year, I didn't The second challenge is like Okay, so now is the four year college. I have two more year to go in order to get my bachelor's, right. So then I got another scholarship from the National Junior athlete from the state of New Jersey, because I had like one of the highest grades amongst the students. So I got my tuition paid as well for the four year college.

Andy Follows: 41:55

Fantastic. I love that story. Let's get into your career, then let's get into Post University. Where were you looking to go then?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 42:05

So I finished school in New York City. Having that in mind going through like all of the trainings and the diligence of like training every day and running a 5k Every day was kind of okay, I'm doing this. And afterwards, I loved it. And I feel that like sport was quite important for me and still is, I had in mind that I wanted to be none of advertising agency wanted to be working on Madison Avenue. And yes, I want to go to Khan every every year to get like an award. Right. That's basically what I had in mind.

Andy Follows: 42:40

That was the vision you had at that time, which was Yeah, okay.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 42:44

Exactly, exactly. I did several internships in great agencies as well, I remember it was there's even like one funny story. I was a really good student. So highly, diligent, super committed, very studious, as well. And I remember my first internship, I thought I was like, okay, so we were going to start talking about like creative briefs and delivering campaigns and so on. And I remember, like, I had to do some tedious tasks. And I said, like, way, I need to remember myself that I'm doing this tedious task, but there is also a meaning behind so maybe one day, you're gonna be writing some, like very cool riffs, and so on. The first internship was not like my coolest ones. But then I got the the opportunity to, to be in the Madison Avenue, working from the best agencies, which was a lot of fun.

Andy Follows: 43:44

You didn't stay there, though. You achieved your vision you achieve being in Madison Avenue, you're not there now. So what happened?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 43:53

For me when I when I really go through my whole life story, I find important to really have a vision, right. And one of the things that I have learned that visions can change, because for me, I thought that I had everything figured out, right? So I graduated from a New York City College, this is really great. This and I came from this very small town from the countryside of Brazil. And then for, for me, this is already a huge success, you know, just to really have paved my way into here. And I have worked in a very cool advertising agencies in that it seems that I got everything figured out. But at the same time, I was feeling that my heart was not there. And then I was quite not upset but I was quite worried, right because like after all the challenges that I have faced into then I was kind of really doubting about the life that I had at that time. Right. So I said this is no, right. So I think like, I did not even have the chance to change my plans, because he was really difficult for me to get to where I was by that time. So I refused a lot. So I stayed in the agency for a while, but then he got into a point that I said, I need to revisit my values, right? And then that was the time that my husband and I, we, we decided to go abroad by we have lived in in us for a while, him being English and me Brazilian. And we said, Okay, so let's go for a new adventure. Right? Especially that I was really going through some like period where I wasn't sure if like advertising was what I wanted to do. Right. I was like, raising a lot of questions. And we decided to come to Europe. And of course, Amsterdam was the the top place that we ended up being and settling in, in in the Netherlands is sparkled a lot of reflection, right? Because in the US, I charge ahead, super focused on Madison Avenue advertising, dismissing all the doubts. And when I kind of really detached from the environment that it was for a while and was in a completely new environment, I was kind of really able to revisit and think about, okay, Was I happy doing what I was doing it or I was doing it because I worked so hard to really get to where I was, and I didn't know that I could change. And if because my path was not super linear, why my career path was not linear was quite interrupted, I didn't think that he could be interrupted again, right? When I arrived here in Amsterdam, so I was doing some freelance work, which really triggered a realisation, especially when it comes to like really bridging my professional journey with my personal value. So that was really essential for me. So working for places working for brands that really resonate with me, became my new priority.

Andy Follows: 47:21

Okay, so when you said that you didn't feel that your journey could be interrupted? Again? Why was that? Was that just your perception of what was the right thing to do? Or what was a good thing to do? Have I understood that correctly?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 47:34

Absolutely. Because I thought that if I had to change my mind, I wouldn't be dismissive about everything that I had achieved by them. Right. So I would say that, how could you write so it was so difficult for you to really get to where you are to pay your studies and get your scholarship. And now you're just like throwing everything out of the window. So I think for me, that was a really conflicting part, especially when it comes to pursue, you know, what I thought was right for me,

Andy Follows: 48:13

because you have achieved so much. And that had been your vision. And you have really done amazing things, inspiring steps you've taken to get there. And I can imagine this awful feeling of this, isn't it? This isn't as good as I thought it was going to be. But I've invested so much, I've invested so much in this, I've got to stick with it. And then you got removed when you removed yourself from the physical environment and went over to Europe and to Amsterdam, that distance gave you space to reflect and to then look at your values. And this idea of bridging with your values, the work that you're doing has to connect with your values. So how long ago are we talking that you had this sort of this growth? This even let's call it evolution, this maturing, if you like of your philosophy, how long ago was this? Now was a six years ago? Okay? And how do you view that period in Madison Avenue? Do you view it that you are going completely down the wrong track and it was an absolute waste? Or do you view it in some other way?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 49:26

