About the Event
Michael Ceitlin, chairman and CEO of Mundial S/A, shared lessons learned from his experience taking over his family's business, leading the company's turnaround, and operating in Brazil's business landscape.
About Michael Ceitlin
Michael Ceitlin is chairman and CEO of Mundial S/A, a Brazilian manufacturing company with family roots dating back to the 19th century.
From a young age, Michael has been a mechanically-inclined individual with a deep passion for understanding how things work. This curiosity led him to pursue mechanical engineering, graduating in 1984 from the Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul. Michael's career began at Zivi-Hercules Group, starting in cost accounting, industrial engineering, and eventually becoming a project manager for one of Brazil's first ERP implementations. Alongside his engineering career, he explored his love for flying by building airplane models and becoming a private pilot. During his university days, Michael developed an interest in alternative fuels and led the Lab for Alternative Fuels where he and his team managed to produce ethanol from potato skins.
In 1989, Michael completed his MBA at Northeastern University in Strategic Market Management and returned to Brazil to join the family business for two years. Noticing the company was going under in 1993, Michael aligned himself with minority shareholders and implemented the first hostile takeover of a public company, becoming CEO and leading the turnaround of Mundial S/A. Despite the success, the challenges of the takeover impacted Michael deeply and have fueled his enduring determination to restore the company's profitability. He remains dedicated to his passion for aviation and finding new opportunities for growth and innovation in Brazil and other markets around the world.
About the Nardone Family Seminar Series
Made possible by a gift from David R. Nardone, this seminar series brings scholars and practitioners to Northeastern University to share insights on emerging markets.