Founded Kijani Investimentos in April 2021. Began a career in investment banking as an Associate at ABN AMRO/Santander and later served as Vice President at ING Bank from 2007 to 2012. Subsequently worked as a Senior Banker at Banco Votorantim, directly advising agribusiness companies from 2013 to 2016. Expanded agribusiness expertise from 2016 to 2021 at Aqua Capital, leading the new business division, evaluating over 2,000 companies, and completing acquisitions totaling more than R$700 million. During this period at Aqua Capital, chaired the boards of YesSinergy and VetBR, and served as a board member for Rural Brasil and Agro100, where also held the position of Executive Director (co-CEO) for over a year.
Education: Law degree from the State University of Londrina (UEL) and a Master’s in Economics and Finance from FGV.
With over 12 years of experience in agribusiness, worked at Belagrícola in key areas such as supply chain, treasury, and controllership. Later, structured the controllership at Agro 100, which played a pivotal role in facilitating the strategic partnership with Aqua Capital in 2017. In 2019, as Head of FP&A at Ferrari Zagatto, enhanced governance standards for financial reporting and institutional information, while playing an integral role in strategic decision-making. Additionally, at Ferrari Zagatto, led the project to onboard a strategic investor, overseeing the entire process—from interactions with advisors and meetings with potential partners to managing due diligence, coordinating a team of 50 company leaders, auditors, and legal representatives.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Economics from the State University of Londrina (UEL) and a Specialist in Controllership and Financial Markets.
With over 15 years of experience, built a career working in wholesale and investment banks, covering various sectors with a focus on structured solutions and capital market transactions for large companies. Started as a trainee at Banco Unibanco in 2007, where also worked as a credit analyst before becoming a banker.
For approximately 8 years, from 2008 to 2015, was responsible for covering major companies in the interior of São Paulo and the agribusiness supply chain at Unibanco, Itaú BBA, Pine, and Santander. Still at Santander, in 2016, returned to São Paulo to cover multinational companies in the automotive sector, financial institutions, real estate, and financial sponsors.
André became a partner at Kijani in March 2022, where he has been leading commercial and institutional efforts, from developing relationships to making strategic and allocation decisions across all of the firm's business lines.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from FEA – USP.
Began his career as a business development analyst at BEMISA Mineração, where he was responsible for over R$3 billion in mining and infrastructure projects, as well as institutional reporting to the controlling FIP, an investment of Banco Opportunity, from 2011 to 2013. In 2013, he transitioned to the real estate sector as an investment analyst at Iron House, where he played a key role in successfully selling the Four Seasons Hotel São Paulo to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). From 2017 he worked as a senior analyst at Brookfield Property Group Brazil, executing over R$4 billion in investments and divestments across various real estate segments, with a focus on office buildings and logistics warehouses. In 2019, he joined the team at Invest Tech, a venture capital investment fund focused on the B2B market. As a private equity associate, he led and coordinated the IPO process for the fund manager, managing relationships with banks and investors. He was also responsible for portfolio management of the invested companies, fundraising processes, and liaising with regulatory bodies. He joined Kijani in April 2022 as a portfolio manager, strengthening the firm's private equity initiatives.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from PUC-RJ, with CFG, CGA, and CGE certifications from Anbima.
Worked as a foreign associate at Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in New York from 2000 to 2002, focusing on drafting contracts for the installation of foreign projects in Brazil. From 2002 to 2007, served as a senior associate at Veirano Advogados, specializing in M&A and joint venture contracts.
Subsequently, worked for approximately 12 years at Agrifirma Brazil, building her career in the legal area since 2008 and becoming General Director in 2016, leading the entire operation in Brazil. Throughout her journey, was responsible for the legal division, ESG due diligence of the company’s assets, as well as the acquisition, management, and operation of 75,000 hectares in the MAPITOBA region, overseeing a team of more than 400 employees and
led the transition of the company and its assets to Brasilagro in 2020. Currently a member of the Governance Committee at Terra Santa Agrícola.
Present on various national boards and committees focused on agribusiness discussions, including the legal committee of the Sociedade Rural Brasileira and the discussion group on the new forest code.