Everything that has happened? Every single occasion in moments really helped me to become who I am today. Love it. In there. They were so important to me. I think I needed that I needed to change I needed to face that hurdles I needed to go through all of that to become who I am today. And I think if it didn't happen, I wouldn't be who I am. And I really appreciate what I have become in what I have loaned from Madison Avenue agencies, which serves me as a foundation of my work, which is basically one of the greatest lessons I have learned. Advertising is industry where which the foundation of a good work is collaboration. So, all of those agencies, if they don't collaborate, they don't get the work done. So all of those successful campaigns, they will Olympics, the I remember working in the Olympics 2016 Real that was like, you know, an amazing achievement for me. And I also remember what what I have learned, you know, the team player part, which is so important, you know, the organisational, and just the synchronicity amongst all of the departments, and also cross cultural communications, right, because you're talking about different cultures, American culture, and then we had like, production companies from Brazil. And, you know, we were shooting and there were so many things involved in that that served me as the foundation of the great work I've been doing nowadays.

Andy Follows: 51:14

So at the time that you were making this decision to leave Madison Avenue it, it felt like you were giving up everything, you'd invested all that was behind you, when in fact, you've actually taken a lot of it with you into a new space.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 51:28

Absolutely. But it took me some reflection, right. To get to the point. I am today. Because by that time, I said, I feel like I'm just like, wasting a chance. Right. But the chance that would be wasted if I would be continued doing something that I that my heart wasn't there, I think that would be wasted.

Andy Follows: 51:55

Absolutely. So let's talk about the last six years, then tell us that story.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 51:59

Yeah, so Amsterdam is home now, right? Amsterdam became my ideal stage for transformation, a very diverse welcoming hub where people from all backgrounds converge, which is much like myself, in what I find fascinating about this place is that I'm able to really exercise my own cultural beliefs and can be a little American, I'm a little bit a little bit resilient. So I think this is a really a place that I find comfortable today. And that helps a lot. I find the sense of belonging. So I really feel very connected here. So when I moved here, I needed to meet people, right? Because I it was completely new space for me. And even though I very much liked. And I saw people from different backgrounds and doing different things. So I started connecting with a lot of people to see what it feels like to work in the Netherlands, what it feels like to be in the Netherlands.

Andy Follows: 53:11

How did you go about connecting with lots of people to see what it was like to work there?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 53:16

So I didn't know anything, right? My husband had maybe some friends from work, but I said, Okay, what about me, I need to find, you know, people. And I joined several Facebook groups, Brazilians in Amsterdam. And even like Americans in Amsterdam, I say, Well, I just left in the US, and maybe it would have been nice to connect with some Americans as well. But for some reason, I feel more inclined to connect with Brazilians. I don't know why. Because in us, I had a lot of American friends. And I didn't have a lot of Brazilian friends. But for some reason, when I got here, I felt that I needed to reconnect with my culture. And I did start stalking some people in the Brazilians in Amsterdam, and I was kind of really going through the process of profiling them to see okay, I think this girl, she looks nice, you know, her questions is always nice. And then I would have sent her a message on the inbox and said, Hey, I have these Whatsapp group and where we connect and we help each other and so on. Did you want to joined? And then I said, Well, sure. And then this is how I kind of really started networking. So I started like this Whatsapp group with like a lot of Brazilians. So the majority of them they were moved here for a new beginning, like, you know, maybe the husband would be working@booking.com or in different companies and so on, and then they would, you know, follow their husbands or maybe they wouldn't be working@booking.com or so. And so, and I started connecting with those ladies. And I said, Okay, that's great. So let's connect and let's meet. So and then this group from I don't know, maybe like four people that I have met through this resilience in Amsterdam Facebook group, we are now 157. Yeah, yeah, we are now like building a small platform where we can share like a, you know, a better content 157 Brazilian woman here in the Netherlands, the majority here in Amsterdam. So and the main goal of this group is to help each other out, you know, hiring a person to fix your window from landing a new job or finding a new career path. And what I found out about this, ladies is that the lack of support, it was evident for them, because I have so many brilliant women there that they have successful careers back in Brazil, but then when they moved here to the Netherlands, it's almost like they lost themselves, they lost their self worth. And they have no idea how to really start from zero, right. And then I start seeing that I could impact those women even like, you know, meeting with them once a month in trying to really bring some topics that would be common amongst us right? topics that will be related to the female workplace. So now we we have a very strong, resilient community of females, highly successful and highly achievers. And we have some professionals as well. So right now, I have created these support, where we have several different professionals in the group where if they need help with certain things, they can just be reached out, we have costs or purpose there is, is to really help each other out and not generate any revenue in any money. But it's just like to make sure that these females are capable to restart from zero when they move from a different country.

