Arguably Rodrigo Abreu loves challenges.
That's why he started his technical journey as a kid in São Paulo with the Brazilian version of the Apple II computer.
He went all the way to Stanford University to pursue an MBA.
It does explain why he took on the biggest challenge of his career, leading Brazil's largest fixed-line telecom operator and fourth-largest mobile provider from crisis to prosperity.
Passion for transformation
Throughout his career, Abreu has found it particularly satisfying to reverse the fortunes of troubled organizations.
"I've always loved the challenge of transformation, creating new things and turning things around," says Abreu. ”
It's no coincidence that one of the business leaders he admires most is the legendary former CEO of IBM, Louis Gerstner, who believes that transforming giants is more challenging than creating new things.
One such shift occurred at mobile operator TIM, which was in a crisis of confidence when Abreu was CEO.
He helped TIM resume sales growth while positioning the organization as a 4G leader in Brazil.
But while Abreu's experience in adapting TIM's strategy has been invaluable, its woes pale in comparison to Oi Brazil, which took over as CEO in 2020.
A national giant that needs to be awakened
In 2016, Oi Brazil filed for bankruptcy protection – the largest Brazilian company ever filed. Abreu joined the Board of Directors at the end of 2018 and became CEO a year later, responsible for leading Oi back from the brink.
While Oi's financial problems are largely the result of Brazil's worst recession in nearly a century, it has also struggled to adapt to changing conditions and stiffer competition in the mobile and data markets.
Oi" became one of the largest companies in Brazil, Abreu explained, but it was heavily indebted and had to accept bankruptcy protection in many different situations.
But it is one of Brazil's largest infrastructure companies and is vital to the country. ”
Abreu is not only responsible to his employer.
He believes the success or failure of his decision will affect the country of Brazil. He sees it as an inspiration rather than an increased pressure.
"Obviously, for me, this is the biggest transformation I've been involved in so far," Abreu says, "but it's also an interesting transformation for this country."
We truly believe that a strong Oi recovery can have a significant positive impact on this country. ”
Big problems require big solutions
Abreu knows the scale of future challenges.
He explains: "We realize that if we want to do everything for everyone around the world, just like we did before, the results can't be different. ”
Oi's debt means Abreu must carefully consider its future priorities.
He first considers the twin elements of Brazil's "third connectivity revolution," namely 5G and fiber.
He was quick to conclude that Oi's financial constraints meant "we can't invest in both sides of an opportunity at the same time." ”
A tough decision needs to be made.
A mobile operator without a network?
"When we looked at fiber, we realized we had more assets and more competitive advantage than 5G," Abreu recalls.
"We already have more than 400,000 km of fiber optics across the country."
"We realized we needed to sell some assets and decided to sell our mobile business," Abreu explains.
"We also realized we needed to invest, and to sustain that, we designed a structural separation model that basically split the company in two."
One side of the restructured company will be the new Oi.
According to Abreu, it will be "an asset-light, customer-centric company that develops products, services, digital experiences, and new adjacent products." ”
The other side will focus on infrastructure.
The infrastructure company, called V.tal, will be a truly neutral network that "serves not only Oi, but all other operators." ”
Abreu isn't afraid to think differently, even though that seems to mean helping his competitors.
Divide the technology and unite the company
Radical ideas like selling one component of a company and then letting your competitors use your remaining infrastructure often run into resistance — especially since it inevitably leads to a drop in short-term revenue.
But Abreu firmly believes this is the right thing to do and is passionate enough to get others to join in.
"We are fortunate to have a support board," he explains. “
When I came up with the idea, I focused on the three main reasons I think we should do it.
The first is that our vision of refocusing the company on fiber optics requires significant investment.
If we were still an integrated company, we wouldn't be able to get all these investments.
The second is that we have a large number of infrastructure assets locally, and by allowing this neutral network to serve all operators in Brazil, we will maximize the returns of these assets.
Third, we were able to refocus Oi on what mattered, which was a customer-centric company that didn't have to manage infrastructure, but focused on delivering customer value. ”
With the board's support, Abreu's next priority is to ensure that his colleagues are also supportive. He does this by making sure they stay in the loop.
"From the very beginning, we have been transparent about the leadership team and the team as a whole.
By being transparent, we can get people to understand the rationale behind our decisions and get them involved. ”
3 steps to Change Organization in Rodrigo
Step 1
Go forward, go forward
"If you're shy, you're not going to make a major shift.
You sometimes need to come up with crazy ideas because normal things can't propel you forward in a big shift. ”
Step 2
Engage your employees clearly
"Have a clear vision and know how to communicate well.
If people don't understand where you're going, it's hard to help you get there. ”
Step 3.
Prepare Plan B (and Plan C)
"Be resilient. Of course, a lot of things go wrong. You can't stick to your plan A every time. You have to know that failure is going to happen, so you have to fix it. “
Better Oi and closer Brazil
If results are not achieved, radical ideas are meaningless in business.
But so far, Abreu's intuition has proven right — Oi can once again look to the future with confidence.
On the right track – but not yet done
"We are convinced that we have a viable plan, but we need to produce results before we can restore sustainability," Abreu explains.
In less than two years, the number of fiber customers has grown from zero to more than 3,000,000, proving that the program is working.
Oi doesn't intend to stop there, Abreu declares that "our goal is to become a leader in the brazilian fiber sector, with more than 8,000,000 users." ”
It's another ambitious goal, but Abreu is sure it's achievable.
As before, Abreu not only wants to improve Oi's fortunes, but also the infrastructure of other countries.
"In retrofitting Oi," he explains,
"We've made it possible for the largest communications infrastructure in this country to not only survive, but thrive."
This means not only achieving goals through connections, but also bringing opportunities, additional services, better healthcare, better education, better financial services inclusion, and better energy solutions.
We truly believe it's the perfect combination of doing good and doing good. ”
Opportunities for all
So, what's next for Oi?
In addition to his goal of becoming a profitable, self-sustaining company again — which Abreu predicts will happen within the next three years — he also wants to try to connect the whole of Brazil.
"There are 22 cities in this country with a population of more than 1 million, and our growth should not be limited to these big cities.
It should be everywhere, it should create opportunities everywhere, that's what we believe. ”
Abreu led Oi's transformation into a forward-thinking organization, working with partners including Nokia to develop end-to-end services, not just providing connectivity.
Next, he wanted to change his mind.
"Telecom operators provide the backbone of the digital experience, but they're not seen as digital companies – we want to change that.
We really want to change that. Who will gamble with him at this stage?