Education: Law degree from the Catholic University of Salvador (UCSAL) and an LLM from Duke University School of Law.
Born and raised on farms, Alex Utida has lived the day-to-day of rural production since childhood. He holds a degree in law and had a brief career in legal practice before quickly turning his focus to agricultural production. In 2007, he helped with the structural turnaround of the group he works with, and he is currently the Director of Administration and Finance at Grupo Utida, which manages tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural production, including cotton, soybeans, corn, and livestock in Mato Grosso. Over the years, Alex has served on the boards of various unions, companies, and cooperatives. Notably, he was President of the Rural Union of Campo Novo do Parecis and Director at Aprosoja Brasil, where he was involved in the political aspects of agribusiness, connecting the agricultural sector with Brasília. He was also Director of ISGA (International Soybean Growers Alliance), representing Brazilian soy in international councils and organizations, building a global network with soybean producers around the world. Additionally, Alex holds directorial positions at CAAP, Marechal Rondon Armazéns Gerais, the Rural Union of Campo Novo do Parecis, and AMPA (Mato Grosso Cotton Producers Association), and he is a board member at Comdeagro and CCAB Participações.
Education: Law degree from the State University of Londrina (UEL).
Agricultural engineer graduated from ESALQ, he began his career as a coffee grower in the Cerrado region of Minas Gerais in 1982, where he remained for ten years, during which he represented local cooperative members. Afterward, he embarked on an entrepreneurial path and became president of the Commercial and Industrial Association of Londrina (ACIL) from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, he led the founding of the Sicoob Ouro Verde credit cooperative, where he served as president and currently acts as a board member. In 2016, he coordinated the creation of the agribusiness innovation ecosystem Agrovalley, where he serves as president. He was the Secretary of Agriculture for the state of Paraná in 2018. He is currently working on structuring the CocriAgro innovation hub in partnership with the Rural Society of Paraná, aiming to develop an innovation park in the sector in the city of Londrina. George is a partner at Grupo Value, serves as a board member at Sicoob, is vice president of the Brazil-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paraná, and is an investor and mentor for agribusiness startups.
Education: Agricultural Engineering from USP/ESALQ.
With strong roots in agribusiness, he began his career as an administrative and commercial manager at Valcoop Cooperative from 1984 to 1996, when he left to join the other founding partners of Agro 100. During his time at Agro 100, he participated in the opening of the company’s first store and was responsible for structuring the expansion plan into northern Paraná, southern Mato Grosso do Sul, and São Paulo, totaling 22 input retail branches and 17 grain receiving units, serving Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Mato Grosso. During the same period, he also served as the Director of Grains and Commercial Director. In 2017, with the entry of financial partner Aqua Capital, he helped build the expansion program with an additional 30 input retail branches, collaborating with Aqua Capital in the analysis and acquisition of other companies that eventually formed Grupo Agrogalaxy. Giuliangeli was responsible for the logistics arm of Agro 100, which became the current GB2 Logística, where he is a partner and board member. He has served as a board member at Agro 100 and currently serves as a board member at RicoLog, where he is also a partner and strategic leader, while managing over 10,000 hectares of agricultural production spread across Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Mato Grosso.
Education: Agricultural Technician from Escola Agrícola Augusto Tortolero de Araújo.
He began his career as an M&A analyst and later became an M&A associate at ABN AMRO/Santander, where he led the bank’s M&A team in various sell-side and buy-side transactions, overseeing legal, operational, and financial teams. In 2013, he shifted his focus to alternative investments, joining Aqua Capital as an associate, specializing in investments in agribusiness and food. He played a key role in numerous acquisitions, including add-ons and initial investments. He then served as Commercial Director at Geneseas Aquaculture, managing food service, key accounts, retail, exports, and sales logistics. Afterward, as a director at Aqua Capital, he sat on the board of VetBr until 2019. Since 2018, he has been with SP Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on AgFood and AgTech, where he not only oversees sector investments but also serves on the board of six portfolio companies. Alexandre is also a specialist in the foodtech sector.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Economics from IBMEC-RJ and an MBA from INSEAD.
