Over the past 14 years, Visagio, a global consulting business with offices in Perth, Sydney São Paulo, Recife and Rio de Janeiro, has offered summer internships to Ohio State MBA students, hosted several cohorts of MBA Global Applied Project teams and has sent two employees every year to take a seven-week MBA module at the Fisher College of Business.
Weber Pimenta, managing partner of Visagio, understands how successful partnerships across the globe can generate value to companies, students and even Ohio State.
His initial connection to Ohio State occurred in January 2005 when he and three others from the Federal University of Rio came to Ohio State to work on an oil and gas industry project as part of a student exchange program.
“It gives you a sense of awe when you arrive at Ohio State,” Pimenta said. “It’s very large. It has a big sports culture, which helps build this identity and creates a sense of belonging. And there is something about the Midwest environment – it’s very welcoming and the campus is very diverse.”
David Woods, faculty emeritus in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering, encouraged Pimenta to take advantage of all Ohio State had to offer during his five months on campus. “I’ve always studied very hard,” Pimenta noted. “I bought all my books, studied in the library. I wanted to get the most of my academic experience at Ohio State and I wanted to be able to apply the knowledge I gained.”
Woods’ advice led him to take classes in the Fisher College of Business where he met Walter Zinn, professor of logistics and a native of Brazil, who became his mentor, and the impetus that led to Pimenta’s – and Visagio’s – long-standing partnership with Ohio State.
After Pimenta returned to Brazil and graduated with a degree in production engineering, he joined Visagio. Over the years, he returned to Ohio State to guest lecture at Fisher and began evaluating options to grow the relationship.
One opportunity arose when Ohio State opened the Brazil Gateway in São Paulo in 2014. Pimenta offered the use of office space at Visagio’s headquarters, which helped lay the foundation for mutually beneficial collaborations that have continued to flourish.
To date, Visagio has hosted 20 Fisher GAP students at the consulting firm’s offices in Brazil and Australia and 25 employees have participated in the MBA modules.
“Many of my employees have traveled internationally, but the Fisher MBA program is their first professional experience,” Pimenta explained. “This opportunity to come to Ohio State gives them a global mindset and a new perspective. They know and understand how business works in other countries and other cultures. But they are curious how the MBA program works in the U.S. and it is a good opportunity to learn and actively participate.”
As part of the MBA program, Visagio employees participate with a cohort of Ohio State students to work directly with leading organizations globally, hone their business acumen, gain professional consulting experience, and develop increased global and cultural awareness while solving multidisciplinary and multifaceted strategic business challenges.
“Our collaboration with Ohio State is a win, win, win,” Pimenta said “Our consultants have a great experience learning in the U.S. The College of Engineering and the Fisher College of Business serve their clients better and we have a stronger connection with the Brazil Gateway.”