Andy Follows: 57:40

Congratulations, that sounds phenomenal. And workwise. What did you do professionally?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 57:47

So network was quite important for me when I moved to the Netherlands to Amsterdam. So meeting people and learning about the local culture, you was a key for me. One of the greatest person that I met, it was che Hardy. Actually, I ended up working with her. So my first job was in a nonprofit organisation helping expats find work in the Netherlands, where my role was to focus on partnerships with corporations to support job seekers with resume gaps, especially women. So yeah, as I met Shay, during one of like the network events, and yeah, so grateful for meeting her. A great leader, we professional that really helped me to start my my career journey here in the Netherlands.

Andy Follows: 58:46

Was that your not your Brazilian group that Oh, not? No, it was it was

Vitória Lorenzetti: 58:49

a different one. So Shay is American. So yes, she founded this nonprofit organisation. And then we met and yeah, we saw some synergies. Yeah.

Andy Follows: 59:00

So the first organisation was a nonprofit. And then where did you move to after that?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 59:04

So after that, I joined booking.com. So I joined a new venture within booking a new platform, which was focusing on attractions. So it's completely new, was a bit of sort of like startup, which was something that I, I always liked the startup scale up environment. My role there was in forming partnerships with major attraction to streamline the traveller connections.

Andy Follows: 59:32

So you're using in the not for profit, and also in this role, you're, you said earlier in the conversation right at the beginning, really this bear ability, you have to connect with people. So in fact, the picture I have is also you trying to connect all four corners of the classroom, back in the day, so it's the same energy and the same curiosity that allows you then to connect with attractions and connect with a new marketplace.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:00:00

I absolutely, I think that was one of the things is also important for me was just to work for brands and companies that is really aligned with my values. And here in Amsterdam with the time I was able to do so,

Andy Follows: 1:00:14

we've talked a lot about your values. I haven't asked you what they are.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:00:18

Good question. Freedom is one of my my values, self discipline, and commitment. I think this is like the three major forces for me.

Andy Follows: 1:00:31

Yeah. And that we can see now that we've revealed those, we can see how you've been living those on your journey.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:00:38

It's, it's funny, right? Because when we talk about self discipline, a lot of people think that there is no freedom. But I think that when you're self disciplined in, you know, what you need to do you achieve freedom,

Andy Follows: 1:00:53

if you have a vision, which you also mentioned. True. Good. So it's giving you the self discipline is supporting you to achieve the vision that you have chosen, which is freedom, absolutely freedom to choose the vision, self discipline to go and create it.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:01:12

Perfect, you nailed that.

Andy Follows: 1:01:14

It's a wonderful recipe. And I use booking.com. I'm glad to hear that their values driven organisation.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:01:24

Actually, it's a great company. And the and I have to say that one key lesson that I learned was the importance of process for scalability. And that is the connection with vision, right? Because even though they were very, a new venture within booking.com, it was like a different business unit right within booking. So they were highly scalable, because they had a division.

Andy Follows: 1:01:52

And where are you now Vittoria? And did you move to your current role from booking.com? Or is there something in between?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:02:01

Yes, so I was at booking.com. And then I got an opportunity to join a new company, which was a completely new industry. So that was when I started my transition to E-mobility. So I transitioned from booking to EV box, which is an EV charging manufacturer. So I worked on Channel Marketing, focusing on upscaling partners, focusing on the hardware side, of course. And then later on, I moved to the software side, where I was focusing on building business relationships with the roaming partners.

Andy Follows: 1:02:46

When you were about to explain the move to EVbox just now. You looked so genuinely happy about what you're about to say. Is that the way you feel about being in the mobility arena?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:03:00

Yes, for me, I remember when I moved in Amsterdam, I said, Wow, there's so many electric cars. These cities are so well planned. There's like a city planning here. You know, I would like in US I was in LA, New York, you know, which is by the time was still not really a thing. Especially when we relied a lot in New York City. We relied a lot on subways, right? But when I moved here, and I saw like bicycles in the street, in a lot of electric cars, I was really fascinated about it. And then I started reading, reading about immobility, what is the impact? Because before I was exposed to cars, and I exposed to petrol my stepfather is owns a petrol station, right? So I was kind of like, seeing those type of behaviours. But when I moved to Amsterdam was a completely new terrain. For me it was, you know, electric cars and sustainability, very strong, and people super conscientious about consuming plastic in recycle. And yeah, I was quite like, you know, fascinated about it. I'm not saying that I was not cautious before, of course I was, but I was not in an environment that was really triggering me to have those observations in place, right. And what I really like about immobility, right, so coming from an emergent emerging economy, like Brazil, you learn not to take anything for granted, and you become comfortable with change. So and this is one of my mottos. Just roll With the punches mentality, and this helped me to get to where I am today, and I do see a lot of similarities with elite industry. So at the same time you read excites me the pace of change the growth of new sector, new technology, the amount of new regulations that right now in EU is happening, right? We know that the future is electric, but it's still unknown. There's a lot of things to be standardised, a lot of things to be decide. The Evie industry is really pivoting and changing, rapidly evolving and leading the way. And I think that's what I like it about it. We have the vision, we know that the future is electric. And I think the very proactive and like hands on mentality to make things happen in that industry really feels my passion for it.

Andy Follows: 1:05:58

It sounds like a good fit if the EV industry can mirror your attitude of not accepting No, there must be a way that is such a good fit with how you've been an RV you've navigated your journey to where we are today. Is there anything I haven't asked you Vittoria? Have we missed any thing that you really were burning to share that I haven't asked you about?

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:06:24

Today, I am actually doing something that I'm really passionate about something that I really enjoy. So I'm working right now is in an EV public charging network at last mile solutions. So which is SAAS EV charging is more energy platform. So So right now my role is fully focused on partnerships with network partners. So basically, my main role is to expand and build the contribute to build the charging network for our customers.

Andy Follows: 1:07:01

I just want our listeners to know when you're talking about this, your face lights that you love this, you absolutely love this,

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:07:09

I can't hide I enjoy it,

Andy Follows: 1:07:10

You don't want to hide it. And the thing that's going to make such a huge difference to the rollout of the proliferation of EVs is going to be the infrastructure. It's that's the one thing that people either rightly or wrongly come to first as an excuse for not making the transition. So you're contributing towards the infrastructure that's going to help the transformation and you're doing it in the place that was the stage for your own personal transformation, which I'm not going to forget that particular quote. It's been an absolute pleasure to hear your story. I'm so glad we have these conversations. I'm so glad we start in the classroom. I'm so glad we hear grandmother's wisdom, I'm so glad that we we go step by step because for me, it's just so interesting to see how you've become the woman that you are and how the way you approach life, the way you think about things has allowed you to get to a point and I wouldn't want to have this conversation without understanding the context. You said before we started speaking that you're highly contextual. And I said it will me too. So I love understanding how you've managed to navigate this journey. It's incredible. Thank you so much for sharing it with me so openly. I've loved our conversation.

Vitória Lorenzetti: 1:08:25

Thank you, Andy was being a pleasure. Thank you for having me. And yes, for just creating this space, where I was, I was so comfortable to share those stories with you. So I feel very comfortable.

Andy Follows: 1:08:42

You've been listening to Career-view Mirror with me, Andy Follows I really enjoyed getting to know Vitoria and hearing her story. Some elements that stood out for me were that she had a sense of not belonging in her small town and that sat behind her decisions to move out. I enjoyed following her steps first to the neighbouring town and to Sao Paulo, then to Princeton, New Jersey, and then to Amsterdam. Her mindset there said, Don't accept no. How she handled having her studies curtailed because the funding ran out, as she went to see whether they could get a place at the community college, her wise grandmother who instilled in her from an early age the importance of having a vision to help us keep going when there are tasks that we don't particularly want to do, how she found a running mentor and a scholarship at the same time. And through her efforts, she finally achieved what she wanted, which was to be working on Madison Avenue. But then she discovered after a while that it wasn't what she'd imagined, realising that she hasn't wasted that time. But everything that has happened has contributed to her being who she is now. Arriving in Amsterdam, reflecting and realising that she wanted work to align with her values of freedom, self discipline and commitment which were aligned to a vision and enable her to make that happen. How much She felt that she belonged when she came to Amsterdam and could be herself and how she surrounded herself with a group of Brazilian women that she's brought together in Amsterdam that now numbers 157 How at home she is in E mobility, helping to expand the infrastructure that will enable the Evie transformation to take place. You'll find Vitoria's contact details in our show notes to this episode. If you enjoy listening to my guest stories, please could you do me a favour and share an episode with someone you lead parent or mentor or perhaps a friend of yours who you think would also enjoy listening? Thank you to Vitoria for joining me for our conversation. Thank you to our sponsors for this episode, ASKE Consulting and Aquilae and thank you to the Career-view Mirror team without whom we wouldn't be able to share our guests life and career stories. And above all, thank you to you for listening